Ho-hum. Not great recordings of not great Strauss make for not very compelling listening. Strauss’ own arrangement of Die Frau ohne Schatten consists of much of the opera’s least contrasted music; others (Leinsdorf, for example) have prepared better selections, and if JoAnn Falletta had chosen one of these alternate arrangements the value of this collection would have been correspondingly higher. Maybe. The Rosenkavalier suite, the best piece on the disc, receives a somewhat droopy, heavy-handed performance deficient in bravura and a real Viennese lilt, though it picks up a bit after the overture. Josephs-Legende is generic Strauss, but look at the bright side–at least it’s not Schlagobers. Warm but mushy sonics only accentuate the desperate lack of sparkle. Decent playing, nothing atrocious, can’t prevent this disc from becoming a snooze. It’s a shame; we could use a new, really good selection of Strauss opera and ballet suites.
