Sourced from American RCA Victor shellac pressings for Elektra, and HMV test pressings for Ariadne auf Naxos which were unpublished on 78rpm, this Naxos Historical album celebrates the enormous mutual admiration between Richard Strauss and Sir Thomas Beecham. Beecham had introduced Elektra to London in 1910 and presented the first version of Ariadne in London three years later. The recordings heard here of the final scenes from each opera were made almost three decades later following performances given in the presence of the composer. For the recording of Elektra, Beecham was fortunate to be to able call upon the renowned interpreters of Strauss’s music Erna Schlüter, Ljuba Welitsch and Paul Schöffler, who were appearing with the Vienna State Opera at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.