“Any suspicion that the project is merely an excuse for a couple of top orchestras to show off is soon dispelled. Nelsons’ Strauss is the opposite of extrovert — relaxed, sensitive, lush, impeccably detailed, sometimes a touch on the flaccid side. His Don Juan is short on swagger, but beautiful landscapes are painted in the Alpensinfonie; the leisurely Don Quixote, with eloquent Yo-Yo Ma as the cellist, casts a magical, once-upon-a-time spell. The wartime elegy Metamorphosen is unforced and eloquent. At the end the two orchestras come together for the Festliches Präludium, a celebratory symbol of their joint Strauss project.”