He began recording for Decca in 1947 – three sessions of Brahms in London including a famous account of the Alto Rhapsody which found Kathleen Ferrier in glorious voice – allowing for less than eight years of activity in the studio before the conductor’s untimely death from a heart attack in May 1954, hours after conducting a concert in Mexico City.

In that time, however, Decca secured Krauss in much of the repertoire for which he was renowned as a peerless interpreter. A Richard Strauss series captured all the major symphonic poems except the Alpine Symphony, plus a complete Salome with Christel Goltz, and, for Polydor (Deutsche Grammophon) the rapturous final Trio from Der Rosenkavalier recorded in pre-war Berlin with his wife, the soprano Viorica Ursuleac, as the Marschallin. Unlike many later recordings, these are not performances which pull out the modernist strands in Strauss’s form and harmony. Rather they place the composer in a lineage of lyricists and musical dramatists stretching back to Mozart. Strauss himself apparently regarded Krauss as the supreme conductor of his generation, supporting the younger man’s rise to a succession of top jobs of 1930s and 40s Austria and Germany.

During the war, Krauss founded the tradition of New Year’s Day concerts in Vienna, and Decca capitalised on their popularity with three albums which have become touchstones of interpretation in the music of the Strauss family – ‘by turns committed and distanced, never pasteurized or bent on proving anything’, as Carlos Kleiber remarked of the Decca recording of Die Fledermaus, which became a library choice for the work as soon as it was released in January 1951.

The trio of Beethoven concertos with Backhaus has also been a perennial favourite among collectors; much less familiar is the album of Leonore/Fidelio overtures which marked the premature end to Krauss’s Decca career, charged with visceral intensity and elevated by needle-point rhythmic detail. Sleeves feature the original Decca covers and the booklet includes a survey of Krauss’s remarkable life and times by Peter Quantrill.

“[There is] the pleasure of Backhaus’s muscular and tender versatility and the lovely, lingering environment supplied by the conductor’s affectionate understanding.” – High Fidelity, April 1952 (Beethoven - Piano Concerto no.4)

“The performance is on a high level. The subtlety and variety of Clemens Krauss’s conducting of waltzes (and of course the rest of the score) is a delight, as is the playing of the orchestra. Patzak gives a performance of wonderful subtlety and charm.” – Opera, April 1952 (J Strauss II - Der Zigeunerbaron)

“The singing is sumptuous and exquisite. Miss Ferrier is at her best in the more serious Alto Rhapsody, where she receives splendid support … A Brahms disc of distinction, and another living memorial to a great lady who left us too soon.” – High Fidelity, June 1954

“A remarkably fluent, perceptive and altogether compelling performance … Matching the performance is the truly superb sound Decca has produced, particularly brilliant in the rousing final movement, a riot of orchestral sound.” – High Fidelity, August 1954 (R Strauss - Aus Italien)

“A pleasing piece of romantic music, recommended by a splendid performance and recording.” – The Record Guide, 1955 (R Strauss - Aus Italien)

Casts:

Salome
- Herod: Julius Patzak (tenor)
- Herodias: Margareta Kenney (mezzo-soprano)
- Salome: Christel Goltz (soprano)
- Jochanaan: Hans Braun (baritone)
- Narraboth: Anton Dermota (tenor)

Die Fledermaus
- Gabriel von Eisenstein: Julius Patzak (tenor)
- Rosalinde: Hilde Gueden (soprano)
- Dr. Falke: Alfred Poell (baritone)
- Adele: Wilma Lipp (soprano)
- Prinz Orlofsky: Sieglinde Wagner (contralto)
- Frank: Kurt Preger (baritone)
- Alfred: Anton Dermota (tenor)
- Dr. Blind: August Jaresch (tenor)

Der Zigeunerbaron
- Graf Peter Homonay: Alfred Poell (baritone)
- Conte Carnero: Karl Dönch (bass-baritone)
- Sándor Barinkay: Julius Patzak (tenor)
- Kálman Zsupán: Kurt Preger (baritone)
- Arsena: Emmy Loose (soprano)
- Mirabella: Steffi Leverenz (contralto)
- Ottokar: August Jaresch (tenor)
- Czipra: Rosette Anday (mezzo-soprano)
- Saffi: Hilde Zadek (soprano)
- Pali: Franz Bierback (bass)