This is not
Erich Kleiber's classic Decca recording of
Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier taped in the studio with the
Wiener Philharmoniker in 1955 with
Sena Jurinac,
Hilde Gueden,
Anton Dermota,
Ludwig Weber, and the matchless
Maria Reining as the Feldmarschallin. This is
Kleiber's 1952 Rosenkavalier taped live with the
Bayerischen Staatsorchester with
Elisabeth Grümmer,
Erna Berger, Karl Kamann,
Kurt Böhme, and a slightly younger and thus perhaps slightly better
Maria Reining. Anyone who hasn't heard the 1955 recording is heartily urged to seek it out -- it's assuredly one of the great recorded Rosenkavaliers. But anyone who has heard the 1955 recording could probably not be restrained from checking out this 1952 recording. Not only does it have
Reining's glowing Feldmarschallin at its heart, it also has
Grümmer as a radiant Octavian,
Berger as a luminous Sophia, and
Böhme as a hilarious but still quite human Baron Ochs. At first, the playing of the Bavarian orchestra is surprisingly slipshod, but
Kleiber quickly gets a grip on it and by the end its playing is nearly as dazzlingly beautiful as that of its Viennese counterpart. And throughout,
Kleiber is a keen advocate of the piece, bringing out its unique blend of melting lyricism and virtuoso compositional technique. Naturally, the Decca recording is much finer, deeper, and more detailed than this live recording, but though the sound here is undeniably coarse, it nevertheless catches the indefinable excitement of a live performance.