Richard Strauss"s ballet score Josephs Legende (1912-14) is one of the few mature works by Strauss that have received little attention, even after all this time. It"s never performed (possibly because of its arcane subject matter) and rarely recorded. The catalog lists one full performance, now out of print, and one version of the 1947 shorter orchestral suite (an excellent version is on Chandos 9506 if you can find it). The ballet concerns the apocryphal biblical story of the young Joseph"s near-seduction by Potiphar"s wife. (Perhaps Salome handles this theme better.) This is the full version of the ballet, sumptuously performed by the Staatskapelle Dresden in a dynamic live recording with none of the intrusive ambient noise of concert performances. Highly recommended for all comers. --Paul Cook