Strauss R

Resplendent brass playing with Wagner’s Ring ruling lesser contemporary works [NB]

Not an account of the Four Last Songs that makes it into the pantheon [JQ]

Precious jewels, delightfully played [ST]

A parcel of bleeding chunks that don’t quite add up [DMD]

Cool, precise Strauss, revelatory Berg, ravishing playing [DMD]

A modern-dress production that plays it pretty straight, and a very strong singing team [ST]

An unusual compilation featuring some highly energised and engaging music-making [RMo]

Some marvellous Strauss tone poems that mark the beginning of Rouvali’s stewardship of the Philharmonia [ST]

A patchy Zarathustra and a good Jeux, but you’ll find better performances of both elsewhere [ST]

The Mahler songs are the apex of this issue, but there are also some rarities that are well worth a listen [GF]

Strauss songs transfigured in breathtakingly beautiful performances [NB]

For me, the two outer tracks alone make this anthology of final scenes compulsory [RMo]

For every Richard Strauss fan this CD is an absolute must [IL]

A thrilling piece of live theatre commemorating the career of a great singer, despite cuts [RMo]

Previously unreleased Nelson Freire recordings enrich the catalogue [JW]

A welcome re-issue of three justly famous Strauss recordings in superb sound [RMo]

Cellistic surprises from Isserlis [JW]