Listeners looking for more swagger should try Reiner, or for bombast, Karajan. But for anyone who wants beauty, depth, respect, and even love in a performance of Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, this recording with Bernard Haitink leading the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is the one. Haitink clearly knows the piece like the back of his hand; he knows when to push forward -- the love music -- and when to pull back -- the battle music. More than that, Haitink obviously cares about the music, and his performance is not about riding an old war horse to glory but about showing the piece to best effect. The Chicago Symphony delivers a performance of consummate loveliness with silvery strings, characterful woodwinds, brilliant brass, and a rich blend that is all their own. Coupled with what may be the most perfectly realized performance of Webern's early tone poem Im Sommerwind ever recorded, this disc is well worth hearing by anyone who admires either composer. --allmusic.com - Jim Leonard"There was a time in the late Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties that I looked forward to any new recording by conductor Bernard Haitink and his magnificent Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. You almost couldn't go wrong with his performances because the man always took a sensible approach to the music, and the engineers always captured a rich, resonant sound. After his leaving the Concertgebouw, I sort of lost track of him until now. He was the Principal Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 2006 until 2010, and this live recording with the CSO during that time period demonstrates that he hasn't lost his touch... As always in his interpretations, Haitink takes a rational, measured view of the work, yet he misses none of the big, triumphant moments, sublime serenity, or impish humor. In fact, the conductor's reading here is not substantially different from his 1970 performance with the Concertgebouw, available in a two-disc, mid-price set from Philips... With Haitink, Strauss's music rings out most eloquently. However, there is so much going on in Heldenleben, so many transitions and contrasts, that's hard for any conductor to help the fragments jell or coalesce into a smooth, flowing, meaningful whole. If Haitink doesn't always hold it together, either, we can hardly fault the conductor.As a companion piece on the disc, Haitink chose Im Sommerwind (In the Summer Wind) by Anton Webern (1883-1945), another tone poem, this one an ode to Nature written when Webern was about twenty years old.  However, Webern never published it, nor did he ever hear it played in his lifetime. He seems to have regarded the work as an early example of his foolish youth, and it would not be until 1962 that anybody would play it. Webern apparently thought he had matured beyond mere musical pictures into more-ambitious, more-modern compositions so kept Sommerwind under wraps during his lifetime. It's a shame, really, because the music is lovely in every way, and Haitink caresses each and every note.The CSOR audio engineers recorded the music live in Orchestra Hall, Chicago, in 2008-2009, using fairly close-up miking, especially in Ein Heldenleben.  While this avoids most audience noise, it doesn't always impart much sense of concert-hall ambience to the proceedings (as Haitink's old Concertgebouw recordings for Philips did). Still, the sound shows up detailed and clean, with good dynamics, air, impact, and transparency. Of minor note, there isn't a lot of orchestral depth, the upper midrange is a trifle rough and bright, there's a slight glassiness to the overall sound, and the bass is somewhat lacking.Nevertheless, the sonic shortcomings are hardly noticeable, and the important thing is that Haitink persuades us that this particular music of Richard Strauss and Anton Webern is highly listenable, even if it is mere tone painting." -John J. Puccio --Classical Candor- June 18, 2010Along with his fine performances of music by Gustav Mahler and Anton Bruckner, in recent seasons Bernard Haitink has also executed work by Richard Strauss and Anton Webern. Strauss's late tone-poem Ein Heldenleben received an exemplary reading by Haitink in December 2008, and the recording made from those performances is evidence of his mastery of the score. Of particular interest is the fine reading of the violin solo at the conclusion of the work by Robert Chen. That stated, the contrasts Strauss composed within the score are audible in this recording, with details, like the solo violin not only emerging easily, but fitting well into the larger textures.Haitink's tempos also support the sections of the piece, and his phrasing allows the lines to be heard distinctly. This clear, lucid approach is audible from the opening, which is inviting for its nuanced phrasing, subtle dynamic shadings, and balance of tone colors. With regard to the latter, the CSO's woodwind section is particularly effective in the second section, "The Hero's Adversaries". A similar sensitivity to color may be found in the brass (especially those off-stage) in "The Hero's Battlefield". Yet for an overall idea of the sensitive ensemble, "The Hero's Works of Peace" merits attention because of the ways in which the softer sections remain full-voiced and compelling, as Strauss shifts the tone colors that are essential to conveying his extra-musical ideas in this section. The chamber-music-like sonorities which Strauss uses to fine effect in the middle sections of many of his tone poems emerge here distinctively, with his responsive leadership giving fine shape to some of the contrapuntal passages. Elsewhere, the atmospheric quality of the low strings is reproduced nicely, without risking any distortion in the aggregate sound. Moreover, the quotations and reminiscences of Strauss's other works are clear and appropriately prominent when they occur, and Haitink is perceptive to blend those elements expertly into the structure of this outstanding reading of this important symphonic work.Along with the clarity in his interpretation of Ein Heldenleben is a sense of restraint in some of the fanfares. Haitink's precision is remarkable, but the excitement that emerges with some conductors - at times at the expense of accuracy - is absent from some passages. This is a small point, but evident at various points in the recording, as in fanfares that usher the section entitled "The Hero's Companion". Some conductors might take some risks in "The Hero's Battlefield", though, and the solid clarity of Haitink's reading is useful when he can bring out the various layers of sound that are part of Strauss's score. This also allows Haitink to invest the score with a welcome intensity.Also included on this disc is Haitink's 2009 reading of Webern's early tone poem Im Sommerwind, a work that was never heard during the composer's lifetime, but one which has been brought into the concert performance in recent decades. Composed just a few years after Strauss's Ein Heldenleben, Webern's youthful tone poem echoes both the extended chromatic harmony of the time and also some aspects of the young composer's own style. Since Webern had not yet arrived at the serial concision with which he is associated, the style of Im Sommerwind exists between those two worlds. It is closer, perhaps, to Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande (completed 1903, premiered 1905). In this piece, Haitink gives full rein to the rich harmonies, allowing the tonal space to resound fully. The sonorities along merit attention in this richly performed reading. In this piece Webern took his cue from a poem by Bruno Wille, which describes the various perceptions of a summer day; it is, in a sense a series of impressions influenced by the poem. Here the work succeeds not only through its musical structure, but also as a result of the timbres the young composer used in this impressive piece. It benefits from the sensitive ensemble of the CSO, an aspect that is present in this fine recording. Haitink has given the work clear shape in presenting the structure of this engaging, but less familiar composition. It complements nicely the more familiar music of Ein Heldenleben. --MusicWeb International, James L. Zychowicz, August 2010Bernard Haitink has been principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony in 2006 and appears there often; many of his performances have been issued on CSO Live. Now we have Ein Heldenleben from three concerts in December 2008. It would be intriguing to know how much editing was done to produce this performance: did the CSO not play any one of the three perfectly? Aside from a more sedate view of the battle interlude, Haitink's view of the score has changed little since his 1970 Concertgebouw Philips recording. The Romantic early Webern, unusual repertory for Haitink on recordings, is taken from no less than four performances in April 2009. From an audio standpoint, these are two of the most successful live CSO recordings. --ClassicalCDReview.com, June 2010Ein Heldenleben, Richard Strauss's tongue-in-cheek musical autobiography remains astonishingly fresh, witty and audacious more than a century after its composition. This live recording continues the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's successful series of releases on their own CSO-Resound house label.Haitink is a Straussian of long renown, yet here while the Hero's theme opens imposingly, it lacks that last bit of outsized swagger. The recording also feels a touch overweighted towards the bass end, missing some gleam and brilliance on top. The `Hero's Adversaries' are a properly whiny and insignificant lot, though Haitink is perhaps a bit too kind in his delivery of Strauss's withering depiction of recalcitrant music critics. No complaints about CSO concertmaster Robert Chen's vividly characterized portrait of `The Hero's Companion', his violin tone capturing all her allure, sweetness and mercurial caprice.The loopy fanfares and off-kilter alarums of `The Hero's Battles' come vividly across, aided by clarion brass and daunting percussive force, though, again, Strauss's antic humor is given rather short shrift. The triumphant reprise of the Hero's theme makes full impact, however, and the final, impeccably balanced sections are the most successful. The glowing coda, with Chen and principal horn Dale Clevenger providing exquisite playing, is rendered with just the right sense of solace, heart-easing warmth and a bit more introspective sadness than usual.Webern's early, late romantic orchestral idyll Im Sommerwind, composed six years later in 1904, makes a generous and unusual coupling and is played with comparable beauty. With one of the world's leading Strauss orchestras and conductors, this disc is self-recommending, even if it fail to displace the finest performances already in the catalogue, not least Haitink's 1970 version with the Concertgebouw (Philips) and Fritz Reiner's touchstone 1954 account with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (BMG/RCA), which still sounds magnificent after more than half a century. -Lawrence A Johnson --The Classical Review - July 7, 2010Lest we think that American orchestras were nothing more than amateur organizations, it is worth noting that Theodore Thomas, the Chicago Symphony's founding conductor, gave the American premiere of Strauss' Ein Heldenleben in 1900.  The ensemble was not even in adolescence yet having been started in 1891!  The rich connection to Strauss' music would continue throughout the orchestra's history reaching amazing heights during the tenure of conductor Fritz Reiner.  Reiner's classic CSO recording of this work for RCA remains one of that conductor's many landmark performances.  Bernard Haitink has also recorded a great deal of Strauss.  His days with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw grew that orchestra's reputation through a host of recordings including ones of Strauss' music that to this day remain classic performances.Haitink will be stepping down as conductor of the CSO, being replaced by Ricardo Muti in the coming season.  This recording is taken from live concerts in 2008 (Strauss) and 2009 (Webern).  What Haitink has going for him in his latest take on Ein Heldenleben is the fabulous, rich brass of the CSO, and a most able violin soloist in Robert Chen for the depictions of Strauss' wife in "The Hero's Companion" when we suddenly seem to be thrust into a concerto.  Chen's passionate playing engages the listener in such a way that the intrusion of the orchestra "conversations" feel like the impatient egotist waiting to move beyond another life character.  The orchestra detail here is striking with the soloist not being over-miked against the orchestra creating the proper concert sound picture.  The sheer beauty of the CSO's sound is on display throughout this release that highlights the various instrumental groupings in natural sound with fascinating detail.  Listen to the way the rich strings, solo violin, brass, winds and even harp ebb and flow through the texture of "The Love Scene" which throbs with perfect musical rapture.  The distant trumpet calls in "The Hero's Battlefield" still cut through the great swaths of sound that swirl and grow into one of the pieces great movements of passion and Mahlerian gestures.Haitink tends to take a bit more rubato in the big orchestral moments than Reiner and yet these are so natural to the depth of his interpretation that the sense of forward movement is never lost.  There is a breadth and unhurried sense to Haitink's performance that allows Strauss' exercise in self-promotion to play like the rich, warm orchestral tone poem that it is.As a bonus, we get a 15-minute tone poem by Anton Webern.  Lest that should scare you away, it is worth noting that this is one of the last orchestral pieces the composer wrote before he and Berg began studying with Schoenberg.  The piece is very much of its time growing out of post-Wagnerian romanticism and closely paralleling Strauss' own music.  It is a beautiful little idyll for orchestra with an amazing command of orchestration for the then 21-year old composer.  Depending on your point of view it was either unfortunate that he took up serial technique, or fortunate that his music took a different direction even then his other serialist musical companions.  This work reminds us that the austerity of the later pieces was a definite abandonment of traditional sound, unless one accepts Schoenberg's exploration of tonality in tone rows as a true ultra-chromaticism.  How interesting though that this is probably one of the composer's longest musical essays appearing in the shadow of Strauss's larger work here.The CSO has won its share of rewards for its private-label recordings and no doubt this sonic wonder will find its way on many "best of" lists this year.  You will not find a better Ein Heldenleben I suspect for some years to come.  Haitink's recording may just be the crown on a great tenure with the CSO! --Cinemusical, MaestroSteve, August 10, 2010Richard Strauss was unapologetic about putting his private life on display to the world in Ein Heldenleben,  proudly proclaiming himself as being just as worthy of extended symphonic treatment as, say, Napoleon (the original subject of Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony in E-flat, the key in which Strauss deliberately cast his "hero's life" of himself). Of course, the life Strauss chose to show is unashamedly larger  than life, from the four-minute "striding forth" at the opening through the quotations from earlier Strauss works near the end, which show the composer overcoming his carping critics (who are portrayed in some mighty astringent music). The Chicago Symphony gave the U.S. premiÃƒÂ¨re of Ein Heldenleben in 1900, giving the orchestra a 110-year performance history of the work. Between that and the skill of conductor Bernard Haitink, it is reasonable to expect a smashingly good Ein Heldenleben in this new recording (assembled from several live performances in 2008). But Haitink's rendition is a bit of a disappointment. Individual elements are outstanding, including the violin solos by concertmaster Robert Chen and many of the brass passages. The strings play with precision but without the warmth and depth that Strauss needs for maximum effect, and the winds never really seem to snarl in their portrayal of the hero's enemies - and since this orchestra's winds are quite capable of producing any sort of tone or emotion, it must be the conductor's decision to downplay some of the (admittedly overdone) Strauss emotionalism. Still, Ein Heldenleben  is such over-the-top music that it demands an over-the-top performance to attain its full effect, and Haitink is just a little too emotionally controlled (the love music never soars) and perhaps a touch too clinical to produce the sort of full-throated roar that can make this overblown piece seem almost as significant as Strauss himself thought it was. Ein Heldenleben is interestingly paired with Anton Webern's Im Sommerwind, his most Straussian work and a very early one (dating to before his Op. 1). Im Sommerwind  shows Webern at his most Germanic/Romantic: it is a tone poem that closely tracks a poetic ode to nature by novelist-philosopher Bruno Wille, and is idyllic as can be. It is possible to find a few - a very few - slight hints of later Webern here, but it is not very useful to do so. Im Sommerwind  stands on its own as a tone poem in the Straussian tradition, pleasant enough in sound and certainly showing skill in instrumentation and comparative emotional restraint. It is well-made if not very distinguished music. --InfoDad.com - July 8, 2010This is a magnificent CD, distinguished by orchestral playing of world-class stature, by interpretative integrity and great wisdom on the podium. The recorded sound, to which I listened in conventional CD format, is first class. The superb performance of Ein Heldenleben  in particular might be regarded as the apotheosis of Haitink in Chicago, though we must hope not only that there are more recordings by him to come from this source but also that his evidently fruitful partnership with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will continue for many years to come. --MusicWeb International, John Quinn - www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/June10/Strauss_Webern_CSOR9011004.htm