Richard Wagner: Die Walküre, Scenes From Acts II And Acts III

On this CD:

1. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Act II: Nun Zaume Dein Ross...Hojotoho
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra with Rafael Alberti, Genia Guszalewicz, Frida Leider, Emmi Leisner, Gota Ljungberg, Elfriede Marherr, Friedrich Schorr
Conducted by Leo Blech

2. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Act II: Der Alte Sturm
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra with Rafael Alberti, Genia Guszalewicz, Frida Leider, Emmi Leisner, Gota Ljungberg, Elfriede Marherr, Friedrich Schorr
Conducted by Sir John Barbirolli

3. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Act II: O Heilige Schmach!
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra with Rafael Alberti, Genia Guszalewicz, Frida Leider, Emmi Leisner, Gota Ljungberg, Elfriede Marherr, Friedrich Schorr
Conducted by Leo Blech

4. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Act II: So Nimm Meinen Segen
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra with Rafael Alberti, Genia Guszalewicz, Frida Leider, Emmi Leisner, Gota Ljungberg, Elfriede Marherr, Friedrich Schorr
Conducted by Leo Blech

5. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Act III: Ride Of The Valkyries
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra with Rafael Alberti, Genia Guszalewicz, Frida Leider, Emmi Leisner, Gota Ljungberg, Elfriede Marherr, Friedrich Schorr
Conducted by Leo Blech

6. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Act III: Rette Mich, Kuhne!
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra with Rafael Alberti, Genia Guszalewicz, Frida Leider, Emmi Leisner, Gota Ljungberg, Elfriede Marherr, Friedrich Schorr
Conducted by Leo Blech

7. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Act III: Wo Ist Brunnhild
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra with Rafael Alberti, Genia Guszalewicz, Frida Leider, Emmi Leisner, Gota Ljungberg, Elfriede Marherr, Friedrich Schorr
Conducted by Leo Blech

8. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Act III: War Es So Schmahlich
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra with Rafael Alberti, Genia Guszalewicz, Frida Leider, Emmi Leisner, Gota Ljungberg, Elfriede Marherr, Friedrich Schorr
Conducted by Leo Blech

9. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Act III: Du Zeugtest Ein Edles Geschlecht
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra with Rafael Alberti, Genia Guszalewicz, Frida Leider, Emmi Leisner, Gota Ljungberg, Elfriede Marherr, Friedrich Schorr
Conducted by Leo Blech

10. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Act III: Leb Wohl!
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra with Rafael Alberti, Genia Guszalewicz, Frida Leider, Emmi Leisner, Gota Ljungberg, Elfriede Marherr, Friedrich Schorr
Conducted by Leo Blech

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful set.......2004-10-24

This set is for serious piano fans, not for the ones who just start building up a CD library. I sort of agree with one of the reviewers, that there are many repetitions. But if you love piano, you wish to hear the same piece in different interpretations. Indeed, I really like this feature of this set: I can compare the style of various performers.
If you are into piano music, I encourage you to grab this set, if you can find it used (not available anymore at Amazon). I also hope, that there will be a continuation, in which other great pianists, who were left out because of the space limitation, will be included (Prokofiev, Bartok, Dohnanyi, etc).

Don't buy the whole thing.......2001-07-08

I've put a lot of thought into constructing my own piano library, and unless you can easily afford the present set, I would recommend a different approach to collecting piano music. This set emphasizes the piano player rather than the piano composer. Of course both are important. For example, the "Barcarolle" appears in this set EIGHT times. I'm sorry, although I love the piece, if I am going to spend [the money], I would prefer more variety. Where are the Alkan, Medtner, and Szymanawski compositions represented in this set? I appreciate having so many interpretations of the same pieces, but I would also appreciate more exposure to pieces not so popular. The selection by Philips which I consider a somewhat popular selection suggests to me that when Philips constructed this set, they realized most people would be buying the disks separately, and this affected the selection. And it's not just that obscure composers are left out, but also if one spends so much money on piano recordings, you'd think you'd want to buy pieces from a composer in completeness. For example, an alternative way to construct a library would be to combine purchases of complete cycles, e.g. complete Beethoven sonatas, complete Scriabin preludes, etc., along with outstanding recordings of more particular pieces. I'm not sure why someone would want to concentrate so much on so many famous artists, instead of acquiring complete sets of compositions. For me the composer is more important, or at least, if I am going to spend [the money]on piano recordings, I'd prefer more complete, rather than snapshot, exposure to the composers.

Not Insane.......2001-01-02

I had to write this review, as I am enthralled with this set. I have been going through it in order having already purchased a few individual units from the collection earlier. I am not sure what `insane' was talking about as there is NO repetition. Sure some pianists perform the same pieces, isn't that what they did in reality? The idea is to appreciate the different nuances and approaches taken by these artists. You will then enjoy these pieces from a better vantage.

It is a large ambitious contribution to the art of great piano playing. It is a labor of love and represents a tremendous amount of research and cooperation between many record companies. Rather then representing insanity, it is a resource to treasure.

Yes experts can quibble over who was left out, and what performances were inserted. I do not think such a massive undertaking could have been accomplished without someone being able to find faults. Overall however, unless you already have a monumental collection, (it would have to be almost legendary), this incredible set will give you a rewarding look into 74 of the greatest pianist of all time. You will come away with a honed sense of appreciation for your likes and dislikes. You will undoubtedly become someone who will search out recordings and be able to enjoy them for the rest of your life with a refined ear.

The only negative is this price. I would shop around, as it is daunting to spend 2 thousand dollars on such a collection. Of course you do get 200 CD's. However, the used collections might be good to consider.

Enjoy these masterpieces. I am not ashamed of owning this music as `insane' implies. I am proud to have enriched my life.

insane.......2000-10-12

This is not a good library of piano music. The reason is, there is too much repetition. I'm not saying the series is bad. The series is wonderful. But this collection as a whole is a bad libary. For the same money you could collect together (with more effort) an incredible libary of piano music. There are so many wonderful cd's out there, this is just a waste of money. If you can actually afford to spend 2 grand on piano music, then either (1) spend the time and do some research to get a good library of piano music, which will probably include some selections from this collection, or (2) hire someone to do that for you. Personally I would be embarrassed to own this whole collection, since that shows I have put little thought into my purchases of piano music.

For the real music lover.......2000-03-12

This series attempts to present important and representative performances by most of the major pianists of the 20th century. One might quibble a bit with the choices, but the works presented are of consistently high quality, and often do represent what may be the best works of a performer. Since this covers most of the time that recorded music existed, some of the recordings are technically challenged, as there is only so much one can do to enhance an old recording. Still, these appear to have been treated with love and respect in their restorations. Since this series is so large (and expensive!) one is tempted to "cherry pick" through the series, yet by doing so one can easily overlook gems by artists one is less familiar with. This large a set must inevitably have many versions of the same pieces, and takes many hours to listen to. The true enthusiast will appreciate the differences in interpretation, whereas the less experienced listener may find the set repetitive and overwhelming. If one has the time to really dig into this set, it can provide years of exploration and discovery. It would make a wonderful gift for some special music lover in your life ... or for yourself!

Music Review:

Music Review

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