Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier, album review Renée Fleming, Sophie Koch, Diana Damrau, Münchner Philharmoniker, cond Christian Thielemann. Strauss fans are a fussy lot, but I doubt many would deny that Christian Thielemann is the greatest living conductor of his music: this recording of Der Rosenkavalier, based on staged performances in Baden-Baden in 2009 and already available on DVD, demonstrates his capacity to combine warmth and depth of texture with clarity of detail and unfailing responsiveness to the nuances of text and character. There's wit here, too, and an immaculately judged playfulness in the waltzes to balance the bittersweet melancholy of the romance. The Munich Philharmonic has this music in its blood: the string playing is sublime. Over the qualities of the cast the connoisseurs will feel more divided. Renée Fleming delivers the Marschallin's great reflective solos of Act 1 with great depth of feeling and launches the final trio with all the radiance Strauss must have dreamed of, while Diana Damrau is luxury casting as Sophie, relishing the scent of the rose with some ravishing singing. But those with memories of Christa Ludwig or Agnes Baltsa may find Sophie Koch's expertly sung Octavian a touch lacking in boyish innocence and youthful libido, and although Franz Hawlata refreshingly refuses to overplay Ochs's bumpkin vulgarity, he doesn't convey much farcical charm. Jonas Kaufmann grandstands the Italian tenor's aria to the point of killing its parodic charm, and some of the smaller roles are unalluringly taken. The recording delivers all of the opera's highlights and Thielemann's interpretation is very special. But if the cast is factored in, either of Karajan's studio recordings, both now available at bargain prices, might still be first choice.