To Christopher Warren-Green has fallen the distinction of directing today’s popular British Strauss concerts, conducting Strauss-fashion with violin in hand. This CD features a relatively small orchestra which may indeed equate to the sort of ensemble the Strausses themselves conducted. This does mean that one should not expect the sumptuousness or sophistication of a full symphony orchestra in big waltzes such as An der schonen blauen Donau or the popular Radetzky-Marsch. All the right inflections are here, though, and the Fledermaus Overture builds up especially impressively.
The programme cleverly combines popular favourites with rarities – Josef Strauss’s Nachtschatten, for instance, is a real charmer. Several of the items have particular meaning for British audiences, including the waltz that Johann II composed on British music hall songs (Champagne Charlie and The Flying Trapeze among them) for his Covent Garden concerts in 1867. There’s even a world-premiere recording of a recently rediscovered work, the spirited Innig und sinnig polka, which Eduard Strauss conducted before Queen Victoria in 1895.
It’s a pity that Black Box can’t spell ‘Emperor’ and doesn’t include the composers’ names in their track listing. Happily, Peter Kemp’s notes are eminently readable and highly informative.