Eduardo Mata was a wonderful conductor in colorful, late-Romantic repertoire. His Ravel cycle (excepting Daphnis) and Pictures at an Exhibition for RCA were wonderful, and so is this Strauss collection. Don Juan takes off like a shot, reminiscent of Kempe, with plenty of spontaneity in the quick episodes and some very sexy love music. The Dance of the Seven Veils–let’s face it, not one of Strauss’ best moments–manages to be lushly decadent without degenerating into mere sleaze. Death and Transfiguration is beautifully paced, with some powerfully incisive playing from the Dallas brass and a glowing culmination. The early digital sonics are a bit confining at times, but certainly not to the degree that they interfere with enjoyment. The playing time is a bit short by today’s standards, but this on-demand production from Arkivmusic.com still constitutes a fine sample of Mata’s art. His untimely death in a plane crash, at the height of his powers as an interpreter, was a genuinely sad loss.
