Frick/Rott/Adam/Reichelt - Richard Strauss: Daphne

A unique document of contemporary Dresden history lies safely preserved in the Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv: the recording of the Daphne premiere of 1950, also planned as a tribute 'In Memoriam Richard Strauss' for that friend and champion of the Dresden Staatskapelle and Staatsoper, who had died the previous year. The presence of this buried treasure was ample cause for celebration - until we listened to the recording. We originally considered the surviving Daphne tapes as unfit for release on account of its recording quality and acoustics, far removed from the sound ideal to which we had hitherto aspired.