Strauss: Don Juan, Op. 20 / Don Quixote, Op. 35

André Previn is a considerate conductor. He does not impose himself on Strauss, nor does he get in the way of the Vienna Philharmonic. Just as well, for no orchestra knows Strauss's music better than they. Unfortunately, neither of the accounts on the Telarc disc ranks as a first choice. While the playing is solid throughout Don Juan--except for the curdled top note in the climactic statement of the big horn tune--there is not enough tension in Previn's reading to generate sustained excitement. The conductor tends to let things sag in the lyrical pages and offers a genial but disengaged view of the score's more passionate moments. The soloist in Don Quixote is the VPO's own Franz Bartolomey, and it is he who seems to be leading the performance. Previn again takes a back seat, not so much shaping as assisting in a reading in which the Viennese are the real stars. Not surprisingly, their playing is impressive in its brilliance and tonal refinement, but that alone is not enough to compensate for a rather ordinary realization of the solo part. As fine a musician as Bartolomey is, one misses a real personality here. --Ted Libbey