Hans Hotter

On this CD:

1. Hans Heiling, opera, Op. 80 An jenem Tag
Composed by Heinrich August Marschner
Performed by Hans Hotter
Conducted by Artur Rother

2. Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman), opera, WWV 63 Die Frist ist um
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Munich Bavarian State Orchestra with Hans Hotter
Conducted by Heinrich Hollreiser

3. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, opera, WWV 96 Was duftet doch der Flieder
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Hans Hotter
Conducted by Artur Rother

4. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, opera, WWV 96 Wahn! Wahn! Uberall Wahn!
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Choir with Hans Hotter
Conducted by Robert Heger

5. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Leb' wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Choir with Hans Hotter
Conducted by Robert Heger

6. Aida, opera Wehe, mein Vater!
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Berlin State Choir with Hans Hotter, Hilde Scheppan
Conducted by Artur Rother

7. Otello, opera Ich glaube en einen Gott
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Munich Bavarian State Orchestra with Hans Hotter
Conducted by Heinrich Hollreiser

8. Otello, opera Zur Nachtzeit war es
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Munich Bavarian State Orchestra with Hans Hotter
Conducted by Heinrich Hollreiser

9. Falstaff, opera Die Ehre! Gauner!
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Hans Hotter
Conducted by Hans Weisbach

10. Falstaff, opera He! Hört denn niemand?
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Hans Hotter
Conducted by Hans Weisbach

11. Carmen, opéra-comique in 4 acts Euren Gruß kann ich wohl erwidrn
Composed by Georges Bizet
Performed by Hans Hotter
Conducted by Artur Rother

12. Pagliacci, opera Schaut her, ich bin's
Composed by Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Performed by Hans Hotter
Conducted by Artur Rother

Tracks:

I: Adagio Molto - Allegro Con Brio
II: Andante Cantabile Con Moto
III: Menuetto & Trio: Allegro Molto E Vivace
IV: Adagio - Allegro Molto E Vivace
I: Allegro Ma Non Troppo
II: Andante Molto Mosso
III: Allegro - In Tempo D'allegro - Tempo I
IV: Allegro
V: Allegretto

Tracks:

I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Marcia Funebre: Adagio Assai
III: Scherzo & Trio: Allegro Vivace
IV: Finale: Allegro Molto - Poco Andante - Presto
Gross Fuge

Tracks:

I: Adagio Molto - Allegro Con Brio
II: Larghetto
III: Scherzo & Trio: Allegro
IV: Allegro Molto
I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Andante Con Moto - Piu Mosso - Tempo I
III: Allegro -
IV: Allegro - Presto

Tracks:

I: Adagio - Allegro Vivace
II: Adagio
III: Menuetto: Allegro Vivace - Trio: Un Poco Meno Allegro
IV: Allegro Ma Non Troppo
I: Poco Sostenuto - Vivace
II: Allegretto
III: Presto - Assai Meno Presto
IV: Allegro Con Brio

Tracks:

I: Allegro Vivace Con Brio
II: Allegretto Scherzando
III: Tempo Di Menuetto
IV: Allegro Vivace
Overture
Overture
Overture
Overture

Tracks:

I: Allegro Non Troppo, Un Poco Maestoso - Christa Ludwig
II: Molto Vivace - Presto - Christa Ludwig
III: Adagio Molto E Cantabile - Andante Moderato - Christa Ludwig
IV: Presto - Recitativo - Allegro Assai - Alla Marcia - Christa Ludwig
Overture - Christa Ludwig

Tracks:

I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Largo
III: Rondo: Allegro Scherzando
I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Adagio
III: Rondo: Molto Allegro

Tracks:

I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Largo
III: Rondo: Allegro
I: Allegro Moderato
II: Andante Con Moto
III: Rondo: Vivace

Tracks:

Fantasia For Piano, Chorus And Orchestra
I: Allegro
II: Adagio Un Poco Mosso -
III: Rondo: Allegro

Amazon.com essential recording

Otto Klemperer's Beethoven is one of the towering achievements in the history of recordings. By today's standards, these performances are hopelessly old-fashioned: dark, heavy, and frequently very slow. But they are also the grandest, most unsentimental, most purposeful versions in the catalog. In addition, the relatively slow tempos (only in the fast movements--the slow ones are pretty swift) and forward wind balance permit more detail to be heard than in most original-instrument performances. At budget price and with the entire piano concerto cycle thrown in for good measure, this is greatness incarnate. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Great Performance.......2007-07-07

There are many different ways to perform Beethoven and each one is valid.
If you like it fast - go to Toscanini or Norrington. If you prefer slow, powerful and majestic, this is your set. Towards the end of his distinguished career, the great Otto Klemperer set down his final views of the performance of these symphonnies. The set is a coherent whole and will give great pleasure for ever. The challenging mix of the young Barenboim and the aged Klemperer worked surprisingly well and thus the concertos may also be recommended. There are odd additional items which add to the pleasure. Finally do not forget to purchase his memorable set of 'Fidelio' to complete your traversal of a great conductor giving great performances of a composer that he loved. Finally the price is ridiculously low and provides quality and quantity at a great price. Thus you should be able to buy the opera set from the savings made!

Great Analog Beethoven Cycle.......2007-05-07

This Klemperer cycle is just one of a dozen or so GREAT analog Beethoven symphony cycles that were recorded during Analog's golden age starting about 1958. These cycles are easily a match for digital and they should still be around for another 1,000 years, if the Lord tarries. These sets include: Karajan (twice, early 60s and late 70s) Bohm, Krips, Jochum, Bruno Walter, Leinsdorf, Rene Leibowitz, Szell, Ormandy, Bernstein, Steinberg, and Solti. This morning I listened to the Klemperer recordings of Beethoven's symphonies 5, 6, & 7. Very enjoyable, I got my Beethoven RDA fix.

Of all these Analog sets, I most enjoy the Leibowitz Spring 1961 cycle with the Royal Philharmonic. I have this cycle on an audiophile early 90s European import Edition Phoenix label special pressing "on extra virgin vinyl." These are by far the best analog symphonic lps I have ever heard from a recording standpoint. BY FAR! And they will rock your house.

You can almost justify Karajan's 4 recorded Beethoven cycles and one video based upon improvements in recording technology. Thru Rhapsody, I have listened to his mid 50s cycle and the orchestra sounds great, but the recording quality is sub par compared to Analog's golden age. So the rational for 4 cycles would be, (1) recent great improvements in recording technology (early 60s), (2) it has been 15 years and he has grown as an artist (late 70s), (3) we now have digital! Let's do one of the first Beethoven digital cycles (80s).

Klemperer is a no-brainer. I do not have to think twice about plopping one of his lps onto my turntable or hitting the play button at Rhapsody. When the music starts, the listening pleasure begins. Don't miss his Bruckner symphony recordings!

An essential collection.......2007-04-25

How best to describe Otto Klemperer's perspective on Beethoven's symphonies: grand, heroic, intense, insightful, stubborn, obstinate, detailed, dramatic, monumental, granitic, deeply emotional, never sentimental. This boxed set of the complete symphonies and concerti embodies all of these elements as stands as one of the great achievements of recorded music.

These performances were recorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra at its peak, in the sumptuous acoustics of Kingsway Hall in London and in fine and detailed sound, and mostly in the mid-1950's during one of the brief charmed periods of Klemperer's life. EMI's impresario Walter Legge had made him permanent conductor of the Philharmonia, and when Klemperer embarked on this project in his 70's, he was in relatively good mental and physical health (Klemperer could show symptoms of manic depression and survived many health crises - brain tumor, broken bones, paralysis - which would have stopped most people).

By this time Klemperer had slowed the tempi of the fast movements of the Beethoven symphonies (listen to his early 1950's recordings of the 5th and 6th on Vox to hear by how much). This tendency is more pronounced in these studio recordings than in the live performances which were recorded during that era. The slowness is mostly saved by Klemperer's use of "sprung" rhythms, which keep the slow tempi from feeling laggardly.

Klemperer's earliest recordings in this series - symphonies 3, 5 and 7 - predate stereo and were recorded in excellent monaural sound. He rerecorded all three of these symphonies in stereo, but those recordings were made after he burned himself by falling asleep while smoking in bed. All three performances feature slower tempi than the earlier ones (whether this was the conductor's preference or the result of physical incapacity is open to conjecture). In particular, the rerecorded 7th suffered from lax phrasing, inattentiveness and perverse tempi. That is NOT the version contained in this set: fortunately, EMI had simultaneously recorded the earlier version of the 7th in "experimental" stereo, and it is that earlier version which is released here (and in remarkably good stereo). The versions of the 3rd and 5th are the rerecorded stereo ones.

You will find no finer studio versions of the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th or 8th. All are insightful, beautifully detailed and powerful. The 2nd clearly looks forward to the 3rd and not back toward Hayden, the 4th is boisterous and vital, the 6th bucolic and sumptuous (not a quality normally associated with Klemperer), the 7th gains in drama what it loses in swiftness and lightness, and in the 8th in particular we see the conductor's empathy to Beethoven's sense of humor. Klemperer had a deep affinity for the "Eroica", and the rerecorded version here, while slower than the 1955 recording, was dubbed by "High Fidelity"'s Harris Goldsmith (no Klemperer fan, he) as "the best Eroica going slow" and is a monumental masterpiece (the second movement is shattering). The 1st, while leisurely, is a lovingly crafted.

That leaves the 5th and 9th. There is no doubt in my mind that the earlier, mono 5th is superior to the remake in this set. We lose that sense of an inevitable onslaught, especially in the outer movements. And the 9th, while similar in conception to the live versions recorded around the same time (on Testament with the Philharmonia and on Music&Arts with the Concertgebouw), suffers from diffuse sound and occasional lack of focus. I emphasize that these recordings of both symphonies are still head and shoulders above most of the competition; we're talking about different levels of greatness here.

Are there superior Klemperer recordings of these symphonies? Yes; but all are live, and despite the relatively good reprocessed sound, they don't reveal the same level of detail that these studio recordings do. Klemperer was a very different conductor in front of an audience, and there is more vitality and drama in the live versions of the 3rd (Testament, with the Danish Symphony), 6th 7th and 8th (Music&Arts with the Concertgebouw) and the 9th (see above). Music&Arts' set of the complete symphonies, recorded live in Vienna in 1960, is long out of print and had cramped sound with poor detail - a supplement to this set, not a replacement.

As to the piano concerti: they are better than one might expect. Barenboim, although steeped in the Germanic performance tradition, is more naturally aligned with the Furtwangler and Edwin Fischer than with Klemperer. However, the two of them actually work together extremely well and this is a fine, insightful set.

Any complete cycle of Beethoven, symphonies or concerti, will have drawbacks. There will be unevenness in the performances, as there are here. But there are advantages to hearing one musician's perspective on the works, especially when (as here) the performer has depth of understanding, integrity of vision, and a structural understanding of the pieces.

The digital remastering is excellent and the sound barely shows its age. This may not be your only complete set of Beethoven's symphonies, but it should be one of them. And at a price this low, it's a bargain too.

The best value in classical music on CD at the moment..........2007-01-02

What is the best value in classical discs available today ? Who knows, but I defy anyone to beat the EMI compilation of Klemperer' recordings of the complete Beethoven Symphonies, Piano Concertos (with Barenboim), several overtures the Choral Fantasia etc etc. 9 discs for only $44 ( well that was the price I paid). You have got to be kidding... I only had two concerns with buying this. First on the age of the recordings, all more than 40 years old. No worry at all. This is a masterpiece of reconstruction. The sound quality indistinguishable from any modern recording. Secondly , the performances themselves. I had been warned that Klemperer notoriously chose rather slow tempi. Again I needn't have worried. I immediately went to the slow movements of the 2nd piano concerto and the fourth symphony, where many slow tempists have in the past come unstuck. The piano concerto was an absolute revelation. The combination of the youthful Barenboim and the Philharmonia's masterful playing time and gain had me on the edge of my seat. " Yes,go on, well...." Slow it may have been. Boring, never. The same applies in spades to the slow movement of the fourth. Right from the eerie opening, which is yes, very slow indeed, I knew this movement would be a revelation and I can honestly say I have never hear it better played. Follow this with a scherzo bounding in energy and thumping finale and you will never get a better performance of this, one of Beethoven's "lesser" symphonies. And I haven't even got round to the "biggies" yet! The box set looks unattractive and the portrait of Klemperer makes him appear a first class nerd. Pay absolutely no attention to this....

Wonderful Performances.......2006-04-07

I have admittedly not made it through the entire set as of yet, but feel sufficiently blown away by the First Symphony and the Eroica - particularly the second movement of the latter - to weigh in here. With respect to the tempo issue, I must - at least so far - argue in favor of Klemperer's decision to slow things down a bit. I think the effect is, as someone else has observed, a clearer and more visceral experience of Beethoven's composition. It brings out the feeling. The sound comes up a little short on the low end, but it isn't a major distraction. My only problem lies in EMI's inexplicable lack of any discussion of the performances. The notes are bland, dry descriptions of the pieces themselves, with some basic history thrown in. Given the fact that there are probably hundreds of different CDs of Beethoven's symphonies out there, all with similar explanatory notes, it is infuriating that nothing is said about these particular performances. This is in contrast with the EMI Bach set (with Yehudi Menuhin) in which there is a wonderful essay that discusses Menuhin's work in historical context.

An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen

Average customer rating:

Ring introduction critique
FASCINATING STUDY FOR NOVICES AND AFFICIONADOS ALIKE
Welcome back to a classic analysis
Essential for Understanding Wagner's Ring Cycle
Very Functional

An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
Deryck Cooke , Georg Solti , Wiener Philharmoniker , Anita Valkki , Berit Lindholm , Birgit Nilsson , Brigitte Fassbaender , Christa Ludwig , Claire Watson , Claudia Hellmann , Dame Gwyneth Jones , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Eberhard Wächter , George London , Gerhard Stolze , Gottlob Frick , Grace Hoffmann , Gustav Neidlinger , Hans Hotter , Helen Watts , Helga Dernesch , Hetty Plumacher , Ira Malaniuk , James King , Jean Madeira , Joan Sutherland , Kirsten Flagstad , Kurt Böhme , Lucia Popp , Marga Höffgen , Marilyn Tyler , Maureen Guy , Oda Balsborg , Paul Kuen , Régine Crespin , Set Svanholm , Vera Little , Vera Schlosser , Waldemar Kmentt , Walter Kreppel , and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000424H
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

Of All Great Musical Compositions... (Examples 1-4)
The Fundamental Symbol... (Examples 5-11)
Returning Now To The Nature Motive... (Examples 6, 12-16)
A Number Of Further Motives... (Examples 5, 17-21)
A Second, Much Smaller Family... (Examples 22-25)
So Much For Nature. (Examples 26-38)
The Cause Of The Deterioration... (Examples 39-44)
The Other Transformation... (Examples 45-48)
Several Other Motives... (Examples 49-52)
Two Further Motives... (Examples 41, 53-61)
The Basic Motive Associated With The Spear... (Examples 62-68)
Along Another, More Complex Line... (Examples 69-72)
In Act Two Of Walkure... (Examples 69, 73-75)
Returning Now To Act Two Of Walkure... (Examples 76-79)
Love Is Another Of The Central Symbols... (Examples 80-83)
Later In The Same Scene... (Examples 84-87)
Freia's Motive Has Two Independent Segments... (Examples 88-91)
The Label 'Flight'... (Example 92)
When Fasolt, In Scene Two Of Rhinegold... (Examples 93-98)
A Little Later In The Interlude... (Examples 99-103)

Tracks:

The Other New Motive... (Examples 104-109)
There Are Several Independent Love-Motives... (Examples 110-114)
The Characters In Whose Lives... (Examples 115-120)
One Further Motive Belongs... (Example 121)
The Sword Motive Recurs... (Examples 122-130)
Ironically, This Phrase... (Examples 131-135)
Closely Associated With Gutrune's Motive... (Examples 136-140)
Here We Come To The End... (Examples 141-146)
Complemtary To This Symbol... (Examples 147-149)
One Last Central Symbol... (Examples 150-157)
One Further Motive Connected... (Examples 158-161)
There Are One Or Two Motives... (Examples 162-168)
These Motives Of Alberich And Mime... (Examples 169-171)
Quite A Number Of The Subsidiary Motives... (Examples 172-176)
Besides This Family Of Motives... (Examples 177-180)
Our Final Example... (Examples 10, 181, 182)
In The Final Scene Of Gotterdammerung... (Examples 181-183)
Even More Masterly... (Examples 184-188)
Now If We Return... (Examples 189-191)
This Masterly Way... (Examples 192, 193)

Amazon.com

When Wagner set the Ring to music, he intended the orchestra to act in the fashion of a chorus from a classic Greek tragedy--setting the mood and commenting on the action. In order to allow a nonverbal musical line to reflect on the plot, Wagner developed a psychologically and musically complex symbology to communicate his thoughts to the listener. From the beginning the Ring has spawned numerous written commentaries on the relationships of the motif structure, but by using examples from the Decca Ring recording, Deryck Cooke's thoughtful spoken commentary is by far the most accessible guide for either the fledgling Ring enthusiast or the seasoned veteran. --Christian C. Rix

Customer Reviews:

Ring introduction critique.......2006-11-04

This is very worthwhile, at the same time it requires time, patience and attention, but it does provide some keys to better enjoyment of a sensational piece of music.

FASCINATING STUDY FOR NOVICES AND AFFICIONADOS ALIKE.......2006-08-16

This may look an intimidating, daunting and dull prospect - a 2+ hour lecture on the motifs in the Ring. Don't be put off. Whether you're a relative novice to the Ring and want to find out what it's all about, more experienced with a desire to understand the composer's methods better or an afficionado who thinks he knows it all inside out, there is great pleasure as well as elucidation to be had from this set. Originally made to accompany the Decca Solti Ring, it contains a multitude of musical illustrations taken from those recordings as well as some specially recorded by Solti just for this Introduction.

It wasn't the first time this has been tried. The famous HMV sets from the late 20's also included recorded examples of over 100 motifs. (These, by the way, are available as part of the Pearl reissue of those wonderful HMV recordings). What that set lacked was the wonderful insights as well as the approachability of the talk by Deryck Cooke. Cooke was a great and much missed musicologist - a Mahler expert responsible for the performing edition of the Tenth Symphony still most played today, a fascinating explorer into the nature of music's basic building-blocks in his excellent book, The Language of Music, and an inspiring and elucidating critic of Wagner's work as shown by the fascinating book he left unfinished at his death, I Saw the World End.

On these CDs he does much more than list the leitmotifs and identify them as calling-cards. He shows the amazingly integrated and organic growth of the musical material that Wagner uses throughout his vast work. He demonstrates how motifs can change their sense and meaning as they evolve through the drama. And he shows how the complex combinations of motifs can radically advance both the musical and the dramatic narrative of the piece. There are even places where he corrects the misinterpretation of some of the motifs that had become ingrained from early commentators' false labels.

This set should engage and enlighten anyone with an interest in Wagner's huge and inexhaustible tetralogy. Do give it a try - no matter how far down the road to Wagnerianism you are.

Welcome back to a classic analysis.......2006-05-28

Deryck Cooke's lecture series upon THE RING is almost as much a classic by now as the Solti RING cycle, with which it was originally issued on LP, and from which it derives its musical examples. The difference is that whereas the Solti RING has been continuously in print ever since it was completed, and was among the first opera sets to benefit from the CD revolution, the Cooke analysis was for long almost totally unobtainable. Now we have it back. It should be welcomed: it is a classic. Cooke's mellow, deep voice with the hint of a Celtic burr - which made him ideal on BBC radio - patiently explains Wagner's melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic metamorphoses to such good effect that if you own this recording, you really require no other RING analysis. (A pity about the abrupt beginnings and endings of too many vocal and orchestral illustrations, though.) Musicology lost a fine, sensitive thinker with Cooke's premature death in 1976.

If all you want is dilettantish baby food, there are plenty of dumbed-down Wagner commentaries on the market, stretching from Anna Russell's famous monologue (which doesn't pretend to be anything other than a parody aimed at morons) to the latest standard-issue "Wagner-was-a-Nazi-boo-hiss" feuilleton (which, unfortunately, does). Without reasonable score-reading skill you will find Cooke useless, however diligently you have ploughed through Marx, Jung, Freud, or other gurus purportedly relevant to THE RING. Cooke expects you to use your brains and your musical sense. Quelle horreur. At today's BBC his "elitism" would render him unemployable.

Essential for Understanding Wagner's Ring Cycle.......2006-05-15

I originally bought this set on vinyl in the early 70s when I discovered the Ring in college. I studied the records and booklet assiduously, and after about three run-throughs I finally started getting it. Wow! Thirty-five years later, I still remember Mr. Cooke's analyses of various motive families, and I don't know how I could have mastered and loved the Ring without him. I now own this set on CD and listen again on the rare occasion of attending a Ring performance. My wife calls me a "Ring nut," but of course I'm nuts about many other things as well.

Bottom line, buy this set and study it if the Ring has captivated you as it has countless others. The presentation is dry, but sticking with it brings measureless and longlasting rewards.

Very Functional.......2006-03-19

This CD set is excellent for what it sets out to do: present the leitmotives of the Ring according to their relationship to one another and their role in developing both characters and plotlines. Deryck Cooke's lectures on each motive are very insightful, very helpful at cueing the listener into the semantic aspect of Wagner's orchestral writing. The one drawback is that the musical examples are a bit jarring. Without fade-ins or -outs, the engineering is quite barbaric. And though the orchestra was, I believe, conducted by Solti, and is beautifully done, the vocal performances can be quite unpleasant. Point being: this is not background music, but in accomplishing what it sets out to do, it is very successful, and I don't know of anything else like it.

Average customer rating:

An AWESOME "Rheingold" from a "RING" for the Ages!
Age defying performance.
What a find!
The Bayreuth 1955 Ring Cycle by Testament
About that "hissing noise"...

Wagner: Das Rheingold

Manufacturer: Testament UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000J20D6A
Release Date: 2006-12-12

Tracks:

Prelude
Weia! Wega!
Garstig Glatter Glitsch'riger Glimmer
Wallala! Wallala! Lalaleia! Lalaleia!
Lugt, Schewestern!
Der Welt Erbe
Wotan, Gemahl, Erwache!
Sanft Schlob Schlaf Dein Aug'
Zu Mir, Freia!
Endlich Loge!
Immer Ist Undank Loges Lohn!
Eini Runezauber Zwingt Das Gold Zum Reif
Hor, Wotan, Der Harrenden Wort!
Was Sinnt Nun Wotan So Wild?
Jetzt Fand Ich's

Tracks:

Auf, Loge, Hinab Mit Mir!
Schau, Du Schelm!
Nibelheim Hier
Nehmt Euch In Acht!
Vergeh', Frevelnder Gauch!
Ohe! Ha Ha Ha!
Da, Vetter, Sitze Du Fest!
Gezahlt Hab'ich
Bin Ich Nun Frei?
Fasolt Und Fafner Nahen Von Fern
Gepflanzt Sind Die Pfahle Nach Pfandes Mab
Weiche, Wotan; Weiche!
Hort, Ihr Riesen!
Schwules Gedunst
Abendlich Strahlt Der Sonne Auge
Ihrem Ende Eilen Sie Zu
Rheingold! Rheingold! Reines Gold!

Amazon.com

This, the third installment in the first stereo Ring (once thought lost), from the stage of the Bayreuth Festival in 1955, is as impressive and crucial to any collection as the previously released Siegfried and Die Walküre. Joseph Keilberth, whose devotion to Wagner was so great that he died conducting the second act of Tristan, leads an incredibly tight performance--almost jaunty in its storytelling. The opening chord, depicting the Rhine, is not played softly as marked; it does rather plunge us into the action with more energy than usual. The singing is universally remarkable. Hans Hotter's Wotan towers in its snideness and potency, while the Fricka of Georgine von Milinkovic is more subtle and alluring than we're accustomed to. Gustav Neidlinger's Alberich is, as on so many other recordings in which he sings this role, something to reckon with--a despicable but wretched character. The giants of Ludwig Weber and Josef Greindl have probably never been bettered; Paul Kuen's Mime is articulate and creepy and Rudolf Lustig's Loge is wily and clearly, cleanly sung. The only stain on this recording is the dreadful hissing noise given off by something called a "Mixtur-Trautonium," an electronic device invented to simulate the sound of the Nibelungs' anvils in Nibelheim. It's a distraction, but it can be lived with. This set is a must-have, and the extraneous noise during that scene is small price to pay for a performance this thrilling. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

An AWESOME "Rheingold" from a "RING" for the Ages!.......2007-06-19

This recording of Wagner's "Das Rheingold" recorded live at Bayreuth in 1955 is a TRUE masterpiece, a testament to the heights that can be reached when "everyone works together" for the sake of the "art" itself, not self-aggrandisement (which we have today, generally). Every aspect of this recording pales every other! It immediately, and solidly, goes to the top of the list of "Das Rheingold" choices on disc. As do the remaining three operas, also recorded at the same time, by the same cast, that make up the "Ring".

Going back over the decades of my life, I remember when you only had one choice for a "Ring"...Solti/Decca, and that was it.

Then, there came the von Karajan, and then the Bohm/Bayreuth. Then, there seemed to be a mini-explosion of "Rings" over the following years, so many that it became/becomes staggering to think about!

Two statements:
1) If you are NEW to Wagner's "Ring" do not become confused with all the choices out there. There are really only two live recordings you need consider...the Krauss/Bayreuth, and this one, Keilberth/Bayreuth, and one studio recording to think about, the Solti/Decca set. You may think this excessive, but you NEED all three of these recordings. Period.
2) If you are FAMILIAR with Wagner's "Ring", then, assumably, you want the Best recording of it. I will assume you already have the Solti set, as most people do. The Krauss set you may or may not have. It is a stunner. And, now, the Keilberth....the most awesome recording, in many ways, you will ever experience.

Think: 1955, live, Bayreuth, the Best Wagnerians of their age, assembled together at the behest of Wagner's grandsons, in Wagner's theater, and the best part....recorded in STEREO! By Decca, of all people, before the Solti studio Ring was ever thought about! Why Decca sat on these magnificent recordings just blows my mind.

Luckily for us, Testament acquired the rights to release these timeless recordings, and we now, after 52 years, can marvel at and enjoy these magnificent performances of four of the greatest musical masterpieces ever written, combining to make up the most monumental work ever written for the stage! Enjoy this (set) of Masterpiece Recordings! ~operabruin

Age defying performance........2007-05-07

Never let the age of this recording deter you. It is vibrant. It is alive. The companion Götterdämmerung is even a little harsh - it adds to the primordial nature of the people. This performance is astounding. Hotter, whose contributions to the Solti Ring and some other later recordings were tremulous and far beyond prime, is here absolutely the god he should be. His voice alone conveys that, but what he does with it shows why he was the Wotan of choice for so long. Gustav Neidlinger is his foil - Alberich. He is just as malevolent as in Solti, but he is even fresher of voice. That can be said of all singers in the entire cycle. A telling scene in this recording is the natural flow of the Nibelheim scene. It is a conversation, so natural and easy that one hardly notices that Loge is maneuvering the conversation.

To those who have no Ring, this is an excellent choice. to those who own the Solti Ring, Karajan Ring, or whomever, this is a wonderful alternative. I was amazed at the quality of the sound. Why only 4 stars? Well, in the later music dramas, Walküre and Siegfried, Keilberth takes tempi that would allow those two operas to be on three CDs each. But they spread them over four CDs. At the Testament price, that gets very expensive.

What a find!.......2007-03-22

What a find this recording is! Along with others in this "Ring" series, Keilberth's performance adds invaluably to what we know about the Bayreuth performing tradition. As a conductor, Keilberth has at times been underrated by reviewers, but this "Ring" cycle is putting his detractors to shame. Like Kempe, he has an ability to propel the score in ways that are hard to define; without projecting himself as a "personality", he brings the music marvellously alive. And it happens that, looking back, one finds him at the center of many memorable productions; a "Freischutz" from the late fifties, a "Barber of Seville" from around the same time, and, much earlier still, a "Turandot" with Maria Cebotari that is astonishing. The other main revelation, in these "Ring" recordings, is the crystalline, beautiful sound. Many of the essays in early stereo--RCA's records with Reiner in Chicago, Decca's recordings in Vienna or EMI's in England--have a propensity to be more detailed and attractive than later recordings. Ever wonder why? This is not the place to try answering, but it's clear that Keilberth's 1955 "Ring" takes its honored place among that group, and bids fair to become--at least in my experience--the most glorious-sounding set of records ever.

The Bayreuth 1955 Ring Cycle by Testament.......2007-03-08

I now have the four disc sets in this series of the Ring. Three I've bought at Amazon, after realizing the pricing was much better here than at Borders where I bought the first.
All are excellent recordings. Truly top notch, though not inexpensive.
If the Ring Cycle is music you enjoy, I highly recommend this set with it's excellent musicians and singers.

About that "hissing noise"..........2007-02-22

It begins at about 1 hour 8 minutes in, and continues for about 25 minutes. It's undoubtedly annoying - like really bad tape hiss. But at *no* point does it (even slightly) obscure the voices of Hotter & Neidlinger etc. at their absolute peak, in (otherwise) excellent sound.

Anybody who dismisses this remarkable set simply because of that is just missing the forest for the trees. But if you're in doubt, all you have to do is listen to the audio samples that Amazon has so helpfully provided: those for Disc 2, tracks 2 through 6 show off the "hissing noise" at its worst.

For whatever it's worth, I think that those who are kicking up a fuss over said "hissing nose" are being more than a bit silly. And I can't help wondering whether they could deal, even for a moment, with the much more severe audio compromises required to appreciate the incomparable recorded interpretations of Frida Leider & Lauritz Melchior & Friedrich Schorr.

Average customer rating:

A "Die Walkure" for the AGES from a "RING for the AGES"
A Memorable Performance!
Nostalgic Pleasure
AN EPIC RING - PART II
I'm Overwhelmed!

Wagner: Die Walküre

Manufacturer: Testament UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Wagner: Siegfried
Wagner: Das Rheingold
Wagner: Götterdämmerung
Wagner: Der Fliegende Holländer
Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs

ASIN: B000FILUMY
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Tracks:

Die Walkure: Prelude (Vorspiel) (Act One)
Wes Herd dies auch sei (Act One, Scene One)
Kuhlende Labung gab mir
Mud am Herd fand ich den Mann (Act One, Scene Two)
Friedmund darf ich nicht heissen
Aus dem Wald trieb es mich fort
Ich weiss ein wildes Geschlect (Hunding)
Ein Schwert werhiess mir der Vater (Siegmund) (Act One, Scene Three)
Schlafst du, Gast? (Sieglinde/Siegmund)
Wintersturme wichen dem wonnermond (Siegmund)
Du bist der Lenz
Wehwalt heisst du furwahr? (Sielinde/Siegmund)

Tracks:

Prelude (Vorspiel) (Act Two)
Nun zaume dein Ross (Wotan/Brunnhilde) (Act Two , Scene One)
Der alte Sturm (Wotan/Frica)
So ist es denn aus mit den weigen Gottern (Frica)
Nichts lerntest du
Was verlangst du? (Wotan/Fricka/Brunnhilde)
Schlimm, furcht' ich, schloss der Streit (Brunnhilde/Wotan) (Act Two, Scene Two)
Was keinem in Worten ich kunde
Ein andres ist's (Wotan/Brunnhilde)
O sag/, kunde (Brunnhilde/Wotan)
Raste nun hier (Act Two, Scene Three)
Hinweg! Hinweg ! (Siegmund/Sieglinde)

Tracks:

Siegmund ! Sieh' auf mich! (Act Two, Scene Four)
Hehr bist du, und heilig gewaht'ich
So wenig achtest du ewige Wonne? (Brunnhilde/Siegmund)
Zauberfest bezahmt ein Schlaf(Siegmund)(Act Two, Scene Five)
Kehrte der Vater nur heim ! (Sieglinde/Hunding/Siegmund/Brunnhilde/Wotan)

Tracks:

Prelude - Hojotoho! Hojotoho! (Die acht Walkuren)
Schuzt mich und helft (Brunnhilde/Die acht Walkuren) (Act Three, Scene One)
Nicht sehre dich Sorge um mich (Sieglinde/Brunnhilde/Waltraute/ortlinde/Die acht Walkuren
Steh, Brunnhild'! (Wotan/Die acht Walkuren/Brunnhilde)
Wo is Brunnhild' (Wotan/Die acht Walkuren) (Act Three, Scene Two)
Hier bin ich, Vater (Brunnhilde/Wotan)
Wehe ! Weh'! Schwester (Die acht Walkuren/Brunnhilde/Wotan)
War es so schmahlich (Act Three, Scene Three)
Nicht weise bin ich
So tatest du
Du zeugtest ein edles Geschlect (Brunnhilde/Wotan)
Leb wohl, du kuhnes, herrliches Kind !
Denn einer nur freie die Braut
Loge, hor! Lausche hieher ! (Wotan)

Amazon.com

"Best" is an overused word, and particularly difficult to apply to performances of operas as huge and multifaceted as Wagner's. There are now dozens of Walküres available on CD, and most have much to recommend them. This one, part of a live Bayreuth Ring recorded in real stereo by the Decca recording crew in 1955 but never before released, is just about ideal: all of the singers, absolute golden-age-of-Wagner-singing performers, are in their prime. Ramon Vinay's baritonal Siegmend is both powerful and sympathetic; Gré Brouwenstijn's Sieglinde is wonderfully womanly, though occasionally troubled by a prominent vibrato; Josef Greindl's Hunding is a character to fear. Hans Hotter's Wotan is flawless---his sadness and tenderness are as vividly expressed as his rage and, thanks to the always- alert and dramatically intelligent leadership of Joseph Keilberth, his confrontation with the imperious Fricka of Georgine von Milinkovic has the ring of absolute honesty. Astrid Varnay's Brünnhilde is here caught at its best--utterly secure at all registers, girlish and impetuous but loving, a true powerhouse. The Valkyries are a noisy but accurate bunch. The Bayreuth Orchestra plays as if possessed---the trilling flutes in the "Ride," wonderfully captured by the engineers, add to the thrill. The "best"? Well, absolutely remarkable. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

A "Die Walkure" for the AGES from a "RING for the AGES".......2007-06-19

This recording of Wagner's "Die Walkure" recorded live at Bayreuth in 1955 is a TRUE masterpiece, a testament to the heights that can be reached when "everyone works together" for the sake of the "art" itself, not self-aggrandisement (which we have today, generally). Every aspect of this recording pales every other! It immediately, and solidly, goes to the top of the list of "Die Walkure" choices on disc (possible exception: Leinsdorf/Nilsson/Vickers). As do the remaining three operas, also recorded at the same time, by the same cast, that make up the "Ring".

Going back over the decades of my life, I remember when you only had one choice for a "Ring"...Solti/Decca, and that was it.

Then, there came the von Karajan, and then the Bohm/Bayreuth. Then, there seemed to be a mini-explosion of "Rings" over the following years, so many that it became/becomes staggering to think about!

Two statements:
1) If you are NEW to Wagner's "Ring" do not become confused with all the choices out there. There are really only two live recordings you need consider...the Krauss/Bayreuth, and this one, Keilberth/Bayreuth, and one studio recording to think about, the Solti/Decca set. You may think this excessive, but you NEED all three of these recordings. Period.
2) If you are FAMILIAR with Wagner's "Ring", then, assumably, you want the Best recording of it. I will assume you already have the Solti set, as most people do. The Krauss set you may or may not have. It is a stunner. And, now, the Keilberth....the most awesome recording, in many ways, you will ever experience.

Think: 1955, live, Bayreuth, the Best Wagnerians of their age, assembled together at the behest of Wagner's grandsons, in Wagner's theater, and the best part....recorded in STEREO! By Decca, of all people, before the Solti studio Ring was ever thought about! Why Decca sat on these magnificent recordings just blows my mind.

Luckily for us, Testament acquired the rights to release these timeless recordings, and we now, after 52 years, can marvel at and enjoy these magnificent performances of four of the greatest musical masterpieces ever written, combining to make up the most monumental work ever written for the stage! Enjoy this (set) of Masterpiece Recordings! ~operabruin

A Memorable Performance!.......2007-02-05

Rarely does a release live up to its hype, but the Testament release of the 1955 Ring from Bayreuth is one that does. This CD is jam-packed with incredible performances from one of the best casts assembled in the post-war era. Ramon Vinay gives a magnificent performance as Siegmund--and I really like his rich baritonal timbre. (In fact, he began and ended his career as a baritone.) He sings with intelligence, sensitivity and passion. Gre Brouwenstijn gives an surprisingly (for her) ardent account of Sieglinde and Josef Griendl is a wonderfully malevolent Hunding.
The two stars of the show are clearly Hans Hotter as Wotan and Astrid Varnay as Brunnehilde. Hotter was probably the leading heldenbaritone of the 20th century, and there really is no one better as Wotan. Others may have richer and fuller voices, but few are as good singing actors as was Hotter. Varnay is a revelation. If Birgit Nilsson was said to have a voice like burnished steel, Varnay, (who was one of Nillson's closest friends in the business), has a darker, richer instrument that gives her portrayal more "humanity", if one can use that word about a god's daughter! (She's also incredible on the "Siegfried" CD and don't miss her Tristan und Isolde with Ramon Vinay.) Known to many of my generation only through her later "character" mezzo roles, she is enjoying a renaissance now through these incredible releases from the mid-50s, the height of her career.
Joseph Keilberth conducts with drive and energy, and he gets ample support from the Bayreuth orchestra. The sound quality is remarkable for that time, (and in stereo, no less), and although the price is a bit steep, if one buys it from one of the dealers that sell on Amazon one can save quite a bit.
It may not be the "best" Ring cycle, but it's right up there and a wonderful opportunity to hear some of the last 50 years' top Wagnerian artists in their prime.

Nostalgic Pleasure.......2007-01-21

It is almost a dream come true. Imagine Krauss' or Kna in stereo sound, the celebrated 53 or 56 versions, Imagine Solti but the singers all in their prime, especially Hotter. This is a dream come true. And to make things even better, everyone seems to be singing and playing their heart out. I have to admit, Krauss is a great interpreter orchestrally, as is Solti, but in terms of singing, this goes to the top of my list and I must say overalll is now at the top. Along with Siegfried, which is even better than this, this should be the greatest ring ever released, either in stereo or not. Though only issue is the price, which is absurd, how could they charge 100 dollars for three opera and 46 for a preliminary evening, that is 346 for the entire cycle which is just about out of everyone's price range-especially when you can now get Krauss at 45, Solti at 150, etc, etc, it is a hard sell to convince someone that it is that much better. I cant say it is 200 dollars better than Solti and it is not 300 better than Krauss---but for those, like me, always searching for something new in the ring, this is like discovering the holy grail.

AN EPIC RING - PART II.......2007-01-10

This WALKURE is a must just to hear Hans Hotter and Astrid Varnay in their prime and in very good early stereo. In the Solti WALKURE one must admit Hotter was past his prime. I love his sound as Wotan and especially his attention to musical as well as textual details. HE IS WOTAN and at his peak and prime here. Astrid Varnay is right there with him all the way. They make Acts Two and Three so very special and sublime. Varnay to my ears is an ideal Brunnhilde sound. In my humble opinion she is second to only Helen Traubel as a beautiful sounding and singing Brunnhilde. The rest of the cast is right there with these two TITANS. Only, Gre Brouwenstijn, the Sieglinde with her tight vibrato could be bettered. There are several other stronger Sieglindes then her (i.e. Nilsson, Crespin, Borkh, Rysanek to name a few.) Some others have expressed a little concern over the conducting. After a second and third listening I don't wholeheartedly agree. When he has to Keilberth turns up the tension especially in Acts II and III. I look forward to Gotterdammerung and Varnay's Brunnhilde.

I'm Overwhelmed!.......2006-12-22

A few days after purchasing the great "Rheingold" in this series, I bought this Walkure. I am so glad that I did! I must have been listening to this opera for over 44 years,but I have never heard a better one, perhaps not even one as good as this. Keilberth continues his glorious conducting that began in "Rheingold", sensitive at every point, energetic but always inward-looking,capturing the mystery as well as the high emotion of the score. His First Act Prelude, for example, is paced at exactly the right tempo to suggest a raging thunderstorm. The whole act is shrouded in darkness,only to have light intrude when Nothung becomes visible to Siegmund. The great Wotan monologue in Act 2 is so suspenseful that I doubt that anyone could call this section of the opera dull; on the contrary, as in any good "Walkure", this should emerge as the turning point of the whole drama, which it does here. Wotan's Farewell and the Magic Fire Music never were more deeply moving than here. Vinay's Siegmund is simply glorious, a real Heldentenor voice, sensitively sung. Brouwenstijn's Sieglinde sounds a bit like Lotte Lehmann's in its intensity. Greindl's Hunding is not just menacing,he's outright dangerous! A primitive man who could erupt in physical violence at any moment! I look forward to his Hagen. Milinkovic's Fricka is divinely outraged here, as in "Rheingold", the Valkyries are not only exhuberant,but superbly disciplined. But even above this high level lie the real stars, Varnay's Brunnhilde and Hotter's Wotan. Varnay is at her most brilliant and secure self here, and Hotter ranges from deep despair to uncontrollable wrath, with the most secure singing ever heard from him during this period of his career. The recorded sound is as superb as in the "Rheingold", but there are two instances of pitch fluctuation (end of Act 1 and in Act 3, at Wotan's (In festem Schlaf"). Curiously, Varnay's "Soll fessendem Schlaf" loses the stereo effect and is heard in mono, but quickly reverts to stereo at the beginning of the Farewell. I suppose those were to be expected in an early, live stereo recording. For me,these are minor caveats. No doubt about it, this is THE Walkure and bodes the same for this Ring as a whole. Forget the expense and just get it! I can hardly wait for the rest!
I'd like to add a few words about Astrid Varnay's performance. She delivers the most spellbinding "Todesverkuendigung" Scene ever. She begins absolutely majestically and implacably, stern and impersonal in her delivery of Siegmund's fate, then gradually undergoes the most convincing transformation to a compassionate and ultimately rebellious daughter that I have ever experienced. The same goes for Hotter, turning from optimism over his plan succeeding to utter dismay and finally despair when Fricka pulls out the rug from under him. I cannot fathom the sheer stupidity of John Culshaw in vetoing the issue of this Ring.

Average customer rating:

A "SIEGFRIED" for the AGES from a "RING for the AGES"
Part 3 of the Definitive Ring
None Better!
AN EPIC RING - PART III
Excellent Work - Limited Appeal

Wagner: Siegfried

Manufacturer: Testament UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Wagner: Die Walküre
Wagner: Das Rheingold
Wagner: Götterdämmerung
Wagner: Der Fliegende Holländer
Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs

ASIN: B000E4FI54
Release Date: 2006-04-11

Amazon.com

This live-from-Bayreuth 1955 Siegfried, in stereo, was professionally recorded by Decca's engineers as part of what was to be the first full Ring Cycle on records. Contractual disputes and producer John Culshaw's desire to produce an "ideal" Ring in the studio killed the release of this Ring, and the tapes were locked away in some dark chamber until now. The result is breathtaking: Hotter, Windgassen (playing his first Siegfried), Neidlinger (as Alberich), and Varnay at their best, with Joseph Keilberth at the helm. Keilberth was not one for "interpretation" or anything other than telling a good story with drama, fine pacing, and musical accuracy. His tempi are invariably quick without ever being rushed, and he has some of Böhm's intensity, some of Solti's visceral excitement, and some of Furtwängler's grandeur, while at the same time presenting a Siegfried that is very much its own. I'm not certain that this is the "best" performance of this opera, but if it were the only one you owned, it would be enough. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

A "SIEGFRIED" for the AGES from a "RING for the AGES".......2007-06-20

This recording of Wagner's "SIEGFRIED" recorded live at Bayreuth in 1955 is a TRUE masterpiece, a testament to the heights that can be reached when "everyone works together" for the sake of the "art" itself, not self-aggrandisement (which we have today, generally). Every aspect of this recording pales every other! It immediately, and solidly, goes to the top of the list of "SIEGFRIED" choices on disc. As do the remaining three operas, also recorded at the same time, by the same cast, that make up the "Ring".

Going back over the decades of my life, I remember when you only had one choice for a "Ring"...Solti/Decca, and that was it.

Then, there came the von Karajan, and then the Bohm/Bayreuth. Then, there seemed to be a mini-explosion of "Rings" over the following years, so many that it became/becomes staggering to think about!

Two statements:
1) If you are NEW to Wagner's "Ring" do not become confused with all the choices out there. There are really only two live recordings you need consider...the Krauss/Bayreuth, and this one, Keilberth/Bayreuth, and one studio recording to think about, the Solti/Decca set. You may think this excessive, but you NEED all three of these recordings. Period.
2) If you are FAMILIAR with Wagner's "Ring", then, assumably, you want the Best recording of it. I will assume you already have the Solti set, as most people do. The Krauss set you may or may not have. It is a stunner. And, now, the Keilberth....the most awesome recording, in many ways, you will ever experience.

Think: 1955, live, Bayreuth, the Best Wagnerians of their age, assembled together at the behest of Wagner's grandsons, in Wagner's theater, and the best part....recorded in STEREO! By Decca, of all people, before the Solti studio Ring was ever thought about! Why Decca sat on these magnificent recordings just blows my mind.

Luckily for us, Testament acquired the rights to release these timeless recordings, and we now, after 52 years, can marvel at and enjoy these magnificent performances of four of the greatest musical masterpieces ever written, combining to make up the most monumental work ever written for the stage! Enjoy this (set) of Masterpiece Recordings! ~operabruin

Part 3 of the Definitive Ring.......2007-01-29

I have never understood why Siegfried is the stepchild of Ring operas. This score, despite the dark moments involving the schemings of Mime, Alberich, the menace of Fafner and the ambivalent abdication of Wotan, is a joyous, spirited work which celebrates the dawn of a new, uncorrupted world, even though that illusion is shattered in Goetterdaemmerung, largely because Siegfried's freedom from Wotan and his dealings is also illusory. But for the while, we can rejoice in the promise of youth and love. And there is humor, albeit of a rather ironic nature, in the encounters between Siegfried and his pathetically villanous foster-father Miime. Siegfried certainly earns its nickname as the Ring's Scherzo.
Conductor Joseph Keilberth delivers the most exhuberant reading I have ever heard of this score. At first, I found his jarring, as though it did not fit with the character of Rheingold and Walkure, but as he works his way to Act 3 and Wotan's resigned encounter with Erda, the underlying gloom is there, alright, just momentarily supplanted by the courageous young Volsung who has forged his father's sword, gained his identity, and is off to experience the one emotion he has never received from anyone, love. It is impossible to speak of all the great details and character of Keilberth's performance save to say that it tops every other in drive, sensitivity (the Forest Murmurs have to be heard to be believed in their extreme sensitivity)and profundity. This is for me the very peak of great Wagner conducting.
The cast is probasbly the best ever assembled for this work. Windgassen completely surpasses himself; he is more tender and vulnerable than almost any other Siegfried (Max Lorenz is his equal, but no better, and Windgassen makes Melchior sound like a noisy bellower), but in addition, HE REALLY IS A HELDENTENOR HERE! He rings with heroic might in "Nothung! Nothung! Neidliches Schwert!" in Act 1, his musings in Acts 2 and 3 are the very height of gentleness (No Nazi, this Siegfried!) and he is freah and ardent in the great Awakening Scene. For sure, he has never equalled his sheer potency in this role. I am sure he will be at least as great in Goetterdaemmerung.
Hans Hotter completes his role of Wotan, under the guise of Wanderer. He is wise, humorous, resigned in his encounter with Erda in Act 3, but then suddenly reveals Wotan's self-delusions when he reacts aggressively to Siegfried, only to be rudely dismissed when his power is shattered. No other Wotan has ever reached these heights, and Hotter remains THE Wotan of all time, even beating such immortals as Schorr, Schipper, Bockelmann, and Sigurd Bjoerling.
Paul Kuen is really deliciously maliciuos as Mime, especially in his oily, poisonous attempt to kill Siegfried in Act 2; for once, there is no reason to pity this character, he is just SO nasty and slimy. Neidlinger's Alberich, by comparison, has dignity and just grievances against his counterpart Wotan ("Licht-Alberich", after all!). Greindl is frightening as Fafner, giant-turned-dragon, but dies with regret at having murdered his brother Fasolt and now suffering the same fate. Hollweg is an enchanting Forest Bird, almost sounding like a boy treble, as specified by Wagner. Von Illosvay is even more impressive as Erda here than in Rheingold, majestically implacable and outraged at Wotan's hypocrisy.
And then, there is Astrid Varnay.
Flagstad, Nilsson, Moedl, Leider, move over! ASTRID RULES!
Has there ever been as radiant a "Heil dir, Sonne!" as Varnay's? NO! She is perfection itself. From proud goddess to a woman fearful of human emotions to ardent lover, she is right there at every moment. How she could have been so unappreicated in America is appalling to me. She is truly the great Hochdramatische!
The sound is if anything even more impressive than in the previous two operss. Culshaw should be resurrected and hung byt he you-=know-whats for keeping this from the public ofr so many years.
No doubt about it, BAYREUTH, KEILBERTH, WINDGASSEN, HOTTER AND VARNAY RULE FOREVER!

None Better!.......2007-01-20

Rarely do new releases live up to the hype, but in this case the buzz about the Testament releases of the live stereo Bayreuth recordings from the mid and early 1950s of Wagner's Ring operas was absolutely accurate. Windgassen was considered by some to be a little light-voiced for a true heldentenor, but he more than compensates for any possible lack of vocal heft with his artistry and musicality. And here he is in his prime, and unlike his later recording of Siegfried a decade later, his voice has lost none of its flexibility.
Hans Hotter is perhaps the greatest Wagnerian baritone of the 20th century. Others may have had darker or richer natural voices, but few have had voices with more character and none sang with greater artistry. And Astrid Varnay is nothing short of a revelation. She sings with a fiery richness, with almost a mezzo-soprano timbre, that makes her singing, particularly her final duet with Windgassen, simply electrifying. Interestingly enough, although all three sang at the Met, neither Windgassen nor Hotter had much of a Met career, and Varnay was essentially forced out of regular Met appearances--all because Rudolph Bing didn't like any of them. (What WAS he thinking of! This is probably the best cast for Siegfried assembled in the last 60 years!)
The smaller parts are also well sung, and the orchestra plays with a richness of tone and directness of purpose that is quite refreshing when compared to some other, more self-indulgent, performances. The sound quality is quite good--and is positively remarkable for a live stereo recording in 1955. The price is a little scary, but the recording is available for less from the other sellers on Amazon. It is worth it.

AN EPIC RING - PART III.......2007-01-14

Ten years is a long time in the life of any singer but especially a Wagnerian singer. Comparing this recording with the wonderful Solti recording proves this. Hotter is magnificent here in 1955 and is stressed to the limits for Solti in the 60s. Windgassen is wonderfully lyric and even sweet and fresh in 1955. He's leathery and a bit pushed for Solti; maybe even a bit tight and tired sounding. This wonderful Bayreuth cast owned the Ring at this theater in the 50s; a true GOLDEN ERA @ Bayreuth. Don't miss them or any of their colleagues! The sound just keeps getting better with each successive opera as well as the conducting. Varnay is simply one of the GREAT BRUNNHILDES - right up there with Leider, Flagstad and Traubel. She is Brunnhilde musically and dramatically at one with the being. She truly lives every minute. I like her warm full sound. Well I expect great things in GOTTERDAMMERUNG. Again the Bayreuth acoustics with the special orchestra pit make it so easy for the singers to be heard without forcing over the magnificent orchestrations. TRY the 1955 Bayreuth Ring. You won't regret it. If Gotterdammerung sounds this good and is sung and conducted this thrillingly, I wonder if Culshaw was afraid of the competition? This has all signs of being one of THOSE GOLDEN ERA RINGS !!!

Excellent Work - Limited Appeal.......2006-11-06

The recording is surprisingly good for its age. I needed a complete "Ring" so I purchased this recording and will purchase the others in the series from Testament. For those new to opera or those looking for some basic exposure to the popular operas, this opera is perhaps too esoteric containing both subtle and very complex themes. My limited research has labeled this performance as definative and exemplary and I agree. The voices are very good. There is some audience and stage noise, but they are appropriate for the site and time of the recording. This is an opera to study as opposed to one with memorable arias or toe-tapping rhythms.

Richard Strauss - Capriccio / Schwarzkopf, Wächter, Gedda, Fischer-Dieskau, Hotter, Ludwig, Moffo, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sawallisch

Average customer rating:

Peerless Recording of a Sublime Work of Art
Sublime Strauss
An acquired taste.
A world treasure
A perfect polemic on art

Richard Strauss - Capriccio / Schwarzkopf, Wächter, Gedda, Fischer-Dieskau, Hotter, Ludwig, Moffo, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sawallisch
Richard Strauss , Wolfgang Sawallisch , Elisabeth Schwarzkopf , Nicolai Gedda , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Hans Hotter , Christa Ludwig , Rudolf Christ , Anna Moffo , Dermot Troy , and Eberhard Wächter
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
Schubert: 24 Lieder

ASIN: B00004VVZO
Release Date: 2000-08-15

Tracks:

Einleitung
Scene One: Bezaubernd Ist Sie Heute Wieder!
Scene One: Bei Sanfter Musik Schlaft Sich's Am Besten
Scene One: Eine Schone Heroine Hast Auch Du Nicht Verschmaht
Scene Two: Der Strom Der Tone Trug Mich Fort
Scene Three: Die Buhne Ist Fertig, Wir Konnen Beginnen
Scene Three: Da Ist Sie! Ich Eile, Sie Zu Begrussen/Scene Four: Sie Ist Doch Gekommen! Du Hast Es...
Scene Four: Deklamation: Ihr Geht. Entliess Euch Schon Die Macht
Scene Four: Sonett (Gesprochen): Kein Andres, Das Mir So Im Herzen Loht/Bravo, Bravo! Sie Sind...
Scene Four: Ein Philosoph Schreitet Seiner Bekehrung Entgegen?/Sonett (Gesprochen): Kein Andres...
Scene Five: Lassen Sie Ihn Gewahren
Scene Six: Sonett: Kein Andres, Das Mir So Im Herzen Loht
Scene Six: Trio: Des Dichters Worte, Wie Leuchten Sie Klar!
Scene Six: Wie Schon Die Worte... Verzeiht Mir, Frau Grafin, Ich Muss Ihn Entfuhren
Scene Seven: Verraten Hab' Ich Meine Gefuhle!
Scene Seven: Diese Liebe, Plotzlich Geboren An Jenem Nachmittag
Scene Seven: Allegro Moderato/Wie Werden Die Schokolade Hier
Scene Eight: Welch Kostliche Begegnung!
Scene Nine: Wir Kehren Zuruck In Die Welt Des Salons
Scene Nine: I. Tanz (Passepied)/Was Sagt Ihr!
Scene Nine: II. Tanz (Gigue)/Ich Bin Fest Entschlossen
Scene Nine: III. Tanz (Gavotte)

Tracks:

Scene Nine: Eure Kunst Entzuckt Und Begeistert Mich
Scene Nine: Fuge (Diskussion Uber Das Thema: Wort Oder Ton): Tanz Und Musik Stehn Im Bann Des...
Scene Nine: Das Sagt Ihr Jetzt, In Dem Augenblick
Scene Nine: Duett: Addio, Mia Vita, Addio
Scene Nine: Darf Ich Sie Nach Paris Zuruckbringen
Scene Nine: Werden Ihre Neapolitaner
Scene Nine: Oct (Erster Teil - Lachensemble): Ein Possierlicher Einfall!
Scene Nine: Sie Sehn Uns Uberrascht Von Ihrer Fant
Scene Nine: Oct (Zweiter Teil - Streitensemble): Aber So Hort Doch!
Scene Nine: Hola! Ihr Streiter In Apoll!
Scene Nine: Ich Diene Den Ew'gen Gesetzen Des Theaters
Scene Nine: Heute Im Zenith Meiner Ruhmreichen Laufbahn... La Roche, Du Bist Gross!
Scene Nine: Ich Hortet Die Mahnende Stimme Unsres Freundes!
Scene Nine: Qt: Was Hebt Sich Gottergleich Aus Hohem Ather?/Das Ist Mehr Als Eine Versohnung
Scene Nine: Nun Gleich An Die Arbeit
Scene Nine: Ich Wusste Ein Ausserst Fesselndes Thema!
Scene Nine: Der Einfall Ist Kostlich
Scene Ten: Gut In Eure Mantel Gehullt
Scene Eleven: Das War Ein Schoner Larm
Scene Twelve: Herr Direktor! Herr Direktor!
Closing Scene: Andante Con Moto
Closing Scene: Wo Ist Mein Bruder?
Closing Scene: Morgen Mittag Um Elf!
Closing Scene: Sonett: Kein Andres, Das Mir So Im Herzen Loht
Closing Scene: Ihre Liebe Schlagt Mir Entgegen
Closing Scene: Wahlst Du Den Einen - Verlierst Du Den Andern!
Closing Scene: Du Spiegelbild Der Verliebten Madeleine
Closing Scene: Frau Grafin, Das Souper Ist Serviert

Amazon.com

Strauss's last opera is one of the wonders of lyric art: an intelligent conversation piece about aesthetic principles (which is more important, words or music?) wrapped in achingly beautiful music. Its humor and drama are subtler than we're used to, but the opera is no less pleasurable for it. Capriccio's reputation as a connoisseur's piece is well served by this 1957 recording that features a superb cast led by the distinguished Straussian Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. True, she could be mannered, but the role of the Countess who must decide between the poet and the musician fits her like a glove, and she's radiant in the final, soaring monologue. Everyone else in the cast is outstanding, and the monophonic sound is so clear that you almost won't miss stereo. Sawallisch has the Philharmonia playing with the utmost transparency. Karl Böhm's DG stereophonic version with Gundula Janowitz is almost as fine (although currently out of print), but this one, like vintage wine, just gets better and better. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Peerless Recording of a Sublime Work of Art.......2007-05-14

Repeated evocation of the word "perfect" in descriptions of this recording convinced me to buy it, and even in the midst of such lofty praise, I was not disappointed. To the contrary; Capriccio is amongst the most incisive and beautiful operas ever crafted, combining the intelligence and perspicacity of a truly outstanding libretto with all the beauty and sublimity of which the mature Strauss was capable. It is an opera for opera lovers, a piece of musical virtuosity that not only delights the listener, but brings to light the question of the nature of art, the source of the profundity found in music and verse; it is an opera about the nature of opera, and art itself. Perhaps appropriately for an opera examining the ideals of the artistic form, the cast and production are here utterly flawless; Elizabeth Schwarzkopf gives as nuanced and breathtaking an interpretation of Strauss as only she could, and there isn't a single element in the performance that comes across as weak. Given the fact that in Capriccio, it is an intelligent and often hilariously mordant discourse on art that attains primacy rather than overarching drama or passion, it is admittedly not an opera for everyone. For those who truly love opera and art, those who are looking for something a bit different and more philosophic than typical operatic passion, despair, and suicide, those who are looking for the perfectly produced version of the perfectly crafted opera--one cannot do any better than this version of Capriccio. Buy it and enjoy the pinnacle of truly brilliant music.

Sublime Strauss.......2007-05-07

Capriccio, one of the finest achievements of Richard Strauss' late flowering, is served well in this definitive recording. An impressive array of top quality singers is supported magnificantly by the spirited conducting of Wolfgang Sawallisch.

While the mono recording might be detrimental in the case of a larger scale work, in this intimate conversation piece its absence is hardly noticible. This re-issue is a welcome reminder of just how good Walter Legge's series of opera recordings by his Philharmonia Orchestra in the 1950s were; it is part of a valuable legacy, the like of which we are unlikely ever to receive again from a major record label.

An acquired taste........2007-05-07

Richard Strauss -- like really great scotch -- is an acquired taste.

This is Glen Livit level. (Not sure I spelled that brand name correctly.)

A world treasure.......2005-09-20

This kind of opera is the most rarified of the arts. It is a treasure for all the world, but it takes some effort to come to terms with it. Tastes more used to popular arts will likely not at first be able to appreciate the tremendous richness of this work. After all, there is no hero, no love story beyond some minor flirtations, and certainly no dramatic action to excite the passions. So, what is this work and why is it so wonderfully important?

This was the last opera of Richard Strauss and it is in every sense a masterwork. The composer set himself a terribly difficult task. Here we have Flamand, a composer, and Olivier, a poet who engage in a sometimes intellectual and sometimes petty discussion of which of their arts is primary. They are both enamored of the Countess who is a patron of the arts, used to being admired, and is not quick to reveal herself. Her brother, the Count, is interested in female talent and his acting is pedestrian, but he is complemented because of his position. There is also the director of their theater, La Rouche. He starts the opera asleep, but becomes quite agitated by the ongoing debate and declares that without his art, the other two would be meaningless.

There is so much in this opera that this little paragraph can only set up all the wonderful insights that Strauss provides. Serious opera is all sung? We get spoken drama (so Olivier can make his point). There are musical comments as well on the words spoken. Brief quotes of various styles emphasize this or that point as well as undermine others. It gets to the point that towards the end, the main characters have all left the stage and eight servants appear. One comments about all the pointless discussion. Another asks whether opera will get to the point where domestics will be put on stage.

The music in this opera is like a slow continuous crescendo of sophistication and intensity. Amazing things are happening when the texture becomes its most complex including the eating of cake, the drinking of wine, discussion of the ongoing themes of the opera, and commentary on the whole scene. It is all so masterfully handled that it provides musically stunning effects and clarifies the points being discussed in the opera with great sophistication.

The final extended aria by the Countess is exquisite beyond measure and sung transcendently by Elizabeth Schwarzkopf. She is asked to think of an end for their opera. She asks if there is one that is not trivial. The opera ends, so beautifully, with the major domo calling the Countess, saying, "Your Ladyship, supper is served." Perfect. And thus Strauss ended a mighty career in writing fifteen operas.

This recording was done in 1959 and is in mono. While stereo was available, squabbling among the performers about who would be where led to using mono to settle the matter. It still sounds terrific. The booklet provided is very helpful as is the provided libretto.

Some believe that this opera should be performed in a small hall in the language of the audience. I am not so sure. The sophistication of the underlay would be lost. Nowadays, most opera halls use supertitles and they help everyone understand the opera while retaining the beauty of expression in the original language.

A perfect polemic on art.......2004-09-25

There have been a handful of perfect Opera recordings over the years. Perfection, of course, is a subjective judgement that can, if ill-used, incite violence. Particularly among Opera fans. Naturally, an Opera review that doesn't initiate gunplay is a good thing.

I mention it because I offer this 1957 recording of Capriccio as an example, extremely rare in the history of recorded Opera, of a perfect recording - a Reference recording, one of perhaps two dozen. Its status as a Reference recording is not controversial among serious record collectors. It assumed that mantle almost immediately after its release in 1959. But perfect? Nothing in Life is perfect!

True. But Art is NOT Life. Thankfully, what we find so disappointing, even tragic, in Life can be transmuted into perfection when Art achieves its most exalted fruition in the hands of those with a burning desire for self-expression and the unique means to do so. A tad pretentious? Maybe. But it so happens that Art is what this 1941 Opera - the last Strauss would write - is about. Art as Alchemy. The transformation of what is base and mundane into something meaningful and gloriously eternal. Something perfect! And almost as if on que, Wolfgang Sawallisch and his stunning, impossible to ever replicate cast along with perhaps the greatest house band of the era, recorded an Opera about Artistic perfection... perfectly!

Nominally, this polemic written by Clemens Krauss offers a debate between Words and Music; each claiming supremacy in the Operatic Art. The Opera begins with a lovely string sextet played by the Orchestra: the beauty of the unaccompanied music making a strong case for its primacy. The Opera ends with the words of a sonnet, and a questioning gaze into a mirror by a Countess one cannot help but compare to two others inhabiting Der Rosenkavalier and Le Nozze di Figaro. Everywhere there is the struggle between the temporal and the eternal. It is this final scene with its suggestion of verbal temporality that ignited my suspicion that Strauss comes down on the side of Music as the eternal face of Operatic Art, the winner in the debate. You may not agree. This rich suggestiveness is just one of the reasons why Capriccio, alone among Struass' late Operas, is winning wide-spread acceptance into the repertory.

Sawallisch, merely 34 at the time of recording, exhibits exquisite taste in his textural delicacy. Tempos are broad yet firm. His time-beating clear, uncomplicated and comparable to the great Knappertsbusch. Instrumental and Vocal balances are exceptionally clear. His Orchestra, the Philharmonia, was possibly the best recording band of the 1950's and early 1960's. Incidentally, the superb Horn solos are NOT played by Dennis Brain, cruelly killed in an auto accident the day before recording commenced, but Alan Civil (Horn Soloist on the Beatles' "For No One" found on their 1966 album Revolver).

Elizabeth Schwarzkopf is superb as the Countess Madeleine, emotionally reserved without hauteur. Her voice had a clarion richness at the time. Lyrical, round yet soft, without the hint of shrillness one detects in later recordings. Eberhard Wachter is a terrific Count, a rough, unmusical womanizer. Nicolai Gedda is the Composer Flamand. A youngish Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is Olivier the Poet, Flamand's verbal nemesis. Hans Hotter is suitably officious as La Roche, the Theatre Director, a parody of the famous Director Max Reinhardt with whom Clemens Krauss had worked in Vienna and Salzburg. Christa Ludwig is wonderful, as always, as Clairon, an Actress. Anna Moffo has a cameo as "an Italian Singer". This is a cast of which dreams are made! It cannot, will not ever be duplicated! The recording itself is subtext to the Opera. Perfection comes only rarely, if at all.

The 1957-58 recording, produced by the great Walter Legge, is in a warm, full and rich Mono. Yet Stereo recordings were available since 1953. Many (including me) have bemoaned the lack of a Stereo version of this once-in-a-lifetime production. Why was this recording not released in the newer and (allegedly) superior Stereophonic format? In previous reviews I have alluded to Legge's dislike for Stereo. Much (if not all - rumors abound) of this Opera was indeed recorded in Stereo. When "balance" issues (read that EGO) arose between several of the male leads, a Draconian "compromise" was reached, much to Legge's not-so-secret pleasure, in which it was decided to proceed in Mono and the existing Stereo tapes were destroyed. That must have been some squabble!

So this magnificent version of Capriccio is only available in a Mono format. Lately, however, I have stopped my whining about this and come to feel that Mono heightens the Chamber Music feel of the Opera. That it narrows the soundfield whilst simultaneously increasing its intimacy. In other words, it improves the overall experience. The sound is so good, the recording so well produced that the issue is moot. This is a recording you MUST have in your collection. It is one of those benchmark recordings by which all others are judged. You will hear what Humans can do when at their very best. You will sample perfection and the vision of the eternal that is the gift of all true Art.

Average customer rating:

The "Clinker" of the bunch

Brahms: The Masterworks (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00062FLIS
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Customer Reviews:

The "Clinker" of the bunch.......2006-12-19

Having collected the entire "The Masterworks" series (including the Bach and Mozart Complete Works) this set is the 'clinker' of the bunch. First off... 6 CD's of Lieder 'historic' (pre-historic) recordings. No Overtures, No Orchestral Seranades, No Haydn Variations?? The performances of the Symphonies and the Concertos are shakey and not very well recorded. Brilliant Classics, who has done such a wonderful job with the Hadyn Complete Symphonies (licensed from Nimbus), the Mozart and Bach Complete sets, has stumbled a bit with this release.

Klemperer Legacy - Beethoven: Symphony no. 9, Prometheus Overture / Ludwig, Hotter, Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, et al

Average customer rating:

Ditto Ted Libbey's Amazon Review
One of the greatest interpretations - ever!
An historical must-have for devotees of Klemperer

Klemperer Legacy - Beethoven: Symphony no. 9, Prometheus Overture / Ludwig, Hotter, Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, et al
Otto Klemperer , Aase Nordmo-Lovberg , Christa Ludwig , Waldemar Kmennt , Hans Hotter , Philharmonia Chorus , and Philharmonia Orchestra
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Klemperer Legacy - Beethoven: Symphonies no. 2 & 5 / Philharmonia Orchestra

ASIN: B00000DFO4
Release Date: 1998-11-03

Tracks:

I: Allegro Ma Non Troppo, Un Poco Maestoso
II: Molto Vivace
III: Adagio Molto E Cantabile - Andante Moderato - Adagio
IV: Finale: Presto - Allegro
Overture

Amazon.com

The Philharmonia Orchestra was in superb form in the autumn of 1957 when the opportunity came for it to perform all nine Beethoven symphonies, plus the five piano concertos, in a series of 10 concerts at London's Royal Festival Hall under the baton of Otto Klemperer. Credit for that certainly should go to Herbert von Karajan, who had been the orchestra's principal conductor since its founding a decade earlier, and had recently been tapped by the Berlin Philharmonic as its conductor for life. Karajan had molded the Philharmonia players into a cohesive, responsive, and potently sonorous body, but Klemperer brought something new to the party, a gravitas and bearing that encouraged the orchestra to play with inner warmth and lent tremendous authority to this reading of the Ninth, recorded in Kingsway Hall during the course of the cycle. Klemperer's conception is monumental, but never ponderous or self-consciously weighty: he is, if anything, understated in the climaxes, but the account is nevertheless towering in its cumulative effect. In the symphony's first movement, he observes the tempo marking "Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso" with rare self-control; there is no rush, and the movement takes on a granitic purposefulness as a result. The scherzo is animated without being frenzied, and the adagio is simply beautiful--direct, full of warmth and nobility. With a mostly splendid set of soloists, and a brilliantly prepared chorus, the finale, that splendid hymn to joy, becomes a gesture of real magnificence. Klemperer makes it one sweeping utterance, with none of the choppy, episodic feel one so often finds in it. EMI's recording is beautifully balanced and presents an outstanding stereo image. Klemperer's left-right seating of the violins registers to great effect, and the winds and brass are precisely placed, with every detail in their parts coming through clearly. A triumph, considering the vintage, and beautifully restored in this new 24-bit remastering. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

Ditto Ted Libbey's Amazon Review.......2007-07-19

I have this on vinyl as well as digital media. It would be just wonderful if even half the classical recordings from 1956, 57 etc sounded as good as this!

Mr. Libbey has done a good job in describing the 4 movements and the superlative aspects of this recording and, as I listened and reflected on his comments, I found myself nodding yes. This is really a beautiful performance, it is measured and not over the top. It should be framed and placed in a hall with the other Dutch Masters.

One of the greatest interpretations - ever!.......2007-03-17

In my view, here we have the greatest Beethoven ninth on record - next to Klemperer's own live version (Testament), made just before the present recording in 1957. Unlike all other conductors, Klemp demands clear articulations from all departments, which results in an outstanding performance. This interpretation moves me like no other.

If you haven't heard this ninth or its live counterpart, you haven't heard Beethoven's ninth at its very best. The difference consists partly in the fact that Klemperer lets the trombones and percussion play as they should, according to the score - i.e. clearly audible. Most other conductors tend to ignore this. On the present recording, the result is just amazing.

The recording quality is very fine, despite its age. It is far better than many other, later recordings (e.g., Karajan's). Compared with the live version from Testament, which has an identical orchestra, choir and set of soloists, the stereo picture is slightly more balanced, with the timpani somewhat less articulated. (But isn't that how it should sound in a real concert situation? Beethoven demands clearly articulated timpani - thus the Testament disc sound utterly realistic to me.)

But the main thing concerns the interpretation, which is same on both recordings. This interpretation is simply the one to have (alternative: the live version on Testament, which adds the special frisson of a live performance).

If you look for the ideal Beethoven ninth, this is as close as it ever gets. Grab it now: your're close to the ultimate musical experience in world history.

An historical must-have for devotees of Klemperer.......2006-06-18

Otto Klemperer was so lionized in London when he took over the Philharmonia in the mid-Fifties that it's hard to realize how little his name must mean to younger American listeners. This 1957 Beethoven Ninth was arguably the first famous recording of the work in stereo, bought by nearly every serious music lover and compared endlessly to Toscanini and Furtwangler. Now it's something of a hisotrical document, and appreciating it requires a taste for the Klemperer mystique.

He didn't care for beauty of sound or romantic sentiment. His conducting was serious and sober; as the 15-min. Scherzo here demonstrates, his tempos were often quite measured (even when Beethoven marked the tempo as Presto). Textures were at times rough, especially in the choral singing in the finale, and dynamics tended to hover around mezzo forte. Yet despite the lack of finish, Klemperer's performances seemed totally genuine, as if he personally knew Beethoven's vision. That's especially true in the slow movement, which is expressed as if one phrase followed another effortlessly (the flow is helped by Klemperer's tempo, which in this case is 2 min. faster than Karajan's in his 1963 recording from Berlin).

I think any listener would be impressed by the strength and power of the first movement, too. There's no attempt att mystery and not much drama in terms of dynamic shading from soft to loud, yet the heroic spirit of the music is captured perfectly. Another highlight is the choral singing from the newly founded Philharmonia Chorus, whose German is excellent, as is their diciton. The highest praise one can give any chorus is that they phrase like one singer, which is true here. Among the soloists Hans Hotter is eloquent and secure in the bass solo, and everyone else is never less than very good--happily, they don't try to outshourt each other when Beethoven gives them overlapping lines.

As a side note, a live peformance given at the same time in Royal Festival Hall was taped by EMI engineers but never released. Now it's available on Testament. It's said to be identical in terms of interpretation but with a tauter edge and engineered with prominent winds and timpani. Such is Klemperer's fame as a Beethoven conductor that Testament has yet another live reading from 1961. Competing Amazon reviewers insist that one is far superior than the other, but it costs about $40 to buy both recordings and judge for yourself.

Average customer rating:

The greatest Parsifal ever recorded
A Masterful Performance of Perhaps the Most Engimatic Art-Work

Wagner: Parsifal

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

ASIN: B000FVHGZG
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Album Description

"Knappertsbusch's expansive and dedicated 1962 reading is caught superbly in the Philips set, arguably the finest live recording ever made in the Festspeilhaus at Bayreuth, with outstanding singing from Jess Thomas as Parsifal and Hans Hotter as Gurnemanz...its spiritual quality and the sound has undoubtedly been further enhanced in the remastering for CD."--The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs "This is not merely one of Philips's Great Recordings but also one of the greatest sets of all time. Every time one returns to it, its inspiration and distinction seem to have been enhanced, its all-enveloping eloquence the more evident. Its overriding advantage over all other recordings of the work is Knappertsbusch's masterly traversal of the score, even more aware of dramatic impetus, long line and Wagnerian import...There have been much-admired Parsifals in more recent times but none of these studio-made sets quite catches the immediacy and inevitability of this moving and elevated version, now sounding freshened in its remastered form. At mid-price, a very special experience is in store for any newcomer to the work."--Gramophone Cast GEORGE LONDON Amfortas MARTTI TALVELA Titurel HANS HOTTER Gurnemanz JESS THOMAS Parsifal GUSTAV NEIDLINGER Klingsor IRENE DALIS Kundry Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele Hans Knappertsbusch, conductor

Customer Reviews:

The greatest Parsifal ever recorded.......2007-01-28

In my opinion, a true Parsifal can only be realized in the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, given the fact that Wagner wrote the opera with his theater's acoustics in mind. Wagner's architecture allows the music to resound magically from the sunken orchestra pit, and this allows Parsifal's beautiful score to come to full bloom. Despite the wonderful studio recordings that one can buy in the market (such as Karajan's magical Berlin recording, Kubelik's magnificent Bavarian recording, and Solti's acclaimed Vienna production), Bayreuth Parsifals have always been more exciting. The conductor in this recording is Hans Knappertsbusch, a maestro who keeps with the holy traditions of the grail-infused score and gives the music a breadth, gravity, and clarity absent from most new conductors. His most famous recording from Bayreuth was a 1951 recording with Martha Mödl, Wolfgang Windgassen, George London, and Ludwig Weber. I think that is one of the most inspired Parsifals ever committed to disc. This recording, made eleven years later, is just as inspired and beautiful as the 1951 account, with better sound, a more magnificent cast, and in ways, much better judged tempi than the glacial 1951 recording.

In my opinion, the crowning glory of this set in Hans Hotter's Gurnemanz. Full of gravitas and wisdom, despite what people say about his voice, Hotter is my favorite Gurnemanz. His large, commanding, godlike sound is perfect for the role of the warrior-knight who keeps the traditions of the grail, and his third act is perhaps the best on disc. His qualities as a lieder singer allow the sensitivities of Wagner's complex text to emerge, and I would say that despite the fact that other Parsifals with him are better (1964, same theater, same conductor, but with Jon Vickers! as Parsifal), this recording captured him in the best conditions.

The Parsifal in this recording is Jess Thomas, who is perhaps the most youthful and beautiful heldentenor voice ever to take the part. I find that his intelligence in his interpretation, while nowhere near as grand as Vickers, is a merit to this recording. He has the most beautiful voice for the redeeming fool. He is partnered by the Kundry of Irene Dalis. My favorite Kundry is Gwyneth Jones, who in her prime recorded Parsifal with James King, Thomas Stewart, and Franz Crass, and if she were the Kundry in this recording, I would definitely throw heaps of money on this for being the best recording ever. Irene Dalis does a good job of Kundry nonetheless, and has the perfect balance of seduction and demonic ferocity to make the role credible.

Amfortas is sung by the aging George London, who in a few years, would forever lose his magnificent voice. Here, he repeats his marvelous performance from 1951, and while the voice is less than fresh, his interpretation has undoubtedly grown in depth and intensity. A reference Amfortas for any generation. The direction by Wieland Wagner is inspiring, and is perhaps the reason why this Parsifal is such a benchmark performance.

A Masterful Performance of Perhaps the Most Engimatic Art-Work.......2007-01-10

Parsifal is undoubtedly the most problematic of Wagner's works. Not in terms of performance demands, for the vocal parts are remarkably undemanding, certainly when compared to Tristan or the Ring, and the orchestral passages rarely rise to greater than mezzo-forte. The problem lies in decerning what Wagner really intended to say in this final work. Some see it as an expression of christian faith, others a glorification of celebacy and denigration of sexual love, and still others, such as Robert Gutmann, see in it the ultimate expression of Wagner's anti-Jewish feelings and the need for the Aryan Race to be regenerated through the blood of Christ. In all likelihood, all of these viewpoints have validity, as such a morally ambiguous work is like a Rorschach Inkblot Test, an ambiguous stimulus that can provoke any number of interpretations. There is indeed a dream-like quality to this work, in which Wagner amazingly anticipates, or perhaps initiates, musical impressionism.
This live performance from the 1962 Bayreuth Festival, led by Knappertsbusch, perfectly captures the misty, flickering, impressionistic light of the work. Kna, as is well known, was highly unpredictable in performance, at times sublime, at other times plodding and careless. This is one of his sublime moments, as great as his 1951 "Goetterdaemmerung." So great is his grasp of the music that there is not one passage that sounds like a longeur, but rather, that this drama moves by swiftly and with purpose at every point. Comparison with his 1951 version reveals swifter pacing in this performance, but as we all know, speed itself does not necessarily guarantee tautness. It is more a matter of maintaining tension, and Kna does this better than any other "Parsifal" conductor in this listener's experience. The cast is perfect at every point. Highilghts include Hotter's warm, committed Gurnemanz, sung with Lieder-like sensititivy and rock-steady tone; Neidlinger's commanding and frightening Klingsor (slso expressed with bitterness over his unjust rejection by the Grail Knights, one of the great moral ambiguities of the work); Thomas' gloriously-sung Parsifal (properly one-dimensional, as this character is really a "Tor" (fool), or more properly a "Trottel" (imbecile)); Dalis's tortured and yet seductive Kundry; and the tortured Amfortas of London, even more impressive than in the earlier Knappertsbusch recording. The chorus is the greatest in the world, and the Bayreuth Orchestra sounds like the equal of any orchestra, operatic or symphonic. The recorded sound is amazingly lifelike and shows why the Festspielhaus is the greatest opera house in the world. Once again, BAYREUTH RULES!

Average customer rating:

Amazingly, the Siegfried of the century
The forgotten character in "Siegfried".
Superb Siegfried
The 2nd Best of the Solti Ring
Windgassen & Nilsson Shine!

Siegfried

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000042H7
Release Date: 1997-10-14

Tracks:

Siegfried: Erster Aufzug: Vorspiel
Siegfried: Erste Szene: Zwangvolle Plage! Mueh ohne Zweck! (Mime)
Siegfried: Hoiho! Hoiho! Hau ein! Hau ein! (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Da hast du die Stuecken, schaendlicher Stuemper (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Als zullendes Kind zog ich dich auf (Mime)
Siegfried: Vielest lehrtest du, Mime (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Einst lag wimmernd ein Weib (Mime)
Siegfried: Und diese Stuecken sollst du mir schmieden (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Da stuermt er hin! (Mime)
Siegfried: Zweite Szene: Heil dir, weiser Schmied! ( Wanderer)
Siegfried: Hier sitz' ich am Herd und setze mein Haupt ( Wanderer)
Siegfried: Was zu wissen dir frommt, solltest du fragen (Wanderer)
Siegfried: Die Stucken! Das Schwert! O weh! Mir schwindelt! (Mime)
Siegfried: Dritte Szene: Verfluchtes Licht! (Mime)
Siegfried: Heda! Du Fauler! (Siegfried)

Tracks:

Siegfried: Erster Aufzug - Dritte Szene: Bist du es, Kind? (Mime)
Siegfried: Erster Aufzug - Dritte Szene: Fuehltest du nie im finstren Wald (Mime)
Siegfried: Erster Aufzug - Dritte Szene: Her mit den Stuecken, fort mit dem Stumper! (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Erster Aufzug - Dritte Szene: Notung! Notung! Neidliches Schwert! (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Erster Aufzug - Dritte Szene: Hoho! Hoho! Hahei! (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug: Erste Szene: Zweiter Aufzug: Vorspiel
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug: Erste Szene: In Wald und Nacht (Alberich)
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug: Erste Szene: Zur Neidhohle fuhr ich bei Nacht (Wanderer)
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug: Erste Szene: Mit mir nicht, hadre mit Mime (Wanderer)
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug: Erste Szene: Fafner! Fafner! Erwache, Wurm! (Wanderer)
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug: Erste Szene: Nun, Alberich, das schlug fehl (Wanderer)
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug: Zweite Szene: Wir sind zur Stelle! (Mime)
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug: Zweite Szene: Dass der mein Vater nicht ist (Siegfried)

Tracks:

Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug - Zweite Szene: Aber wie sah meine Mutter wohl aus? (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Meine Mutter, ein Menschenweib! (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Haha! Da he mein Lied mir was Liebes erblasen! (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Wer bist du, kKnabe, der das Herz mir traf? (Fafner)
Siegfried: Zur Kunde taugt kein Toter (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Dritte Szene: Wohin schleichst du eilig und schlau (Alberich)
Siegfried: Was ihr mir nweiss ich nicht (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Willkommen, Siegfried! (Mime)
Siegfried: Da lieg auch du, dunkler Wurm! (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug: Vorspiel
Siegfried: Erste Szene: Wache, Wala! Wala! Erwach! (Wanderer)
Siegfried: Stark ruft das Lied (Erda)

Tracks:

Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug - Erste Szene: Dir Unweisen ruf' ich ins Ohr (Wanderer)
Siegfried: Zweite Szene: Mein Vin schwebte mir fort! (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Wohin, Knabe, Heisst dich dein Weg? (Wanderer)
Siegfried: Kenntest du mich, kSpross (Wanderer)
Siegfried: Mit zerfochtner Waffe wich mir der Feige (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Dritte Szene: Selige e auf sonniger H (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Das ist kein Mann! (Siegfried)
Siegfried: Heil dir, Sonne! Heil dir, Licht! (Brde)
Siegfried: O Siegfried! Siegfried! Seliger Held! (Brde)
Siegfried: Dort seh' ich Grane (Brde)
Siegfried: Ewig war ich, ewig bin ich (Brde)

Customer Reviews:

Amazingly, the Siegfried of the century.......2005-12-12

Solti's Siegfried came out when I was in college and was, for all intents nad purposes, the first major recording of the work. Its pluses and minuses were known from the start. Nilsson was incomparable in her gleaming, tireless singing. Windgassen compensated for his leathery aging voice with dramatic conviction. Solti's insistence on avalanches of sound made for thrills, aided by blockbuster sonics from Decca and the divine Vienna Phil. Hotter's Wotan was tired-sounding but noble. All in all, a young Wagnerite couldn't help but be fairly overwhelmed.

It never occurred to me, though, that this would be the Siegfried of the century, because for all its merits, the hero wasn't youthful or blessed with a beautiful heroic voice, the Wotan was past his prime, and Solti had barely plumbed the emotional depths of Wagner's score. There was room for improvement, and yet it never came. Bohm essentially had the same cast but a much inferior orchestra, choppy sound, and the drawback of a live performance (no retakes when the singers ran out of steam). No future cast even came close, and although Karajan had a strong Wanderer in Thomas Stewart and very good singers for Brunnhilde and Mime, the Siegfried of Jess Thomas was embarassingly underpowered.

And so, as a non-fan of Solti, I must express gratitude for his Ring, especially the Gotterdammerung and this Siegfried. Without them, who knows how long we would have had to wait to hear performances that even approach these in quality.

The forgotten character in "Siegfried"........2005-07-17

All of the reviews above had useful things to say about the Solti/Vienna Philharmonic recording of "Siegfried"; but they forgot to mention one of the most important characters of all: Siegfried's horn, as played by VPO's first chair French horn, Roland Berger. Berger plays the notes of Siegfried's horn calls with such force, power and heroism, that one can truly believe they are actually winded by the demi-god Siegfried. That Berger played the session tired, sick and out-of-sorts makes one wonder how truly beautiful and grand the horn calls might have been if he had been in the top of his form; as they are recorded, they are simply beyond compare.

Several reviewers have complained of Hans Hotter's voice in this recording. I have no such complaints. Simply listen to passages like "Er steht oder fall..." and you will hear the voice of a god. It is transporting. Enough said. "Siegfried" and "Rheingold" are my two favorite Wagner operas. You must experience them.

Superb Siegfried.......2004-11-17

First, the disclaimer. I am providing a review of this work in isolation, but also as part of the canvas of the work that is the Ring. Hence, I recommend a read of my review of the Ring to look at the salient elements that must be considered in the review of any such work, namely: Direction, musicianship and vocals. In that review are the caveats pertaining to the sum of all the pieces. This review is specific to the opera of Siegfried.

Like many reviewers, I believe this is by far the best of the operas of Solti's Ring set in the sense that the conductor and performers were "hitting on all cylinders." Siegfried is thematically the simplest of the operas: There are no deep issues here, like Wotan's soliloquy in act 2 of Walkure or Hagen's conniving with Brunnhilde in Gotterdammerung. The story is basically about Siegfried's adventures, interspersed with some added drama that aid the flow of the work. (Granted, the latter are quite good of themselves: Mime's predicament under the Wanderer's questioning is amusing, and sets the stage for Siegfried's forging.)

Musically and vocally, however, this opera is extremely demanding. The forging scene is about the most powerful heroic tenor piece in music, and it is in act 1! There are remarkable musical contrasts, from the dark introduction to "mountaintop" strings as Siegfried approaches the prone figure of Brunnhilde. Thus, Siegfried is not an undertaking for minor singers or orchestra. Furthermore, the conductor must pay special attention to tempo, dynamics, and lyricism (which actually pervades the entire work, despite the feelings of many).

In all cases, Solti's directing is on the mark. Everything flows as it should, and is dramatic at the right moments. The singing is also very good. Hotter is a powerful Wotan. Windgassen is no Melchior, but his singing is acceptable, and has remarkable feeling. Nilsson is powerful and controlled as usual, although her voice is not "youthful" as needed by a Walkure.

Then, there is the VPO. There is no doubt that this was the best orchestra in the world at the time. This happens to be the opera in which the orchestra's contrast between "broad" brass and "sweet" strings is also very apparent (Forest murmurs and forging scene come to mind).

On the whole, this is the Siegfried opera to own. It is the triumph of Solti's Ring and has few (if any) flaws. The combination of excellent interpretation, outstanding musicianship, and glorious singing makes this Siegfried the premier recording of the work.

The 2nd Best of the Solti Ring.......2003-04-20

As any other Ring cycle, Solti's has high and low points, starting at it's apex with "Rheingold" and descending ever so slightly with "Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung", but sliding distinctly downwards with the heavy handed "Walküre".

The #2 on the scale, "Siegfried" is (I believe) one of the most consistant Wagner recordings ever made. There is a superlative cast, an exciting conductor, and a production team that was in the midst of a huge momentum of pushing the envelope in audio recordings.

The recording problems are now legendary, with Ernst Kozub being the original Siegfried (Windgassen was thought to be too far past his prime to be ideal), but with Kozub not being prepared, Windgassen literally stepped in at the last minute to give a commanding performance.

Windgassen was certainly no Melchior, but he was intelligent and hardworking, got along well with everyone, and the only tenor of his generation to sing all the major Wagner roles year after year. The voice is not heroic, or youthful, but Windgassen brought sensitivity and experience to the studio and created a believable three dimensional character which remains one of the best to date.

The great Hans Hotter gives a commanding performance as the Wanderer. This recording has oft been critisized for Hotter developing a wobble above the staff, but when you consider the variableness of his performances due to respiratory ailments, he is in wonderful voice (he also recorded the famous Bayreuth Parsifal and a highly acclaimed Winterreise that year). For my poor ears, Hotter stands head and shoulders above all others, his sonorous voice conveying an ethereal presence, ancient and world weary, full of vast knowledge and experience.

Gerhard Stolze has the ideal voice for the part....acidic, venomous and tremendously expressive. Unfortunately his excessive histrionics, especially in Act 2 are mar what could have been an ideal performance.

Nilsson is at her peak here. She was ill during the final scene, but sang with steely determination (a bit too steely) but with the famous lightning high notes and lovely pianissimos. She never had the velvety warmth of Flagstad, but her hugely commandinding presence is one that hasn't been seen since her retirement.

All the smaller roles Marga Höffgen as Erda, Neidlinger as Alberich and Dame Joan Sutherland complete a glorious cast of a long lost Golden Age of Wagner.

On the podium is the controversial Solti in what is one of his finest moments on record. He drives the Vienna Philharmonic to a frenzy with hair-raising results, especially for the sword forging, and Act 3 when Siegfried climbs Brünnhilde's Rock, and yet coaxes them to the most exquiset serene beauty (Forest Murmurs and just before Siegfried wakens Brünnhilde).

Siegfried is my favorite Wagner opera, and this glorious recording is the reason. Near perfection!

Windgassen & Nilsson Shine!.......2001-10-29

I am in the minority, in that 'Siegfried' is my favorite of the four 'Ring' operas. For those who like 'Siegfried' the least, listen to this recording and it may change your mind.

Solti's entire 'Ring' is magnificant and 'Siegfried' is just miraculous. The casting from top to bottom is stellar. Windgassen and Nilsson, of course, give knock out performances, but Stolze is an excellent Mime and Hotter gives a wonderful reading of Der Wanderer. An added bonus - Joan Sutherland, in glorious voice, as the Woodbird. Of course, the Vienna Philharmonic is also an equal star of this set, and Solti does a wonderful job. There are many Solti bashers out there, but his 'Ring' is the only one to show up on every single critics "Best Ring" recordings list.

What I love so much about 'Siegfried' is that all the themes of 'The Ring' are present, each act ends with a triumphant event - happy endings and Wagner are a rarity. You also have excellent music and the most glorious love duet in all of opera, IMHO. They all shine on this set.

There's only two I have that come close - Bohm and Goodall. The issue I have with Bohm is his Mime who screams more than sings. Bohm also has Windgassen and Nilsson at the helm. Goodall, on the other hand, has a truly incredible Siegfried, an excellent cast, and an exceptional orchestra. Some will shy away from this set because it is in English, and that is a shame. Why I rank Solti over Goodall, is Goodall moves through the piece at a much slower pace, which reveals hidden treasures in the score, but somewhat soothes over the energy, IMHO.

Karajan's reading is not in my top 10, simply for the fact that Mime outsings Siegfried and that is bad.

This really is the most magnificant recording of 'Siegfried,' you won't be disappoint.

However - I cannot recommend buy any of Solti's 'Ring' operas individually, as his Gotterdammerung is simply unchallanged. For the price of buying both separately you can almost get the whole cycle, and it's worth it.

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