<\/p>
Asmik Grigorian (soprano), Markus Hinterh\u00e4user (piano); Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France\/Mikko Franck<\/p>
Alpha Classics ALPHA1046\u00a0\u00a0 44:15 mins<\/em><\/p> There are so many fascinating but ultimately self-defeating anomalies about this odd release. The only constant is Mikko Franck\u2019s painstaking but winged guidance of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, including an especially singerly and nuanced violin solo in \u2018Beim Schlafengehen\u2019.<\/p> What a pity that Asmik Grigorian doesn\u2019t blossom for him as often as she does in the piano version (the arrangements are not by Strauss<\/a><\/strong>, who conceived these exclusively as songs with orchestra). Words are too often unclear, tone reined in until such moments of tantalising opulence on words like \u2018Tausend\u2019 and \u2018Frieden\u2019.<\/p> How much brighter and more open the voice sounds against Markus Hinterh\u00e4user\u2019s lacy piano part (courtesy of arrangers Max Wolff and John Gribben); but sadly this turns out to be an indulgence. \u2018September\u2019 takes nearly two minutes longer than the orchestral track, and loses its line and soaring as a result . (Whose idea \u2013 the soprano\u2019s or her pianist\u2019s?)<\/p> Grigorian\u2019s justification for the two versions side by side is that \u2018they each require different colours\u2019, and that turns out to be the case. But wouldn\u2019t we have been better off with, say, the final scene from Salome<\/em> as companion? Grigorian was so riveting and luminous in the role in a crazy, unfathomable Salzburg production in 2018; has something been lost since then? The recorded sound, at least, is admirable throughout. I wanted this to succeed, as I did Lise Davidsen<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s and Rachel Willis-S\u00f8rensen\u2019s recorded forays; but the only relatively recent success story in these demanding songs has been that of Anja Harteros.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By David Nice Published: Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 12:06 PM Asmik Grigorian (soprano), Markus Hinterh\u00e4user (piano); Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France\/Mikko Franck Alpha Classics ALPHA1046\u00a0\u00a0 44:15 mins There are so many fascinating but ultimately self-defeating anomalies about this odd release. The only constant is Mikko Franck\u2019s painstaking but winged guidance of the Orchestre Philharmonique […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":39630,"template":"","categories":[1,82,19],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/r-strauss-four-last-songs.jpg",900,903,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/r-strauss-four-last-songs-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/r-strauss-four-last-songs-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/r-strauss-four-last-songs-768x771.jpg",768,771,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/r-strauss-four-last-songs.jpg",800,803,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/r-strauss-four-last-songs.jpg",900,903,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/r-strauss-four-last-songs.jpg",900,903,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By David Nice Published: Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 12:06 PM Asmik Grigorian (soprano), Markus Hinterh\u00e4user (piano); Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France\/Mikko Franck Alpha Classics ALPHA1046\u00a0\u00a0 44:15 mins There are so many fascinating but ultimately self-defeating anomalies about this odd release. The only constant is Mikko Franck\u2019s painstaking but winged guidance of the Orchestre Philharmonique…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/39629"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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