CD: Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

The Royal Concertgebouw's new record label is wasting no time making the most of the orchestra's new chief conductor. This second release once again features a performance with Mariss Jansons, who only took up his post four months ago. This account of Strauss's self-obsessed tone poem was recorded during Jansons' inaugural concerts in Amsterdam last September, and shows how there was an excellent rapport between conductor and orchestra from the start. Strauss's hero is carefully drawn; though all the climaxes are overwhelming, there are plenty of moments of repose and not too much swagger. The playing is superb, and the sound world of this wonderful orchestra is as instantly recognisable as ever.