Strauss: Ophelia Lieder, Enoch Arden, Piano Sonata Op. 5, Five Piano Pieces Op. 3 – Classical Music for Piano Performances & Romantic Evenings

I bought this album to get Claude Raines reciting Tennyson's "Enoch Arden." It did not disappoint me, in fact it was incredible. A somewhat forgotten actor, who seldom had the roles he deserved, and who possessed one of the finest speaking voices in the 20th century, Mr. Raines recited the poem such that I felt like pulling to the side of the road (I was driving at the time of listening) and bursting into tears. As Kipling once said of someone, "The man could read." This is not to take away from the rest of the album. Elizabeth Schwarzkopf's "Ofelia Lieder" is wonderful, as only she is singing lieder. She had a voice equalled by very few sopranos (soprani), and they didn't sing lieder! Her performance ranks with her recording of the "Four Last Songs" with George Szell. To get to the star of the album (it is the Glenn Gould Edition, after all), he performs the Piano Sonata, Op. 5, and the 5 piano pieces, Op.3, with which I was unfamiliar. I had always known Strauss as an opera, tone poem and lieder composer, but these are powerful pieces, not unlike some of Brahms' lesser known solo piano works, and are played by Gould with a power and tempo that I had previously associated only with Robert Casadesus. Also, God be praised, he doesn't sing, hum, or make other unitelligible noises during any of the performances. For those who love lieder, spoken voice, and great solo piano, this is a wonderful album.