Wagner: The Ring (Orchestral Highlights)

On this CD:

1. Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold), opera, WWV 86a Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava)
Conducted by Uwe Mund

2. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Ride of the Valkyries
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava)
Conducted by Uwe Mund

3. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Wotan's Farewell & Magic Fire
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava)
Conducted by Uwe Mund

4. Siegfried, opera, WWV 86c Forest Murmurs
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava)
Conducted by Uwe Mund

5. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d Siegfried's Rhine Journey
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava)
Conducted by Uwe Mund

6. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d Siegfried's Death & Funeral March
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava)
Conducted by Uwe Mund

Wagner: The Ring (Orchestral Highlights), Music, Richard Wagner, Uwe Mund, Uwe Munde, CSSR Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava), Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava), Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, German/Austrian Romantic Opera, Opera

An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
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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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Ring of the Nibelung

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.

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Movie Themes CD
"three decades of film composers ~ Simply The Best"

Simply the Best Movie Themes

Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0001CNRL6
Release Date: 2004-02-24

Tracks:

Theme From Mission Impossible - Schifrin
Theme From Gladiator - Zimmer
Hedwig's Theme - Williams
Harry's Wondrous World - Williams
Allegro Moderato - Symphony No. 8 'Unfinished' - Schubert
Suite From Shakespeare In Love - Warbeck
Out Of Africa - Barry
Requiem, Rex Tremendae - Mozart
Prelude In E Minor, Op. 28, No. 4 - Chopin
Suite No. 3 In D, Air On The G String - J.S. Bach
I Will Always Love You - Parton
Symphony No. 40, Molto Allegro - Mozart
Finlandia - Sibelius
My Heart Will Go On - Horner

Tracks:

Theme From Lord Of The Rings - Shore
Overture To All That Jazz - Kander & Ebb
'Trout' Quintet, Theme, Andantino And Variations - Schubert
Prelude No. 15 In D-Flat - Chopin
Windmills Of Your Mind - LeGrand
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You - KAMEN
Theme From Schindler's List - Williams
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Excerpt - Strauss
Symphony No. 3, Lento Cantabile - Semplice - Gorecki
Die Walkure, Ride Of The Valkyries - Wagner
Goldberg Variations, Aria Da Capo - J.S. Bach
Theme From License To Kill - KAMEN
Sonata No. 8, Op. 13, 'Pathetique,' Andante Cantabile - Beethoven
Die Another Day - Arnold
Symphony No. 9, Ode To Joy, Excerpt - Beethoven

Customer Reviews:

Movie Themes CD.......2007-03-10

Very nice CD with beautiful music from past movies. Very relaxing music to listen to.

"three decades of film composers ~ Simply The Best".......2004-03-06

Rhino Movie Music presents "Simply The Best Movie Themes", featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and other various artists ~ within the realm of the following composers David Arnold, John Barry, Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Wendy Carlos, Fred Ebb, James Horner, James Newton Howard, Michael Kamen, John Kander, Michel Legrand, Alex North, Basil Poledouris, Howard Shore, Wladyslaw Szpilman, Stephen Warbeck, John Williams and Hans Zimmer ~ each composer has created one or more of the scores in this twenty nine classic line up.

Film scores covering over three decades with "2001:SPACE ODYSSEY", "A CLOCKWORK ORANGE", "APOCALYPSE NOW", "THE BODYGUARD(I Will Always Love You)", "CHICAGO(Overture to All That Jazz), "DIE ANOTHER DAY", "EYES WIDE SHUT", "FEARLESS", "GLADIATOR(Theme)", "HANNIBAL", "HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE(Hedwig's Theme)", "HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE(Harry's Wondrous World)", "THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER", "JURASSIC PARK:THE LOST WORLD", "LICENSE TO KILL, "LIVING DAYLIGHTS", "THE LORD OF THE RINGS(Theme)", "MINORITY REPORT", "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (Theme)", "OUT OF AFRICA", "THE PIANIST", "ROBIN HOOD, PRINCE OF THIEVES", "SCHINDLER'S LIST", "SE7EN", "SHADOWLANDS", "SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE", "THE SIXTH SENSE", "THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR"and "TITANIC(My Heart Will Go On)" ~ a mixture of original compositions and classics of the old masters. Loaded with not just themes, but full of orchestral arrangements that are fresh and rewarding ~ sure to bring back those special moments from the film.

The presentation is superb with every cue inclusive with spectacular performances from suspense, romance and adventure all rolled into a two disc package. Rhino must be commended on doing such a great job and doing it well. Most serious "film-score-buffs" will welcome this compilation, has many cues available all under one banner ~ Rhino Records...gotta love it!

Tracks:

Thus, We Begin In The 'Greenish Twilight' Of The Rhine
Float Up To The Home Of The Gods (Entrance Of The Gods Into Valhalla)
Fall Amongst Hammering Dwarfs 'Smithying' Away
Ride Donner's Thunderbolt, Crawl With The Thirst-Crazed Siegmund To The Haven...
In The Sound Code, We 'See' His Loving Gaze
Their Flight
Wotan's Rage
The Cavalcade Of Brde's Sisters, (Ride Of The Valkyries)
Wotan's Farewell To His Favorite Daughter, (Wotan's Farewell And Magic Fire Music)
Mime's Fright
Siegfried's Forging Of The Magic Sword
His Wanderings Through The Forest, (Forest Murmurs)
His Slaying Of The Dragon
The Dragon's Lament
Day Breaking 'Round Sigfried's And Brde's Passion
Siegfried's Rhine Journey, (Dawn And Sigfried's Rhine Journey)
Hagen's Call To His Clan
Siegfried And The Rhinemaidens
His Death And The Funeral Music, (Siegfried's Death And Funeral Music)
Immolation. (Immolation Scene)

Customer Reviews:

A disappointment.......2007-04-20

Being a Wagnerite is sometimes a little difficult. Wagner's music is demanding on practically all levels, and especially demanding to the casual listener. The music can sometimes be too sugary, way overblown, or deceptively muted. This can definitely present problems, and that is why there are those who can detest Wagner's works to the degree that others love it. There is little middle room: Love or hate, Wagner's music is unique...and difficult.

This CD brings out another difficulty: The attempt to tone down Wagner and make his work more generally acceptable. On the good side, this CD is a rather good compilation of some of the Ring's most important melodies. Its symphonic structure allows good flow between the rather disjoint work, and the idea works to a significant degree.

But Maazel's approach is to create a uniformity of interpretation on a work that took more than 20 years to complete. This uniformity saps the Ring of much of its musical strength. The standard pieces are played almost the same as the other selections; little differentiation is evident and as a result only minor aspects of the drama in this incredible music drama are revealed.

While it is possible to play Wagner's music poorly, I always thought it was equally possible to at least grasp its passion. Unfortunately, Maazel's approach proves me to be wrong.

Yes, being a Wagnerite can be very difficult.

"The Ring without Words" is really "The Ring without Pauses . . . ".......2006-07-25

Even Wagner had the good sense to construct his monumental "Ring" Cycle as four distinct operas! So when Loren Maazel got the idea to record a "Ring without Words," what was so important about making it one long movement? No one knew better than Wagner the emotional impact of a well-placed fermata or a crash-bang finale, but this spark of genius seems to have eluded Maazel in his obsession to keep the musical Rhine flowing from beginning to end non-stop for 67 minutes. What seems at first to be a really novel idea starts to break down early on when we begin to anticipate the throbbing final pages of "Das Rheingold," only to discover that for the sake of seamlessness, the whole dramatic passage is skipped over by an awkward leap from Donner's thunder into the depths of "Die Walkure!" Other cuts can be forgiven considering time limitations, although there is still room for ten more minutes of music on the CD. Edo de Vaart gives us something more on his "Ring" recording, since he has no fear of finales. Otherwise, Maazel's handing of the score is quite exciting, and the Vienna Philharmonic is totally responsive to his every gesture. Here's a good idea for some future recording, one I'd certainly buy and which would appeal to thousands of other "Wagnerites" like myself: why not a four-movement "Ring Without Words" across two CDs, with every possible voiceless note from the pen of the Master, one opera after the other?

The best synthesis of orchestral music from the Ring.......2006-07-12

If you're looking for a single CD of orchestral music from Wagner's Ring, I'd like to recommend this one. Here's why.

Wagner's tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen contains some of the most magnificent, most stirring, most imaginative music ever written (along with some that's pedestrian and dull; there are glorious moments, splendid peaks, and there are arid stretches, longeurs that make one wish that Wagner the supreme egotist had submitted his work to the judgment of a good editor). The four operas comprising it are Das Rheingold (1869), Die Walkure (1870), Siegfried (1876), and Gotterdammerung (1876). Taken together they form the towering masterwork and crowning achievement of Wagner's maturity. They are also immensely long: about 17 hours.

The problem has always been to extract the best parts of the Ring for satisfactory concert presentation. The Ring does not make this easy: it contains no conventional overtures or preludes, no conveniently extractable bits. Thus various hands ever since Wagner's day have carved out "bleeding chunks," with mixed results, and the practice has always been controversial.

This CD presents a different approach. In order to make this recording---to quote the Wagner expert in Third Ear: Classical Music: The Listener's Companion (ed. Alexander J. Morin, 2002; an excellent book, by the way)---"Maazel decided to create his own vast symphonic suite from the Ring, and he has toured with it around the world. . . . If you want to hear the best parts of the Ring without sitting down to 17 hours or so, this is your best bet." I agree. Maazel's 70-minute symphonic synthesis of the best music from the Ring has a consistency, an integration and seamless flow, an organic rightness lacking in other Ring orchestral-highlights programs, with their "bleeding chunks" approach. Also, Maazel's suite gives a better idea of the scope and variety of the Ring, of its full range of colors and sonorities, than the standard orchestral excerpts.

Let Maazel describe his priorities in putting his suite together: "I was intrigued by the challenge: could a symphonic synthesis of the Ring reveal the essentials? I bolted the following list of criteria to my drawingboard: One: the synthesis must be free-flowing and chronological, beginning with the first note of Rheingold and finishing with the last chord of Gotterdammerung. Two: the transitions must be harmonically and periodically justifiable, the pacing contrasts commensurate with the length of the work. Three: most all of the music originally written for orchestra without voice must be used, adding those sections with a vocal line essential to a synthesis . . . . Four: every note must be Wagner's own. . . . Though no conscious attempt was made to include all the Ring's motifs, most of them do surface in one form or another."

The result as represented on this CD is eminently satisfactory. Maazel is a seasoned Wagner conductor, and has conducted the complete Ring at Bayreuth and elsewhere. The Berlin Philharmonic is one of the world's great orchestras. Both it and Maazel are in top form here: the performance is idiomatic and assured, sweeping and eloquent, played to the hilt, bristling with authority and conviction. I hope I'm not being fanciful in finding that listening to the whole suite straight through yields a kind of catharsis. The sound is robust, full-bodied, with wide dynamic range, with solid weight and impact. Telarc's engineers have done a commendable job of coping with the problematic acoustics of Berlin's Philharmonie; this is probably just about the best sound that can be extracted from that vexed venue.

The recording was made in Dec. 1987. Total playing time is 69:40 (broken out as follows: Das Rheingold 14:47, Die Walkure 12:42, Siegfried 6:15, and Gotterdammerung 36:33; if this seems to give short shrift to Siegfried, it has always been musically the weakest of the four operas).

In short, it's hard to imagine a better orchestral introduction to the glories of the Ring. The virtues of this CD move it to the top of its class: highly recommended.

Could have been a fun ride, but..........2005-10-01

Decades ago, Leopold Stokowski popularized opera for the general public through "symphonic syntheses." These included Wagner's Ring, Triastan, and Boris Godunov, to mention those I've heard and enjoyed. I was prepared to enjoy Maazel's modern update and expected a fun ride through the gorgeous sonorities of Wagner's score.

Not much enjoyment resulted, however. Maazel is superficial, often ponderous, and much too roughshod with this pastische. It can't all be crash and bang. So I threw the CD away and hope a few others won't make the mistake I did.

Decent, though not ideal; fulfills the original intent.......2005-04-27

In having read the other reviews of this CD, I think many individuals failed to take note of the original intent behind this CD coming about in the first place. Lorin Maazel was commissioned by the recording company (Telarc) to come up with an arrangement of the prime orchestral excerpts of the "Ring," and his 4-step approach listed in the booklet, makes it abundantly clear that NOT ALL of the music commonly heard on other recordings of the orchestral music from the "Ring," would be heard in this arrangement. Also, it is to be inferred that Maazel knows, and obviously doesn't expect his arrangement to take the place of ANY complete recording of the "Ring."

I heard Maazel conduct his arrangement live with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, DC last year. Before that concert, I had never listened to this recording, but I knew about it. So I had the advantage of going into the concert with a fresh mind.

I came out of the concert with the feeling that others before me expressed -- that some of the transitions between familiar excerpts were smooth, some so-so, and others rather clunky. I think Maazel would be the first to admit that he was more successful in some areas of his arrangement, and not as successful in others. So be it. Wagner is tough for anyone and everyone delving into the complete operas, whatever their command of German and musical/orchestral principles.

So, my rating and review of this recording is confined to Maazel's task at hand. I give his effort four stars. Most of this "grade" is confined to the arrangement itself. I give the orchestral playing five stars.

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For Water Aerobics, a Top-Ten CD
Greatest March Sampling Out There!
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Blood Pumping Music
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Release Date: 1994-12-06

Tracks:

Various: The Prince of Denmark's March
Various: March from The Anna Magdalena Notebook
Various: March from Cantata No. 207
Various: See, the Conqu'ring Hero Comes March from Judus Maccabaeus
Various: Turkish March from The Ruins of Athens, Op. 113, No. 4
Various: Rakoczy March from The Damnation of Faust
Various: Procession of the Nobles from Mlada Suite
Various: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
Various: Grand March from Aida
Various: The Washington Post March
Various: National Emblem March
Various: The Liberty Bell
Various: Colonel Bogey March
Various: Semper fidelis
Various: British Grenadiers
Various: King Cotton
Various: Under the Double Eagle
Various: The Thunderer
Various: III. March from First Suite for Military Band in E-flat Major
Various: March of the Toys from Babes in Toyland
Various: El capitan
Various: March from 1941
Various: March from The Love for Three Oranges
Various: The Raiders' March from Raiders of the Lost Ark
Various: The Stars and Stripes Forever!

Customer Reviews:

For Water Aerobics, a Top-Ten CD.......2005-07-30

I provide music for water aerobics classes. The class members are typically retirees, and like Classical music, yet until this CD the only Classical music with a beat distinctive and steady enough for water aerobics that I'd found was on the "Hooked on Classics" series. Thus, for water aerobics, this is a find.

Also contributing to this CD's popularity for water aerobics are that: (1) many of the songs are upbeat, and (2) "new stereo" recordings (in contrast to my recordings of Sousa marches that were played by Sousa himself; he died in the 1930s.)

In Summary, were you to buy just ten CDs for water aerobics classes, this would be one of them.

Greatest March Sampling Out There!.......2004-04-05

Knowing very little about classical music, I bought several march compilations a few years back, in hopes that I could develop at least a fanboy level of appreciation. Of the compilations I picked up, this is the one that showed me the most diverse sampling of marches. If you want to become familiar with the march genre, this collection runs away with the blue ribbon, with no contendors close behind. The other compilations I came across focused strictly on the American military marches; they were all very good, but this compilation dishes up a diverse menu, from Ludwig Von Beethoven to John Williams.

This CD has a special place in my collection since it turned me on to John Philip Sousa, who has become one of my favorite composers ever. The Sousa selections on this CD are performed by The Incredible Columbia All-Star Band. I enjoyed these tunes immensely enough to buy some Sousa compilations, and found that while the All-Star Band's take on Sousa tunes is very good, I greatly prefer the releases by The United States Marine Band. The Sousa tunes on this CD are a bit rushed for my taste, while The United States Marine Band's delivery seems more pronounced and evenly paced.

My personal favorite track is Kenneth Alford's "Colonel Bogey" performed by John Williams and The Boston Pops Orchestra. They take Alford's memorable placid march, and shape it into a powerful storm-of-an-orchestral march. Absent are the keyboards prevalent in many renditions of Colonel Bogey, but beautifully replaced with a dynamic orchestra.

It's the variety of marches, however, that steal the show, especially if you are a novice like I am, and want to find out which era of marches is your cup of tea. You get a wide range, from Hector Berlioz's Racoczy March from "Damnation of Faust," to Edwin Bagley's "National Emblem March," to Victor Herbert's "March of the Toys," all the way up to the present day with John William's "The Raider's March" from "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

I am still getting my feet wet learning about marches, and this compilation has given me a great head start. No doubt I'll cringe one day if I read this clumsy description of Sousa and Alford tunes, but for the time being, I am having great fun discovering a whole new school of music. This CD is a great starting point if you want to become familiar with marches.

Just one other comment that will only further display my amateur level of classical music appreciation, but I've just got to say it: JOHN PHILIP SOUSA ROCKS!!! There are very few pieces that sound as happy and uplifting as a Sousa march. I proudly salute Mr. Sousa!

For the Lover of Marches.......2002-05-16

This is the best march music CD I have in my collection. It covers a range from Beethoven's "Turkish March" (track 5 and my favorite of the CD) to Sousa. The weakness of the CD comes from the Incredible Columbia All-Star Band tracks. They do a few Sousa marches and the difference between them and the Boston Pops is very noticable. But that's just a minor complaint and certainly nothing to keep you from buying and enjoying this CD.

Blood Pumping Music.......2001-01-30

This CD took me back many years. It has great music that will get your blood pumping. It is a great selection of music and should be in anyones CD collection!!

Blood Pumping Music.......2001-01-30

This CD is a great CD. It includes some the worlds most famous marches with a great recording. I grew up in marching bands in East Texas and loved marches, and this CD gets my blood pumping and takes me back to the old days. If you love great music and marches, this is a sure buy!!!!

Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Ring Cycle) / Sir Georg Solti

Average customer rating:

"Leb wohl, Siegmund, seligster Held!"
Easily the best investment I've ever made!!!
Possibly the greatest recording of the century
Wonderful recording - GLARING TECHNICAL ISSUE
LORD OF THE RINGS

Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Ring Cycle) / Sir Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti , Wiener Philharmoniker , Vienna State Opera Choir , Kirsten Flagstad , Paul Kuen , George London , Jean Madeira , Ira Malaniuk , Gustav Neidlinger , and Hetty Plumacher
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round
Wagner: Lohengrin
Tristan Und Isolde
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

ASIN: B0000042H4
Release Date: 1997-10-14

Tracks:

Das Rheingold: Erste Szene: Vorspiel - Prelude
Das Rheingold: Erste Szene: Weila! Waga! Woge, du Welle!
Das Rheingold: Erste Szene: Garstig glatter glitschriger Glimmer!
Das Rheingold: Erste Szene: Wallala! Lalaleia!
Das Rheingold: Erste Szene: Lugt, Schwestern!
Das Rheingold: Erste Szene: Der Welt Erbe gewann' ich zu eigen durch dich?
Das Rheingold: Zweite Szene: Wotan! Gernahl! Erwache!
Das Rheingold: Zweite Szene: Sanft schloss Schlaf dein Aug'
Das Rheingold: Zweite Szene: Zu mir, Freia! Meide sie, Frecher!
Das Rheingold: Zweite Szene: Endlich Loge!
Das Rheingold: Zweite Szene: Immer ist Undank Loges Lohn!
Das Rheingold: Zweite Szene: Ein Runenzauber zwingt das Gold zum Reif
Das Rheingold: Zweite Szene: Hor', Wotan, der Harrenden Wort!
Das Rheingold: Zweite Szene: Was sinnt nun Wotan so wild?
Das Rheingold: Zweite Szene: Auf, Loge, hinab mit mir! - Dritte Szene: Hehe! hehe! hieher!

Tracks:

Die Walkure: Dritte Szene: Schau, du Schelm!
Die Walkure: Dritte Szene: Nibelheim hier: durch bleiche Nebel was blitzen dort
Die Walkure: Dritte Szene: Nehmt euch in acht! Alberich naht - Sein harren wir hier
Die Walkure: Dritte Szene: Vergeh, frevelnder Gauch! - Was sagt der? - Sei doch bei Sinnen!
Die Walkure: Dritte Szene: Ohe! Hahaha! Ohe! Hahaha! Schreckliche Schlange
Die Walkure: Vierte Szene: Da, Vetter, sitze du fest!
Die Walkure: Vierte Szene: Gezahlt hab' ich, nun lasst mich zieh'n!
Die Walkure: Vierte Szene: Bin ich nun frei? Wirklich frei?
Die Walkure: Vierte Szene: Fasolt und Fafner nahen von fern
Die Walkure: Vierte Szene: Gepflanzt sind die Pfahle
Die Walkure: Vierte Szene: Weiche, Wotan, weiche!
Die Walkure: Vierte Szene: Hort, ihr Riesen! Zuruck, und harret!...Halt, du Gieriger!
Die Walkure: Vierte Szene: Schwules Gedunst...Zur Burg fuhrt die Brucke
Die Walkure: Vierte Szene: Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge
Die Walkure: Vierte Szene: Rheingold! Rheingold! Reines Gold! Wie lauter und hell

Tracks:

Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug: Prelude
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Erste Szene: Wes Herd dies auch sei
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Erste Szene: Kuhlende Labung gab mir der Queil!
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Mud am Herd fand ich den Mann
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Friedmund darf ich nicht heissen
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Aus dem Wald trieb es mich fort
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Ich weiss ein wildes Geschlecht
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Ein Schwert verhiess mir der Vater
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Schlafst du, Gast?
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Wintersturme wichen dem Wonnemond
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Du bist der Lenz, nach dem ich verlangte
Die Walkure: Erster Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Wehwalt heisst du furwahr? - Siegmund heiss ich

Tracks:

Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug: Prelude
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Nun zaume dein Ross, reisige Maid
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Der alte Sturm, die alte Muh'!
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Erste Szene: So ist es denn aus mit den ewigen Gottern
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Nichts lerntest du
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Was verlangst du?
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Schlimm, fucht ich, schloss der Streit
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Was keinem in Worten ich kunde
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Ein andres ist's: achte es wohl
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: O sag, kunde, was soll nun dein Kind?
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Raste nun hier, gonne dir Ruh!
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Hinweg! Hinweg! Flieh die Entweihte!

Tracks:

Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Vierte Szene: Siegmund! Sieh auf mich!
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Vierte Szene: Hehr bist du, und heilig
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Vierte Szene: So wenig achtest du ewige Wonne?
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Funfte Szene: Zauberfest bezahmt ein Schlaf der Holden Schmerz und Harm
Die Walkure: Zweiter Aufzug, Funfte Szene: Kehrte der Vater nur heim!

Tracks:

Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Vorspiel - Hojotoho! Hojotoho! Heiaha! Heiaha!
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Schutzt mich und helft in hochster Not!
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Nicht sehre dich Sorge um mich
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Steh, Brunnhild'!
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Wo ist Brunnhild', wo die Verbrecherin?
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Hier bin ich Vater: gebiete die Strafe!
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Wehe! Weh! Schwester, ach Schwester!
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: War es so schmahlich, was ich verbrach
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Nicht weise bin ich, doch wusst' ich das eine
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: So tatest du, was so gern zu tun ich begehrt
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Du zeugtest ein edles Geschlecht
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Leb wohl, du kuhnes, herrliches Kind!
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Denn einer nur freie die Braut
Die Walkure: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Loge, hor! Lausche hierher!

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Aber wie sah meine Mutter wohl aus?
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Meine Mutter, ein Menschenweib!
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Haha! Da hatte mein Lied mir was Liebes erblasen!
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Wer bist du, kuhner Knabe, der das Herz mir traf?
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Zur Kunde taugt kein Toter
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Wohin schleichst du eilig und schlau
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Was ihr mir nutzt, weiss ich nicht
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Wilkommen, Siegfried!
Siegfried: Zweiter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Da lieg auch du, dunkler Wurm!
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug: Vorspiel
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Wache, Wala! Wala! Erwach
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Stark ruft das Lied

Tracks:

Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Dir Unweisen ruf' ich ins Ohr
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Mein Voglein schwebte mir fort!
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Wohin, Knabe, heisst dich dein Weg?
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Kenntest du mich, kuhner Spross
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Mit zerfochtner Waffe wich mir der Feige?
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Selige Ode auf sonniger Hoh!
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Das ist kein Mann!
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Heil dir, Sonne! Heil dir, Licht!
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: O Siegfried! Siegfried! Seliger Held!
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Dort seh' ich Grane
Siegfried: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Ewig war ich, ewig bin ich

Tracks:

Gotterdammerung: Prolog: Welch Licht leuchtet dort
Gotterdammerung: Prolog: Treu beratner Vertrage Runen
Gotterdammerung: Prolog: Es ragt die Burg, von Riesen gebaut
Gotterdammerung: Prolog: Zu neuen Taten, teurer Helde
Gotterdammerung: Prolog: Willst du mir Minne schenken
Gotterdammerung: Prolog: O heilige Gotter!
Gotterdammerung: Prolog: Siegfrieds Rheinfahrt
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Erste Szene: Nun hor, Hagen
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Erste Szene: Wen ratst du nun zu frein
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Erste Szene: Jagt er auf Taten wonnig umher
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Wer ist Gibichs Sohn?
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Begrusse froh, o Held
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Willkommen, Gast, in Gibichs Haus!

Tracks:

Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Deinem Bruder bot ich mich zum Mann
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Bluhenden Lebens labendes Blut
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Frisch auf die Fahrt!
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Hier sitz' ich zur Wacht
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Altgewohntes Gerausch
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Dritte Szene:Hore mit Sinn, was ich dir sage!
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Welch banger Traume Maren
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Was leckt so wutend
Gotterdammerung: Erster Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Brunnhild'! Ein Freier kam

Tracks:

Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug: Vorspiel
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Schlafst du, Hagen, mein Sohn?
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Hoiho, Hagen! Muder Mann!
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Heiss mich willkommen, Gibichskind!
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Hoiho! Hoihohoho!
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Vierte Szene: Heil dir, Gunther!
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Vierte Szene: Gegrusst sei, teurer Held
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Vierte Szene: Einen Ring sah ich an deiner Hand
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Vierte Szene: Heil'ge Gotter, himmlische Lenker!
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Vierte Szene: Helle Wehr! Heilige Waffe!
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Vierte Szene: Gunther, wehr deinem Weibe
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Funfte Szene: Welches Unholds List liegt hier verhohlen?
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Funfte Szene: Vertraue mir, betrogne Frau!
Gotterdammerung: Zweiter Aufzug, Funfte Szene: Auf, Gunther, edler Gibichung!

Tracks:

Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug: Vorspiel
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Frau Sonne sendet lichte Strahlen
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Ein Albe fuhrte mich irr
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Was leid' ich doch das karge Lob?
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Erste Szene: Siegfried! Siegfried! Siegfried!
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Hoiho!
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Trink, Guenther, trink!
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Mime hiess ein murrischer Zwerg
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: In Leid zu dem Wipfel lauscht' ich hinauf
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Brunnhilde, heilige Braut!
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Zweite Szene: Trauermusik beim Tode Siegfrieds
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: War das sein Horn?
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Hoiho! Hoiho!
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Nicht klage wider mich!
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Schweigt eures Jammers
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Mein Erbe nun nehm' ich zu eigen
Gotterdammerung: Dritter Aufzug, Dritte Szene: Fliegt heim, ihr Raben!

Amazon.com essential recording

Modern storage media (CD/DVD) offer both high fidelity and great reliability in the playback of music. Yet only a bit more than a generation ago, the possibilities inherent in the long-playing record inspired John Culshaw, a young producer for Decca, to attempt the most ambitious recording project ever contemplated up to that time--a complete studio recording of the Ring. Though other Rings were issued after this landmark enterprise, none have equaled the Decca Ring in popularity. There are those who prefer live performances, or who feel that the sound and theatrical effects in this recording are overdone; nonetheless this remains the benchmark Ring, as shown by its seemingly endless rerelease schedule. The Ring effort was high profile at the time and helped nail down Sir Georg Solti's status as a "superstar" conductor and authoritative interpreter of the Wagnerian repertory. Another key contributor to the success of the project was the uniform excellence in the casting. Definitive performances given include Neidlinger's nietzschean Alberich, Stolze's whining Mime, Boehme's rumbling Fafnir, along with Nilsson in her prime-more a force of nature than a human voice. The care lavished on the capture of the music was unmatched at the time of the recording, and still leaves this as one of the best sounding Rings even today, when the oldest part (Rheingold) has reached its 40th anniversary. --Christian C. Rix

Customer Reviews:

"Leb wohl, Siegmund, seligster Held!".......2007-05-15

Okay, so we have the Solti, Bohm, Karajan, Levine, Janowski, Goodall, and Sawallisch Rings on the market (I haven't listened to the other Ring recordings yet, sorry to say). And all of these leave me to one conclusion: the many differences lead me to believe that all of these ring sets have their own authenticities and setbacks. And here they are:

TIMING (Estimate):
Solti's Ring: 14 hours, 30 minutes
Bohm's Ring: 13 hours, 30 minutes
Karajan's Ring: 14 hours, 50 minutes
Goodall's Ring: 16 hours, 50 minutes
Janowski's Ring: 14 hours, 0 minutes
Levine's Ring: 15 hours, 20 minutes
Sawallisch's Ring: 14 hours, 0 minutes

CONDUCTING:
Solti: Solti's conducting is driven with sheer muscle, but sometimes he makes the Ring overemotional. His Walkure & Gotterdammerung Preludes are clear examples: they're annoyingly bombastic. Nonetheless he almost seldom loses control with anything. His clear focus on the drama is astonishing.

Bohm: I must say his live Bayreuth recording brings out some of the best. He puts more faith in the orchestral score, but he also gives it more intensity. His tempi are some of the quickest, but they still don't seem rushed at all (except maybe "Wohin schleich'st du eilig und schlau"). I especially like his "Forging Scene" & "Hagen Summons the Vassals"; both are the most energetic on disc.

Karajan: Karajan's chamber approach is very interesting. Instead of going for the drama or the energy, the conductor goes for the beauty. Almost everything in his Ring sounds very ethereal because of his excessive use of lyricism. His orchestral preludes (except Walkure Act 1) sound more beautiful than others, and much of the soft parts (such as Siegfried Act Three Scene Three) are controlled nicely. His "Funeral March" and "Immolation" are recommendable. Siegfried Act Three Scene Two could have improved with more tension.

Goodall: Oh, boy. While I do praise Goodall with his amazing attention to detail, his ridiculously sluggish tempi will tick some Wagnerites off: everything is slower than adagio moderato. But I did enjoy listening to the slow beauty of his "Wotan's Farewell/Magic Fire Music". This was recorded live and sung in English.

Janowski: This is a very classical Ring. Instead of bombast, spacious, or lyrical passion, maestro Janowski gives us the straightforward approach. He goes straight for Wagner's original intentions (precise tempi, dynamics, flow of leitmotivs, etc.), which makes this another exquisite Ring. "Hagen Summons the Vassals" is probably the fastest I've ever heard (along with Sawallisch's). Rheingold Scene Four can be best described as "sensational".

Levine: While he does stay true to the score like Bohm, this conductor makes for a somewhat dull Ring. His handling of the orchestra is nice, but the moderately slow tempi he chooses is flawed. It should be more animated. His beautiful "Funeral March" and "Erda's Warning" are two of the few flawless features.

Sawallisch: I guess you can say that Sawallisch is half-Karajan, half-Janowski. While he does stay true to the orchestral score like Janowski, he also puts in a little Karajan-like lyricism. At some points he loses track with orchestra and singers (as does every live recording) but Bohm has more control. This was also recorded live.

ORCHESTRA:
Solti's Vienna Philharmonic: The woodwinds are the most beautiful in Solti's Ring (the "Forest Murmurs" is clear evidence of that). French horns and Wagner tubas make this a recommended listening. The strings in "Heda Heda Hedo" could've added a bit more work, but they are strikingly spectacular everywhere else. The orchestra gives it their all in Siegfried Act Two & Three, but they are at their weakest in Walkure Act One & Three (Bohm's Bayreuth does it better). Overall, it's the loudest and certainly most bombastic out of all the Ring orchestras combined.

Bohm's Bayreuth Festival: The ultimate Wagnerian orchestra gives it their all. The brass both high and low are the most powerful, while the woodwinds are the most delicate. The strings are muffled only a few times, otherwise the eighteen anvils are perfectly loud and clear. Erda's scenes aren't as effective as Janowski's, but the entire Walkure is more successful than Janowski's when it comes to tone & technique. Overall, this orchestra is the most dramatic.

Karajan's Berlin Philharmonic: The entire orchestra sounds polished, not to say that it is bad. Indeed the drama is still there, but much of the suspense is lacking (the scenes with Fasolt and Fafner come to mind). The brass sometimes overpowers the strings, which can be a serious problem. Gotterdammerung "Three Norns" Scene sounds very mysterious, very eerie.

Goodall's English National Opera: This orchestra sounds nice, even if the sluggishness can bring them down at times. The Flight of the Valkyries doesn't sound too good in a slow tempo, but the entire orchestra does sound lucid here. Siegfried Act One Prelude is the creepiest. All of the leitmotivs are heard loud and clear, just like in Janowski's version.

Janowski's Staatskapelle Dresden: This orchestra has the same force & flair as does Bohm's Bayreuth Festival, only Dresden sounds much clearer due to the fantastic digital sound. Even minor details are found in this Ring. I can hear harps in Flight of the Valkyries! The strings imitate the Siegfried forest very well, while the woodwinds representing the songbird are wonderful (but not as wonderful as Solti's songbird). Dresden's "Magic Fire Music" (along with Berlin's) is the most extravagant.

Levine's Metropolitan Opera: The brass and woodwinds are the true stars. The strings sound too tired to continue on in Siegfried & Gotterdammerung. The Finale to Rheingold is absolutely stunning (the trumpets and trombones will not disappoint), and the Second Act of Walkure is the most impressive, the most refined.

Sawallisch's Bavarian State: Wrong notes in this live recording won't matter, as the entire orchestra gets everything going in all four nights at the opera. The strings never surrender to imperfection, and the winds are marvelously aligned. I just wish that some of the singers would keep up with the orchestra.

SINGERS:
-Wotan
Solti: Hans Hotter is the superior Wotan. He sounds powerful throughout the Ring (except Rheingold, in which a less stellar George London performs).

Bohm and Janowski: Theo Adam in Bohm's live recording is another treat. While he is not as equally impressive as Hotter, he can certainly conjure up everlasting emotions. Adam sounds weaker in Janowski's studio recording, but he still doesn't disappoint.

Karajan: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau plays Wotan in "Rheingold," while Thomas Stewart replaces Fischer-Dieskau in "Walkure" and "Siegfried". I don't think Fischer-Dieskau was a good choice; he sounds too humane and too light. Stewart makes an astounding improvement in both "Walkure" and "Siegfried".

Goodall: Norman Bailey has that divine spark that Hotter used to cherish. He's heavy and unblemished, and he handles the English text with flair and sheen.

Levine: James Morris is a notch below Hotter, Adam, and Bailey, but he overpowers Fischer-Dieskau pretty much throughout the Levine's Ring.

Sawallisch: I may be biased, but Robert Hale just didn't do it for me. He sounded dull and tedious, and his Wotan's Farewell wasn't enough to sadden me.

-Brunnhilde
Solti and Bohm: Birgit Nilsson is the best Brunnhilde on the market. Her Valkyrie cry is delightful, and her final scene in Gotterdammerung is brilliant beyond belief.

Karajan: Regine Crespin is without a doubt one of the finest Brunnhildes after Nilsson. She's fantastic in Walkure Act Three. I just wish she stayed on as the Valkyrie later on in the Ring (Helga Dernesch is no good in Gotterdammerung, sorry to say).

Goodall: Rita Hunter is at her strongest in Walkure and Siegfried. She is at her weakest in Gotterdammerung. What may have caused her downfall in the fourth installment? "The world may never know."

Janowski: Jeannine Altmeyer is basically the most controversial Brunnhilde on CD. Some people say that she's too light and weak, while others say she sounds young and very enchanting. I'm with those who think Altmeyer was a good choice, but you yourself (the shopper) are going to have to decide whether she's good or not.

Levine and Sawallisch: Hildegard Behrens is just like Nilsson and Crespin: while she's not the best, she is definitely another perfect Brunnhilde of choice. She's at her most dazzling when she performs Walkure (Levine) and Siegfried (Sawallisch).

-Siegmund & Sieglinde
Let's see. For the Siegmunds, we have James King for Solti and Bohm. Jon Vickers for Karajan, Alberto Remedios for Goodall, Siegfried Jerusalem for Janowski, Gary Lakes for Levine, and Robert Schunk for Sawallisch. For the Sieglindes, we have Regine Crespin for Solti, Leonie Rysanek for Bohm, Gundula Janowitz for Karajan, Margaret Curphy for Goodall, Jessye Norman for both Janowski and Levine, and Julia Varady for Sawallisch. Hmm . . . Jerusalem is good . . . and so is Vickers . . . Janowitz is charming, and so is . . . Oh, what the heck? All the singers for Siegmund and Sieglinde are fantastic. Two exceptions, though: Robert Schunk doesn't sound heroic enough, and Jessye Norman for Levine's Ring doesn't sound young and innocent enough.

-Siegfried
Solti and Bohm: Wolfgang Windgassen may very well be the best Siegfried for the ages. His `Forging Scene" in both renditions are defiantly inspiring. His last scene in Gotterdammerung is celestial and overwhelming.

Karajan: Jess Thomas (Siegfried) and Helge Brilioth (Gotterdammerung) may not be as ideal as Windgassen, but they do know how to be a magnificent heldentenor. Thomas pulls it off with Act One and Three.

Goodall: Wow! What a singer that Alberto Remedios! He never drags in either of the last two installments, and he uses the correct emotions in every scene that he is in.

Janowski and Sawallisch: Rene Kollo's Siegfried is a poetically expressive one. In Janowski's version he sounds playful when he's in Mime's home, and he sounds willed when he's in the Gibich Hall. He is not good enough in Sawallisch's version, however. His tiresome "Forging Scene" is obvious evidence of that.

Levine: Oh, Reiner Goldberg. At least you tried. Seriously, he sounds too tedious (especially in Gotterdammerung Act Three Scene Two) and too old. I don't know Levine should've chose Kollo when he recorded his Ring.

-Alberich
Solti and Bohm: Gustav Niedlinger has a heaviness that overwhelms a few other baritones. When he sings his only sequence in Gotterdammerung Act Two Scene One, his emotion is so pure that his son Hagen would've drowned himself in tears (Too melodramatic? Sorry about that.). The only problem is that his character sounds too one-dimensional. Alberich isn't just some cardboard-cutout bad guy. He has a very good reason why he wants to take revenge on the world. Overall, Niedlinger is amazing throughout Wagner's Ring (He deserves many awards for "Bin ich nun frei?").

Karajan: I guess you can say that Zoltan Kelemen tries his best throughout. He is not good in Rheingold, but he gets better in Siegfried and Gotterdammerung.

Goodall: Derek Hammond-Stroud is three-dimensional, but not that much. Still, he can sound very demanding in Rheingold Scene One and Siegfried Act Two Scene One.

Janowski: Siegmund Nimsgern may be the most humane Alberich yet, but it's all good. He sings with more passion than Kelemen and more robustness than Hammond-Stroud. Niedlinger's ferociousness puts him below, however. "Schaf'st du, Hagen, mein sohn?" is noteworthy.

Levine and Sawallisch: Ekkehard Wlaschiha is one hell of a vigorous Alberich. I praise him in Rheingold Scene One and Three. His performance in Siegfried (both versions) could've improved with more distrustfulness towards Mime and the Wanderer.

-Mime
Solti and Karajan: Gerhard Stolze is the creepiest Mime ever known to humankind. This dwarf outsings other Mimes on the market. When he sings "Die stucken! Das Schwert!" his anger and fear is the most effective to almost all Ring listeners.

Bohm: Erwin Wohlfahrt wins second place. He gives a first-rate performance in Siegfried Act One, but loses some of his edge in Act Two. He is an exceptional Mime nonetheless. Look for him in Karajan's Rheingold, also.

Goodall: Gregory Dempsey isn't emotional enough. He doesn't sound fearful or depressed at all, which makes him the dullest Mime for the Ring.

Janowski: Peter Schreier is for Siegfried, while Christian Vogel is for Rheingold. Vogel is less than perfect, while Schreier is way beyond outstanding. Schreier is less ghoulish and more benevolent, more three-dimensional than Stolze and Wohlfahrt. The only flaw I can find is his handling of "Die stucken! Das Schwert!" He could've added a bit more fear in that sequence.

Levine: Heinz Zednik is yet another excellent mime. He is equal to Schreier when it comes to humaneness and lyricism. His performance in Rheingold Scene Three is pure gold, while his performance in Siegfried (particularly "Willkommen, Siegfried!") is a stunning achievement.

Sawallisch: Helmut Pampuch is just like Schreier and Zednik: he's very VERY good. Nuff said.

-Loge
Solti: Set Svanholm may be the weakest Loge. He is not very ominous throughout all of his scenes, and his lack of a sinister atmosphere is greatly affects the entire Rheingold. But he'll soon be forgotten later on in the Ring.

Bohm: Why the heck would the conductor have Wolfgang Windgassen play both Siegfried AND Loge? The demi-god needs to sound different from a son of a Walsung. Still, it's satisfactory, and his "Ihrem ende eilen sie zu" gives great foreshadowing.

Karajan: Gerhard Stolze is easily the most entertaining Loge to listen to. His scenes in Scene Three are delightful.

Goodall: Emile Belcourt isn't as good as Stolze, but he certainly can make some of the best of an English-speaking Loge.

Janowski: Peter Schreier is the most eccentric out of all of them, and that's a fact. Much of his singing involves imagination, peril, vengeance, and deviousness. Belcourt depends only on imagination and deviousness, Stolze only vengeance and deviousness, and Windgassen only peril. His odd conversations with Alberich and the gods/goddesses are classic.

Levine: Siegfried Jerusalem doesn't seem like a good choice for Loge. He's better off playing Siegmund or Siegfried, but not a demi-god.

Sawallisch: Robert Tear is on par with Stolze and Schreier. Sometimes he takes things too low, but all is forgiven with his management of character development.

-Everyone Else
Uh-huh, what can I say? Everyone else does a good job in all Ring recordings (maybe not in Swarowsky's version). Matti Salminen is the perfect Hagen (Janowski, Levine, and Sawallisch), while Kirsten Flagstad is the most brilliant Fricka (Solti). The Norns and Rheinmaidens do a splendid job in Solti, Janowski, and Levine. The Vassals (male choir) are at their unsurpassed in Bohm and Goodall. The only flawed Erda is Anne Collins (Goodall), maybe too light and too heavy at times. All in all, no one here is graded C or lower.

CONCLUSION: I have yet to listen to Barenboim's Bayreuth presentation and the essential mono recordings (Furtwangler, Krauss), but I'm pretty sure that have their advantages and disadvantages. So there you have it. We have the histrionic Solti, the energetic Bohm, the otherworldly Karajan, the spacious Goodall, the calculated Janowski, the relaxed Levine, and the serious Sawallisch Rings. They have their own authenticities and setbacks, and they certainly have their own significances for Ring listeners everywhere.

Karl Bohm: Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

Herbert von Karajan: Der Ring des Nibelungen / Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic

Reginall Goodall: Wagner: The Ring Cycle (Box Set)

Marek Janowski: Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

James Levine: Der Ring Des Nibelungen

Wolfgang Sawallisch: Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Ring Cycle) / Sawallisch, Bayerischer Staatsoper

Easily the best investment I've ever made!!!.......2006-09-07

Solti is a true Wagnerian!!! There is truly no one better! In every single Wagner recording under his baton (under the fantastic engineering of the Decca label), there is a power, intensity, and ethereal quality that rings true from first note to last. This studio recording of the Ring Cycle is probably his strongest effort. Virtually every nuance that Wagner desired is apparent, from echoes, to characterizations, to instruments used (the steer-horns in Gotterdammerung). All of his singers are nothing short of the best, especially Hotter, Windgassen, and Nilsson (all of whom are sadly not around any longer). They do everything they can to help Solti bring Wagner's deepest conceptions to life. It's a shame that this performance wasn't filmed. The only thing missing is the visual aspect, but that's a very minute matter, when dealing with a top-notch recording like this one. It pulls the listener in, like he's there, experiencing the story with the likes of Wotan, Siegmund, Siegfried, and Brunnhilde. The package is also an excellent bonus, full of very informative liner notes, as well as set designs and beautiful drawings by the great Arthur Rackham. I paid $120 for this box set, brand new, but I would've gladly paid double that, if necessary. I don't know what I would do without this recording. (If you're feeling dangerous, as I have, try listening to the whole thing, with a nice comfortable set of headphones, with only the occasional bathroom breaks and eating/drinking to stay alive. If you can endure such an intense task, you will not regret it, but make sure you follow every word. Everything counts.) 100 stars!!!

Possibly the greatest recording of the century.......2006-08-17

Ever since the reopening of the Bayreuth Festival in 1951, the operatic world has been blessed with many Ring recordings that are brimming with life and searing in interpretation. The work is certainly the most ambitious and fascinating musical epic ever set on paper, and due to its intricate music and magnificent and poetic text, it has influenced the way music making has been done ever since the Master presented it to the world in 1876. Now, 130 years after that first Ring cycle, the market abounds with hordes of Ring recordings raging from magnificent to deplorable, and with the cost of having to contain such a grand epic in recordable media for the listener to enjoy at home, the pricetags for these Rings are always going to be astounding.

A Ring cycle in the recording studio, of course, is no longer a foreseeable possibility today. The recent Tristan by EMI alone took a good month in the recoring studio, and with the increasingly high wages in the musician's union and the expensive fees needed to pay competent and artistic Wagnerian singers, another Ring in the studio would probably be a Herculean task at best. And, to add to that, the world is sorely lackiing of hochdramatische sopranos, true heldentenors, and great bass-baritones to sing the parts of the cycle's most difficult roles--Brunnhilde, Siegfried, and Wotan. The dearth of these species of voices, plus the scarcity of conductors who can masterfully lead an orchestra into playing one of the most complicated scores ever written in the true Wagnerian style, makes these matters more complicated. In my opinion, only Christian Thielemann can possibly execute this vision effectively today. Due to this, in order to be able to experience this monumental opus, you must turn to the recordings of the past to sample the greatness of Richard Wagner.

I personally feel that the greatest Rings come from the postwar Wieland Wagner Bayreuth festivals. Under his leadership, a calibre of Wagner singing was formed and has been unmatched ever since his premature death from lung cancer. With a team that consisted of chorus master Wilhelm Pitz, singers Astrid Varnay, Hans Hotter, Wolfgang Windgassen, Ramon Vinay, Gustav Neidlinger, Gre Brouwenstijn, Martha Modl, and later Birgit Nilsson, Martti Talvela, James King, Leonie Rysanek, and other singers who owned these roles in the Theatre on the Green Hill, plus a plethora of conductors that consisted of Herbert von Karajan, Hans Knappertsbusch, Clemens Krauss, Joseph Keilberth, and Rudolf Kempe (all conductors who by some divine intervention all had last names beginning with "K"), Wieland Wagner unveiled a new and fresh way of Wagner interpretation along with a team of singers and musicians who made this great music sing.

Some people though, would much prefer the music in the undisturbed, almost pristine conditions achieved by the recording studio. While there are several Der Ring des Nibelungen that have come out of recording halls following this one, none of them have matched it in popularity. And there is a reason for that of course. Solti leads the Wiener Philharmoniker in a recording that brings the theatrical values of Wagner's operas to the comfort of the living room without the stage noises and other distractions that some listeners seem to detest. In addition to that, the care put into immortalizing this Ring in recording media has made it one of the most "real"-sounding performances on disc. Here, you get the steerhorns and tuned anvils and metal bars that Wagner personally requested to be put into the score, in addition to other sound effects that would be impossible to realize in the theater. You can hear the violent thunder in the opening of Act III of Siegfried and the closing scene of Rheingold. I could go on about all these little details, but I leave that for you to witness yourself.

That said about its realistic audio qualities, I would like to discuss the merits of Solti's conducting. It is true that while Solti had a heavy hand in this recording in comparison with conductors such as Karajan, Krauss, Bohm, and Boulez who exuded transparency in their readings, he brings everything in the score to life. He understands Wagner's score well, and his reading is closer to Knappertsbusch on a good day, a method that harkens the traditional way of conducting Wagner. He also has good judgment as to where tempi changes must be made, as can be heard from the closing scene of Das Rheingold. The orchestration during Donner's "Heda Hedo!" is simply ravishing, and the tempi that Solti uses and adjusts to sounds dramatically right. Wagner himself would have been proud. His understanding of the more complex and post-Tristan scores of Siegfried and Gotterdammerung are still unparalleled today. From the Mime Wanderer riddle scene to the Forging song to the Wotan Erda confrontation and the glorious love duet that ends the opera, Solti gets all the orchestral nuances perfectly. His Siegfried is so alive, that any recording after that can be considered below par. But if there was ever one recording that deserved the praise this Ring receives, it has to be Solti's Gotterdammerung. From the haziness of the Norn scene to the Dawn love duet and the Gibichung hall music, and the Waltraute Brunnhilde dialogue, I think Solti captures this Act perfectly. Act 2 is done well too, with Gottlob Frick's menacing Hagen and Neidlinger's definitive Alberich creating a most sinister mood accompanied by Solti's masterly conducting. The revenge trio that caps the act is perfectly executed by the Vienna Philharmonic, and I think that if it were not for the presence of Knappertsbusch's recent Testament release with Varnay and Uhde, this would also probably be the best Act II on disc. Then we have Act III, the culmination of the Ring cycle. From the chattering of the Rhinemaidens to Siegfried's death and funeral march to the glorious Immolation Scene, I think this Act III represents Wagner's music at its greatest, and no other recording captures the essence of the final moments of the Ring with all its synthesis of the various leitmotifs in such a moving manner. This is, perhaps, the best conducted Ring of the studios, and on a good day, I would feel exceeds that of the Bayreuth rings. (Hey! I have my Wagner whims too, and on some days, I if tend to have a preference for Krauss, Karajan, Knappertsbusch, or Bohm...that is my preference! Chacun a son gout!)

Now for the cast. I have never seen such a glorious cast assembled in the recording studio such as this, and everything from Neidlinger's Alberich, Nilsson's Brunnhilde, Hotter and London's Wotans, Windgassens's Siegfried, Flagstad's Rheingold Fricka and Ludwig's Walkure Fricka, Hoffgen's Erda, King's Siegmund, Crespin's Sieglinde, Frick's Hagen and Hunding, Bohme's characterful Fafner, Sutherland woodbird, Stolze's Mime, and the chattery and lusty Walkures, Norns, and Rheinmaidens is simply a vocal treat. That said, these individual singers' solo performances can be heard to greater advantages elsewhere, but nowhere are they captured better vocally than here. Of course, some singers such as Hotter are no longer in their prime, but what a magnificent performance he gives! His Wotan is so grand and noble that I think that the only Wotan who beats him is his younger self. Nilsson's Brunnhilde is a force of nature. Her missile-like voice is fascinating, encompassing Brunnhilde's vocal music with such ease that one would think Brunnhilde was a walk in the park. She is hands-down one of the greatest Brunnhildes ever, along with Astrid Varnay and Martha Modl. Siegfried here is sung by Windgassen, the tenor who single-handedly solved Bayreuth's heldentenor shortage for more than a decade. His voice, of course, has aged, but he is such an intelligent artist that one cannot help but listen to his Siegfried artistically portrayed without any vocal problems that today's many Siegfrieds encounter. James King is a most moving Siegmund, surpassed only by his Bohm interpretation and possibly Ramon Vinay on a good day, and his Sieglinde, Regine Crespin, is one of the most female and human singers ever to have brought the role to life. Christa Ludwig is the most sumptuous Fricka and Waltraute on disc, combining her great vocal beauty with her consummate artistry. Her singing here is nothing short of definitive. The Walkures are all great, the cast including two future Brunnhildes: Helga Dernesch and Berit Lindholm. The supporting cast of giants is also very good, with Kurt Bohme as a most characterful Fafner. I think that the Fasolt could have been sung better though. The Norns also consist of some of the most famous singers of the Wagnerian oeuvre, some of them taking the great roles in the years to come. Hoffgen sings Erda magnificently. My only quibble here is the casting choices used for Rheingold's Rheintochters. They sound a bit old. They characterize their characters playfully, but one could wish that Solti had used the maidens singing for Karajan or Bohm's recording. Otherwise, the cast is almost flawless.

Must this be your first Ring? With the care lavished on such a great project (Culshaw's attention to the miniscule details in the score), Solti's wonderful conducting, and a cast that truly represents the golden age of Wagner, I would say, this is an essential recording for anyone's collection. It is possibly the greatest achievement in the recording studio, and in many ways, the greatest recording of the century.

Wonderful recording - GLARING TECHNICAL ISSUE.......2006-06-03

Fine recording, good performance, historical in scope and a great box set. HOWEVER:

Being a musician and an opera fan, as well as being a recording engineer, I own several releases of this particular collection of recordings by London/Decca. The original recording of Das Rheingold (the first set of CDs in this boxed set of operas) dates back to the late-1950s, and stands as a landmark achievement in audio recording, especially considering that it is the first EVER complete studio recording ever made of Das Rheingold. First released on vinyl and reel-to-reel tapes in the late-50, this recording has been re-released countless times in several formats, including an excellent mid-1970s release on Dolby-B encoded reel-to-reel tape.

The CD collection has a glaring, horrible problem that I do not see mentioned ANYWHERE in these Amazon blogs, and it shocks me that no other musicians have noticed: THE ENTIRE OPERA "DAS RHEINGOLD" IN THIS COLLECTION IS OFF PITCH!! PITCH FOR THE ENTIRE OPERA IS NEARLY A SEMITONE SHARP!! NEARLY A SEMITONE!!!!!! Historically, there is an explanation for this. From my understanding of the issue, the recording was made in Vienna on American Ampex tape machines that were shipped to London/Decca for the purpose. The tape machines used synchronous motors that were erroneously not adjusted to compensate for the difference in line frequencies between the U.S. and Europe, and therefore the tape machines ran fractionally slow. Play the master tapes back on a tape machine running at the correct speed, and the master recording plays FRACTIONALLY FAST.

None of the earlier releases of this opera that I have ever heard share this issue, since all submasters of the recording would have been adjusted to compensate for the original technical error, and the adjustment done properly in the analog realm has absolutely no negativerepurcussions on the product outcome.

The CD collection portends to have returned to the original master, and that may be the issue. Nonetheless, why hasn't anyone with music knowledge raised the red flag about this egregious error in the CD release?? Why doesn't anyone notice?? I even attempted to write London/Decca about the issue and have received no reply.

Most people with good pitch will recognize when a recording is 75-80 cents (nearly a semitone) sharp!! If you are a musician, you will not be happy with Das Rheingold in this collection, due to the glaring pitch problem. A true pity, and shame on London/Decca.

LORD OF THE RINGS.......2006-03-31

This recording is the Lord of the all ring cycles...I can't say anything else...No need to explain it like you are writing a novel or talking about a legend...You have to experience it...JUST DO IT

This review can't help you...Only listening and God can help you with this stuff...

Can EL

Average customer rating:

Six Decades of Film Music
Excellent collection with fine performances
"essential film scores from 1939 to 2004 ~ Incredible Music"

The Incredible Film Music Box

Manufacturer: Silva America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Wars | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
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Paramount 90th Anniversary Collection: Scores
The Essential Elmer Bernstein Film Music Collection
Epics: The History of the World According to Hollywood
The Ultimate Movie Music Collection
Jerry Goldsmith: 40 Years of Film Music

ASIN: B0007S687Y
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Tracks:

Gone With The Wind: Overture
Citizen Kane: Overture
Casablanca: As Time Goes By
It's A Wonderful Life: It's A Wonderful Life
The Third Man: The Harry Lime Theme
The Searchers: Suite
The Bridge On The River Kwai: Colonel Bogey March
Vertigo: Prelude
Touch Of Evil: Main Title
Ben-Hur: Parade Of The Charioteers
North By Northwest: Prelude
Psycho: Suite
The Magnificent Seven: The Magnificent Seven
Lawrence Of Arabia: Overture

Tracks:

To Kill A Mockingbird: Suite
The Great Escape: Main Title
Doctor Zhivago: Main Title & Lara's Theme
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Once Upon A Time In The West: Jill's Theme
2001: A Space Odyssey: Also Sprach Zarathustra
Midnight Cowboy: Midnight Cowboy
Get Carter: Main Title
A Clockwork Orange: Ode To Joy
The Godfather: Waltz & Love Theme
Jaws: Jaws
Rocky: Gonna Fly Now
Taxi Driver: Suite
Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope

Tracks:

Superman: Main Theme
Alien: End Title
Raging Bull: Intermezzo From Cavalleria Rusticana
Raiders Of The Lost Ark: Raiders March
Blade Runner: End Titles
E.T.: The Extraterrestrial: Adventures On Earth
Once Upon A Time In America: Deborah's Theme
Back To The Future: Main Theme
Witness: Building The Barn
Aliens: Main Title
Cinema Paradiso: Cinema Paradiso
Glory: Charging Frot Wagner
Dances With Wolves: The John Dunbar Theme
Unforgiven: Claudia's Theme

Tracks:

The Piano: The Heart Asks Pleasure First
Schindler's List: Main Theme
Braveheart: End Credits
Titanic: My Heart Will Go On
Saving Private Ryan: Hymn To The Fallen
American Beauty: Any Other Name
Gladiator: Now We Are Free
Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring: The Fellowship
The Girl With The Pearl Earring: Griet's Theme
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl: Suite
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban: Suite
Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events: The Letter That Never Came
Finding Neverland: Impossible Opening
The Incredibles: Overture

Customer Reviews:

Six Decades of Film Music.......2007-05-13

This is film music for the classical music lover. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra presents excellent arrangements of a number of classic film themes (although several pieces of the 56 film classics selected for this 4 CD set are not orchestral arrangements, but rather specialty arrangements). Besides great film composers such as John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, Ennio Morricone, and James Horner, classical composers such as Richard Strauss and Pietro Mascagni make an appearance. On several of the numbers the Crouch End Festival Chorus adds the human voice to the power of the full symphonic orchestra to create true movie magic. If you like the sound of a full symphony orchestra playing some of the most recognized themes ever written, you'll love these CDs.

Excellent collection with fine performances.......2007-03-28

Silva Screen Records, based in England, has been issuing some fine collections of film scores, more in one box than we have the right to expect. This four-CD box contains scores by many of the best writers, including Max Steiner, Bernard Herrmann, Dimitri Tomkin, Kenneth J. Alford (The Bridge on the River Kwai), Elmer Bernstein, Maurice Jarre, Ennio Marricone, John Barry, Nino Rota, John Williams, James Horner, and more. We can all think of additional film scores we wished were included, but then there's no way this collection could be all-inclusive. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, supplemented by Crouch End Festival Chorus on some numbers, does a very competent job...The liner notes give the basic information without any commentary, and as far as I can see, contain only one error. Am I wrong or are tracks 9 and 10 on the fourth CD mislabeled? Track 9, which runs 7:33, seems to have the excitement of "Pirates of the Caribbean" (which I did not see) and track 10, which runs 4:22, the more sedate "The Girl with the Pearl Earring (which I also did not see). Listings seem to have them reversed.

"essential film scores from 1939 to 2004 ~ Incredible Music".......2005-05-16

When I think of the "Golden Age" of Hollywood, many composers come to mind...you gave the usher your ticket in the theater and sat down, knowingly you were going to get your moneys worth...when the curtain opened and you heard those first few notes...you sat back, watched and listened as the film score and orchestra worked their magic...now we have the ultimate from Silva Screen Classics "The Incredible Film Music Box", featuring a four disc set of the essential film scores of the past 60 years...covering several decades from 1939 through and up to the present 2004

There are compilations and then there are "Compilations" beginning with a classic that even the youngsters today recognize "GONE WITH THE WIND" (1939) (Max Steiner), sweeping score that captures the tragic history of the South during the Civil War, one great cue after another, it doesn't get any better than this, nominated by the Academy for Best Original Score...and closing on Disc 4 with "THE INCREDIBLES" (2004) (Michael Giacchino), the big hit in computer animation from Walt Disney & Pixar that once again pit Super-Heroes against the forces of evil...our family of five Supers prove crime doesn't pay, but box-office receipts do...gotta love it!

Silva Screen Classics as usual, has put quality into this 4-CD-Set featuring The City Of Prague Philarmonic Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus conducted by Kenneth Alwyn, Bill Ashton, Paul Bateman, James Fitzpatrick, Mario Klemens, Derek Wadsworth, and Nic Raine. Recorded in "Dolby Surround" with the new technology of "HDCD", this is a "film-score-buffs" dream, one to treasure now and years to come.

Some selections are missing, but when you think of what Silva has included, it is impossible to please everyone...was happy to see "TOUCH OF EVIL" (1958) from composer Henry Mancini, as I feel this composer deserves all the recognition that has been overlooked recently in the music world...This collection is aimed directly at the "Serious Film Score" music fans and collectors...Silva is as always, perfect in every way...just the way we like 'em!

Total Time: 4-CD-Set ~ Silva America 1181 ~ (5/10/2005)

Average customer rating:

"Nothung! Nothung! Neidliches Schwert!"
The best Ring in the market

Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000025ESY
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Tracks:

Prelude
Scene One: 'Weia! Waga! Woge, Du Welle!'
Scene One: 'Garstig Glatter Glitschriger Glimmer!'
Scene One: 'Wallala! Lalaleia! Leialalei!'
Scene One: 'Lugt, Schwestern! Die Weckerin Lacht In Den Grund'
Scene One: 'Der Welt Erbe Gewann' Ich Zu Eigen Durch Dich'
Scene One: Orchestral Interlude
Scene Two: 'Wotan! Gemahl! Erwache!'
Scene Two: 'Nur Wonne Schafft Dir, Was Mich Erschreckt'
Scene Two: 'Sanft Schloss Schlaf Dein Aug'
Scene Two: 'Zu Mir, Freia!'
Scene Two: 'Endlich Loge!'
Scene Two: 'Immer Ist Undank Loges Lohn'
Scene Two: 'Taugte Wohl Des Goldnen Tandes'
Scene Two: 'Hor', Wotan, Der Harrenden Wort!'
Scene Two: 'Jetzt Fand Ich's: Hort, Was Euch Fehlt'
Scene Two: Orchestral Interlude: Descent Into Nibelheim
Scene Three: 'Hehe! Hehe! Hieher! Hieher!'

Tracks:

Scene Three: 'Wer Halfe Mir?'
Scene Three: 'Mit Eurem Gefrage'
Scene Three: 'Was Wollt Ihr Hier?'
Scene Three: 'Habt Acht'
Scene Three: 'Riesen-Wurm Winde Sich Ringelnd'
Scene Three: Orchestral Interlude: Return From Nibelheim
Scene Four: 'Da, Vetter, Sitze Du Fest!'
Scene Four: 'Wohlan, Die Nibelungen Rief Ich Mir Nah'
Scene Four: 'Zu Deiner Losung Musst Du Ihn Lassen'
Scene Four: 'Bin Ich Nun Frei?' - Alberich's Curse
Scene Four: 'Lauschtest Du Seinem Liebesgruss?'
Scene Four: 'Halt! Nicht Sie Beruhrt!'
Scene Four: 'Nicht So Leicht Und Locker Gefugt'
Scene Four: 'Freia, Die Schone, Schau' Ich Nicht Mehr'
Scene Four: 'Weiche, Wotan, Weiche!'
Scene Four: 'Hort, Ihr Riesen! Zuruck Und Harret'
Scene Four: 'Furchtbar Nun Erfind' Ich Des Fluches Kraft'
Scene Four: 'Schwules Gedunst Schwebt In Der Luft'
Scene Four: 'Zur Burg Fuhrt Die Brucke'
Scene Four: 'Rheingold! Rheingold!'

Tracks:

Act One: Prelude
Act One: Scene One - 'Wes Herd Dies Auch Sei, Hier Muss Ich Rasten'
Act One: Scene One - 'Kuhlende Labung Gab Mir Der Quell'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Mud Am Herd Fand Ich Den Mann'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Friedmund Darf Ich Nicht Heissen'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Aus Dem Wald Trieb Es Mich Fort'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Ich Weiss Ein Wildes Geschlecht'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Ein Schwert Verhiess Mir Der Vater'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Der Manner Sippe Sass Hier Im Saal'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Wintersturme Wichen Dem Wonnemond' - 'Du Bist Der Lenz'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Wehwalt Heisst Du Furwahr?' - 'Siegmund Heiss Ich'

Tracks:

Act Two: Prelude
Act Two: Scene One - 'Nun Zaume Dein Ross' - 'Hojotoho' - 'Der Alte Sturm, Die Alte Muh'!'
Act Two: Scene One - 'Heut Has Du's Erlebt' - 'So Ist Es Denn Aus'
Act Two: Scene One - 'Was Verlangst Du?' - 'Dort Kommt Deine Kuhne Maid'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Schlimm, Furcht Ich, Schloss Der Streit'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Lass Ich's Verlauten' - 'Was Keinem In Worten Ich Kunde'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Ein Andres Ist's: Achte Es Wohl'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'So Sah Ich Siegvater Nie'
Act Two: Scene Three - 'Raste Nun Hier; Gonne Dir Ruh!' - 'Hinweg! Hinweg! Flieh Die Entweihte'

Tracks:

Act Two: Scene Four - 'Siegmund, Sieh Auf Mich!' - 'Hehr Bist Du'
Act Two: Scene Four - 'Du Sahest Der Walkure Sehrenden Blick'
Act Two: Scene Five - 'Zauberfest Bezahmt' - 'Kehrte Der Vater Nun Heim'
Act Three: Scene One - 'Hojotoho! Heiaha!' - 'Wart Ihr Kuhnen Zu Zweit?'
Act Three: Scene One - 'Schutzt Mich Und Helft Mir In Hochster Not'
Act Three: Scene One - 'Nicht Sehre Dich' - 'Fort Denn Eile' - Scene Two - 'Wo Ist Brunnhild', Wo Die Verbrecherin?'

Tracks:

Act Three: Scene Two - 'Hier Bin Ich, Vater' - 'Nicht Straf Ich Dich Erst'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'War Es So Schmahlich?' - 'Nicht Weise Bin Ich'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Deinen Leichten Sinn' - 'Wohl Taugte Dir Nicht'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Du Zeugtest Ein Edles Geschlecht' - 'In Festen Schlaf'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Leb Wohl, Du Kuhnes, Herrliches Kind!'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Loge, Hor! Lausche Hieher!'

Tracks:

Act One: Prelude
Act One: Scene One - 'Zwangvolle Plage! Muh Ohne Zweck!'
Act One: Scene One - 'Nun Tobst Du Wieder Wie Toll'
Act One: Scene One - 'Vieles Lehrtest Du, Mime'
Act One: Scene One - 'Wo Hast Du Nun, Mime, Dein Minniges Weibchen'
Act One: Scene One - 'So Starb Meine Mutter An Mir?'
Act One: Scene One - 'Das Gab Mir Deine Mutter'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Heil Dir, Weiser Schmied!'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Hier Sitz' Ich Am Herd'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Viel, Wanderer, Weisst Du Mir'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Was Zu Wissen Dir Frommt, Solltest Du Fragen'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Notung Heisst Ein Neidliches Schwert'

Tracks:

Act One: Scene Three - 'Nach Eitlen Fernen Forchtest Du'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Verfluchtes Licht! Was Flammt Dort Die Luft?'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Fuhltest Du Nie Im Finstren Wald'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Her Mit Den Stucken, Fort Mit Dem Stumper!'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Notung! Notung! Neidliches Schwert!'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Hohei!'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Den Der Bruder Schuf, Den Schimmernden Reif!'
Act Two: Prelude
Act Two: Scene One - 'In Wald Und Nacht Vor Neidhohl' Halt' Ich Wacht'
Act Two: Scene One - 'Durch Vertrages Treuerunen'
Act Two: Scene One - 'Fafner, Fafner! Erwache Wurm'
Act Two: Scene One - 'Ich Lieg' Und Besitz', Lasst Mich Schlafen!'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Wir Sind Zur Stelle! Bleib Hier Stehn!'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'He, Du Alter! Ist Das Alles'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Dass Der Mein Vater Nicht Ist'

Tracks:

Act Two: Scene Two - 'Aber, Wie Sah Meine Mutter Wohl Aus?'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Du Holdes Voglein! Dich Hort' Ich Noch Nie'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Es Schweigt Und Lauscht'
Act Two: Scene Two - Siegfried's Horn-call
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Haha! Da Hatte Mein Lied Mir Was Liebes Erblasen!'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Da Lieg, Neidischer Kerl'
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Zur Kunde Taugt Kein Toter'
Act Two: Scene Three - 'Wohin Schleichst Du So Eilig Und Schlau'
Act Two: Scene Three - 'Willkommen, Siegfried!'
Act Two: Scene Three - 'Das Sagt' Ich Doch Nicht?'
Act Two: Scene Three - 'Neides Zoll Zahlt Notung'
Act Two: Scene Three - 'Hei! Siegfried Erschlug Nun Den Schlimmen Zwerg!'
Act Three: Prelude
Act Three: Scene One - 'Wache, Wala! Wala! Erwach!'
Act Three: Scene One - 'Stark Ruft Das Lied'
Act Three: Scene One - 'Dir Unweisen Ruf' Ich Ins Ohr'
Act Three: Scene Two - 'Dort Seh' Ich Siegfried Nahn'

Tracks:

Act Three: Scene Two - 'Mein Voglein Schwebte Mir Fort!'
Act Three: Scene Two - 'Kenntest Du Mich, Kuhner Spross'
Act Three: Scene Two - Orchestral Interlude
Act Three: Scene Three - Introduction
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Selige Ode Auf Sonniger Hoh'!'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Das Ist Kein Mann'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Heil Dir, Sonne! Heil Dir, Licht'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'O Siegfried! Siegfried! Seliger Held!'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Dort Seh' Ich Grane, Mein Selig Ross'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Ewig War Ich, Ewig Bin Ich'

Tracks:

Prologue: 'Welch Licht Leuchtet Dort?'
Prologue: 'Wisset Ihr Noch, So Windet Von Neuem Das Seil'
Prologue: Orchestral Interlude (Dawn)
Prologue: 'Zu Neuen Taten, Teurer Helde'
Prologue: 'O Heilige Gotter! Hehre Geschlechter!'
Prologue: Orchestral Interlude (Siegfried's Journey To The Rhine)
Act One: Scene One - 'Nun Hor, Hagen, Sage Mir, Held'
Act One: Scene One - 'Brachte Siegfried Die Braut Dir Heim'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Heil! Siegfried, Teurer Held'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Willkommen, Gast, In Gibichs Haus'

Tracks:

Act One: Scene Two - 'Deinem Bruder Bot Ich Mich Zum Mann'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Bluhenden Lebens Labendes Blut'
Act One: Scene Two - 'Hier Sitz Ich Zur Wacht'
Act One: Scene Two - Orchestral Interlude
Act One: Scene Three - 'Altgewohntes Gerausch Raunt Meinem Ohr Die Ferne'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Hore Mit Sinn, Was Ich Dir Sage'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Welch Banger Traume Maren'
Act One: Scene Three - 'Brunnhild'! Ein Freier Kam'

Tracks:

Act Two: Prelude
Act Two: Scene One - 'Schlafst Du, Hagen, Mein Sohn?'
Act Two: Scene One - Orchestral Interlude
Act Two: Scene Two - 'Hoiho, Hagen! Muder Mann!'
Act Two: Scene Three - 'Hoiho! Ihr Gibichsmannen'
Act Two: Scene Four - 'Heil Dir, Gunther'
Act Two: Scene Four - 'Brunnhild', Die Hehrste Frau'
Act Two: Scene Four - 'Was Muht Brunnhildes Blick?'
Act Two: Scene Four - 'Ha! Dieser War Es, Der Mir Den Ring Entriss'
Act Two: Scene Four - 'Helle Wehr! Heilige Waffe!'
Act Two: Scene Five - 'Welches Unhods List Liegt Hier Verhohlen?'
Act Two: Scene Five - 'Dir Hilft Kein Hirn'
Act Three: Prelude - Scene One - 'Frau Sonne Sendet Lichte Strahlen'

Tracks:

Act Three: Scene One - 'Siegfried!'
Act Three: Scene One - 'Ihr Listigen Frauen, Lasst Das Sein!'
Act Three: Scene Two - 'Hoiho!'
Act Three: Scene Two - 'Trink, Gunther, Trink!'
Act Three: Scene Two - 'Mime Hiess Ein Murrischer Zwerg'
Act Three: Scene Two - 'Brunnhilde, Heilige Braut!'
Act Three: Scene Two - Orchestral Interlude: Funeral March
Act Three: Scene Three - 'War Das Sein Horn?'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Schweigt Eures Jammers Jauchzenden Schwall'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Starke Scheite Schichtet Mir Dort'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Mein Erbe Nun Nehm' Ich Zu Eigen'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Grane, Mein Ross, Sei Mir Gegrusst!'
Act Three: Scene Three - 'Zuruck Vom Ring!'

Album Details

14 CD Box Set, Including the Complete Recording of Wagner's 'ring Des Nibelungen'.

Customer Reviews:

"Nothung! Nothung! Neidliches Schwert!".......2007-05-15

Okay, so we have the Solti, Bohm, Karajan, Levine, Janowski, Goodall, and Sawallisch Rings on the market (I haven't listened to the other Ring recordings yet, sorry to say). And all of these leave me to one conclusion: the many differences lead me to believe that all of these ring sets have their own authenticities and setbacks. And here they are:

TIMING (Estimate):
Solti's Ring: 14 hours, 30 minutes
Bohm's Ring: 13 hours, 30 minutes
Karajan's Ring: 14 hours, 50 minutes
Goodall's Ring: 16 hours, 50 minutes
Janowski's Ring: 14 hours, 0 minutes
Levine's Ring: 15 hours, 20 minutes
Sawallisch's Ring: 14 hours, 0 minutes

CONDUCTING:
Solti: Solti's conducting is driven with sheer muscle, but sometimes he makes the Ring overemotional. His Walkure & Gotterdammerung Preludes are clear examples: they're annoyingly bombastic. Nonetheless he almost seldom loses control with anything. His clear focus on the drama is astonishing.

Bohm: I must say his live Bayreuth recording brings out some of the best. He puts more faith in the orchestral score, but he also gives it more intensity. His tempi are some of the quickest, but they still don't seem rushed at all (except maybe "Wohin schleich'st du eilig und schlau"). I especially like his "Forging Scene" & "Hagen Summons the Vassals"; both are the most energetic on disc.

Karajan: Karajan's chamber approach is very interesting. Instead of going for the drama or the energy, the conductor goes for the beauty. Almost everything in his Ring sounds very ethereal because of his excessive use of lyricism. His orchestral preludes (except Walkure Act 1) sound more beautiful than others, and much of the soft parts (such as Siegfried Act Three Scene Three) are controlled nicely. His "Funeral March" and "Immolation" are recommendable. Siegfried Act Three Scene Two could have improved with more tension.

Goodall: Oh, boy. While I do praise Goodall with his amazing attention to detail, his ridiculously sluggish tempi will tick some Wagnerites off: everything is slower than adagio moderato. But I did enjoy listening to the slow beauty of his "Wotan's Farewell/Magic Fire Music". This was recorded live and sung in English.

Janowski: This is a very classical Ring. Instead of bombast, spacious, or lyrical passion, maestro Janowski gives us the straightforward approach. He goes straight for Wagner's original intentions (precise tempi, dynamics, flow of leitmotivs, etc.), which makes this another exquisite Ring. "Hagen Summons the Vassals" is probably the fastest I've ever heard (along with Sawallisch's). Rheingold Scene Four can be best described as "sensational".

Levine: While he does stay true to the score like Bohm, this conductor makes for a somewhat dull Ring. His handling of the orchestra is nice, but the moderately slow tempi he chooses is flawed. It should be more animated. His beautiful "Funeral March" and "Erda's Warning" are two of the few flawless features.

Sawallisch: I guess you can say that Sawallisch is half-Karajan, half-Janowski. While he does stay true to the orchestral score like Janowski, he also puts in a little Karajan-like lyricism. At some points he loses track with orchestra and singers (as does every live recording) but Bohm has more control. This was also recorded live.

ORCHESTRA:
Solti's Vienna Philharmonic: The woodwinds are the most beautiful in Solti's Ring (the "Forest Murmurs" is clear evidence of that). French horns and Wagner tubas make this a recommended listening. The strings in "Heda Heda Hedo" could've added a bit more work, but they are strikingly spectacular everywhere else. The orchestra gives it their all in Siegfried Act Two & Three, but they are at their weakest in Walkure Act One & Three (Bohm's Bayreuth does it better). Overall, it's the loudest and certainly most bombastic out of all the Ring orchestras combined.

Bohm's Bayreuth Festival: The ultimate Wagnerian orchestra gives it their all. The brass both high and low are the most powerful, while the woodwinds are the most delicate. The strings are muffled only a few times, otherwise the eighteen anvils are perfectly loud and clear. Erda's scenes aren't as effective as Janowski's, but the entire Walkure is more successful than Janowski's when it comes to tone & technique. Overall, this orchestra is the most dramatic.

Karajan's Berlin Philharmonic: The entire orchestra sounds polished, not to say that it is bad. Indeed the drama is still there, but much of the suspense is lacking (the scenes with Fasolt and Fafner come to mind). The brass sometimes overpowers the strings, which can be a serious problem. Gotterdammerung "Three Norns" Scene sounds very mysterious, very eerie.

Goodall's English National Opera: This orchestra sounds nice, even if the sluggishness can bring them down at times. The Flight of the Valkyries doesn't sound too good in a slow tempo, but the entire orchestra does sound lucid here. Siegfried Act One Prelude is the creepiest. All of the leitmotivs are heard loud and clear, just like in Janowski's version.

Janowski's Staatskapelle Dresden: This orchestra has the same force & flair as does Bohm's Bayreuth Festival, only Dresden sounds much clearer due to the fantastic digital sound. Even minor details are found in this Ring. I can hear harps in Flight of the Valkyries! The strings imitate the Siegfried forest very well, while the woodwinds representing the songbird are wonderful (but not as wonderful as Solti's songbird). Dresden's "Magic Fire Music" (along with Berlin's) is the most extravagant.

Levine's Metropolitan Opera: The brass and woodwinds are the true stars. The strings sound too tired to continue on in Siegfried & Gotterdammerung. The Finale to Rheingold is absolutely stunning (the trumpets and trombones will not disappoint), and the Second Act of Walkure is the most impressive, the most refined.

Sawallisch's Bavarian State: Wrong notes in this live recording won't matter, as the entire orchestra gets everything going in all four nights at the opera. The strings never surrender to imperfection, and the winds are marvelously aligned. I just wish that some of the singers would keep up with the orchestra.

SINGERS:
-Wotan
Solti: Hans Hotter is the superior Wotan. He sounds powerful throughout the Ring (except Rheingold, in which a less stellar George London performs).

Bohm and Janowski: Theo Adam in Bohm's live recording is another treat. While he is not as equally impressive as Hotter, he can certainly conjure up everlasting emotions. Adam sounds weaker in Janowski's studio recording, but he still doesn't disappoint.

Karajan: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau plays Wotan in "Rheingold," while Thomas Stewart replaces Fischer-Dieskau in "Walkure" and "Siegfried". I don't think Fischer-Dieskau was a good choice; he sounds too humane and too light. Stewart makes an astounding improvement in both "Walkure" and "Siegfried".

Goodall: Norman Bailey has that divine spark that Hotter used to cherish. He's heavy and unblemished, and he handles the English text with flair and sheen.

Levine: James Morris is a notch below Hotter, Adam, and Bailey, but he overpowers Fischer-Dieskau pretty much throughout the Levine's Ring.

Sawallisch: I may be biased, but Robert Hale just didn't do it for me. He sounded dull and tedious, and his Wotan's Farewell wasn't enough to sadden me.

-Brunnhilde
Solti and Bohm: Birgit Nilsson is the best Brunnhilde on the market. Her Valkyrie cry is delightful, and her final scene in Gotterdammerung is brilliant beyond belief.

Karajan: Regine Crespin is without a doubt one of the finest Brunnhildes after Nilsson. She's fantastic in Walkure Act Three. I just wish she stayed on as the Valkyrie later on in the Ring (Helga Dernesch is no good in Gotterdammerung, sorry to say).

Goodall: Rita Hunter is at her strongest in Walkure and Siegfried. She is at her weakest in Gotterdammerung. What may have caused her downfall in the fourth installment? "The world may never know."

Janowski: Jeannine Altmeyer is basically the most controversial Brunnhilde on CD. Some people say that she's too light and weak, while others say she sounds young and very enchanting. I'm with those who think Altmeyer was a good choice, but you yourself (the shopper) are going to have to decide whether she's good or not.

Levine and Sawallisch: Hildegard Behrens is just like Nilsson and Crespin: while she's not the best, she is definitely another perfect Brunnhilde of choice. She's at her most dazzling when she performs Walkure (Levine) and Siegfried (Sawallisch).

-Siegmund & Sieglinde
Let's see. For the Siegmunds, we have James King for Solti and Bohm. Jon Vickers for Karajan, Alberto Remedios for Goodall, Siegfried Jerusalem for Janowski, Gary Lakes for Levine, and Robert Schunk for Sawallisch. For the Sieglindes, we have Regine Crespin for Solti, Leonie Rysanek for Bohm, Gundula Janowitz for Karajan, Margaret Curphy for Goodall, Jessye Norman for both Janowski and Levine, and Julia Varady for Sawallisch. Hmm . . . Jerusalem is good . . . and so is Vickers . . . Janowitz is charming, and so is . . . Oh, what the heck? All the singers for Siegmund and Sieglinde are fantastic. Two exceptions, though: Robert Schunk doesn't sound heroic enough, and Jessye Norman for Levine's Ring doesn't sound young and innocent enough.

-Siegfried
Solti and Bohm: Wolfgang Windgassen may very well be the best Siegfried for the ages. His `Forging Scene" in both renditions are defiantly inspiring. His last scene in Gotterdammerung is celestial and overwhelming.

Karajan: Jess Thomas (Siegfried) and Helge Brilioth (Gotterdammerung) may not be as ideal as Windgassen, but they do know how to be a magnificent heldentenor. Thomas pulls it off with Act One and Three.

Goodall: Wow! What a singer that Alberto Remedios! He never drags in either of the last two installments, and he uses the correct emotions in every scene that he is in.

Janowski and Sawallisch: Rene Kollo's Siegfried is a poetically expressive one. In Janowski's version he sounds playful when he's in Mime's home, and he sounds willed when he's in the Gibich Hall. He is not good enough in Sawallisch's version, however. His tiresome "Forging Scene" is obvious evidence of that.

Levine: Oh, Reiner Goldberg. At least you tried. Seriously, he sounds too tedious (especially in Gotterdammerung Act Three Scene Two) and too old. I don't know Levine should've chose Kollo when he recorded his Ring.

-Alberich
Solti and Bohm: Gustav Niedlinger has a heaviness that overwhelms a few other baritones. When he sings his only sequence in Gotterdammerung Act Two Scene One, his emotion is so pure that his son Hagen would've drowned himself in tears (Too melodramatic? Sorry about that.). The only problem is that his character sounds too one-dimensional. Alberich isn't just some cardboard-cutout bad guy. He has a very good reason why he wants to take revenge on the world. Overall, Niedlinger is amazing throughout Wagner's Ring (He deserves many awards for "Bin ich nun frei?").

Karajan: I guess you can say that Zoltan Kelemen tries his best throughout. He is not good in Rheingold, but he gets better in Siegfried and Gotterdammerung.

Goodall: Derek Hammond-Stroud is three-dimensional, but not that much. Still, he can sound very demanding in Rheingold Scene One and Siegfried Act Two Scene One.

Janowski: Siegmund Nimsgern may be the most humane Alberich yet, but it's all good. He sings with more passion than Kelemen and more robustness than Hammond-Stroud. Niedlinger's ferociousness puts him below, however. "Schaf'st du, Hagen, mein sohn?" is noteworthy.

Levine and Sawallisch: Ekkehard Wlaschiha is one hell of a vigorous Alberich. I praise him in Rheingold Scene One and Three. His performance in Siegfried (both versions) could've improved with more distrustfulness towards Mime and the Wanderer.

-Mime
Solti and Karajan: Gerhard Stolze is the creepiest Mime ever known to humankind. This dwarf outsings other Mimes on the market. When he sings "Die stucken! Das Schwert!" his anger and fear is the most effective to almost all Ring listeners.

Bohm: Erwin Wohlfahrt wins second place. He gives a first-rate performance in Siegfried Act One, but loses some of his edge in Act Two. He is an exceptional Mime nonetheless. Look for him in Karajan's Rheingold, also.

Goodall: Gregory Dempsey isn't emotional enough. He doesn't sound fearful or depressed at all, which makes him the dullest Mime for the Ring.

Janowski: Peter Schreier is for Siegfried, while Christian Vogel is for Rheingold. Vogel is less than perfect, while Schreier is way beyond outstanding. Schreier is less ghoulish and more benevolent, more three-dimensional than Stolze and Wohlfahrt. The only flaw I can find is his handling of "Die stucken! Das Schwert!" He could've added a bit more fear in that sequence.

Levine: Heinz Zednik is yet another excellent mime. He is equal to Schreier when it comes to humaneness and lyricism. His performance in Rheingold Scene Three is pure gold, while his performance in Siegfried (particularly "Willkommen, Siegfried!") is a stunning achievement.

Sawallisch: Helmut Pampuch is just like Schreier and Zednik: he's very VERY good. Nuff said.

-Loge
Solti: Set Svanholm may be the weakest Loge. He is not very ominous throughout all of his scenes, and his lack of a sinister atmosphere is greatly affects the entire Rheingold. But he'll soon be forgotten later on in the Ring.

Bohm: Why the heck would the conductor have Wolfgang Windgassen play both Siegfried AND Loge? The demi-god needs to sound different from a son of a Walsung. Still, it's satisfactory, and his "Ihrem ende eilen sie zu" gives great foreshadowing.

Karajan: Gerhard Stolze is easily the most entertaining Loge to listen to. His scenes in Scene Three are delightful.

Goodall: Emile Belcourt isn't as good as Stolze, but he certainly can make some of the best of an English-speaking Loge.

Janowski: Peter Schreier is the most eccentric out of all of them, and that's a fact. Much of his singing involves imagination, peril, vengeance, and deviousness. Belcourt depends only on imagination and deviousness, Stolze only vengeance and deviousness, and Windgassen only peril. His odd conversations with Alberich and the gods/goddesses are classic.

Levine: Siegfried Jerusalem doesn't seem like a good choice for Loge. He's better off playing Siegmund or Siegfried, but not a demi-god.

Sawallisch: Robert Tear is on par with Stolze and Schreier. Sometimes he takes things too low, but all is forgiven with his management of character development.

-Everyone Else
Uh-huh, what can I say? Everyone else does a good job in all Ring recordings (maybe not in Swarowsky's version). Matti Salminen is the perfect Hagen (Janowski, Levine, and Sawallisch), while Kirsten Flagstad is the most brilliant Fricka (Solti). The Norns and Rheinmaidens do a splendid job in Solti, Janowski, and Levine. The Vassals (male choir) are at their unsurpassed in Bohm and Goodall. The only flawed Erda is Anne Collins (Goodall), maybe too light and too heavy at times. All in all, no one here is graded C or lower.

CONCLUSION: I have yet to listen to Barenboim's Bayreuth presentation and the essential mono recordings (Furtwangler, Krauss), but I'm pretty sure that have their advantages and disadvantages. So there you have it. We have the histrionic Solti, the energetic Bohm, the otherworldly Karajan, the spacious Goodall, the calculated Janowski, the relaxed Levine, and the serious Sawallisch Rings. They have their own authenticities and setbacks, and they certainly have their own significances for Ring listeners everywhere.

Sir Georg Solti: Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Ring Cycle) / Sir Georg Solti

Herbert von Karajan: Der Ring des Nibelungen / Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic

Reginall Goodall: Wagner: The Ring Cycle (Box Set)

Marek Janowski: Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

James Levine: Der Ring Des Nibelungen

Wolfgang Sawallisch: Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Ring Cycle) / Sawallisch, Bayerischer Staatsoper

The best Ring in the market.......2006-07-05

Most people would say that Solti's ring is the best recording of Wagner's monumental work, and while I say that it is the best studio recording in terms of authenticity (hint: Culshaw's use of steerhorns, tuned anvils, and ignots and other sound devices plus his alteration of Windgassen's voice in Gotterdammerung) and vocal performance, Bohm's ring surpasses Solti's with respect to the score's dramatic aspects. I say this because the singers in this recording are deeply involved in Wagner's complex drama, which is very essential to the composer's Gesamtkunswerks. The cast is almost similar, with some better or lesser singers in this and that role. I would say that the Valkyries, Norns, and Rhinemaidens are particularly ravishing in this Ring, more so than Solti's. You also have a much more involved Walsung pair, and while Bohm's Wotan is nowhere near as great as Hotter, he does give a most intense, heroic, and outstanding reading. Birgit Nilsson is a more convincing Brunnhilde here, and Windgassen's Siegfried is thrilling. Erwin Wolfhart is probably the best Mime on record, and Martha Modl's Waltraute has the most powerfully dramatic reading of the role I have heard. The bass roles are taken by greats such as Talvela, Bohme, Nienstiedt, and Greindl (whose Hagen is still amazing after all these years), and Anja Silja sings one of the strongest Freias on disc. Dvorakova brings a fresh insight to the role of Gutrune that I couldn't help but notice this character after it has been mangled by indifferent sopranos in the past (except Janowitz, who makes magic with the role).

This Ring is the first Bayreuth Ring officially recorded and the sound is excellent and well-balanced compared to other Rings of the era. He is also an outstanding Ring conductor in that his use of fast tempi, passion, lyricism, and phrasing that sings and sometimes almost dances creates a very theatrical atmosphere and offers amazing musical richness. Listen to the opening bars of Rheingold and his Gotterdammerung Prelude, and you will know what I mean. He and Wieland Wagner have created a stage drama that is unsurpassed in dramatic value. His Ring displays wonderful humanity and the rendering of each character's feelings has never been so alive, not even in Solti or Karajan's readings. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Simply put........ASTOUNDING!....OUTSTANDING!....An AWESOME RING!
Finally
A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME "RING"
Still one of the Best Ring Sets!
Very good, but be careful...

Wagner: The Ring
Wagner , Krauss , Vinay , Windgassen , Fischer-Dieskau , and Varnay
Manufacturer: Opera D'oro
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Wagner: Die Walküre
Wagner: Das Rheingold
Wagner: Der Fliegende Holländer
Aspects of Wagner (Oxford Paperbacks)
Wagner: Götterdämmerung

ASIN: B000E5KQL4
Release Date: 2006-02-14

Tracks:

Prelude - Gerhard Stolze
Weia! Waga! Woge, Du Welle! - Gerhard Stolze
Lugt, Schwestern! Die Weckerin Lacht In Den Grund - Gerhard Stolze
Der Welt Erbe Gewann' Ich Zu Eigen Durch Dich? - Gerhard Stolze
Wotan! Gemah! Erwache! - Gerhard Stolze
Sanft Schloss Schlaf Dein Aug' - Gerhard Stolze
Endlich Loge! - Gerhard Stolze
Immer Ist Undank Loges Lohn! - Gerhard Stolze
Dir's Zu Melden Gelobt' Ich Den Madchen - Gerhard Stolze
Uber Stock Un Stein Zu Tal - Gerhard Stolze
Woatan, Gemahl, Unsel'ger Mann! - Gerhard Stolze
Hehe! Hehe! Hieher! Hieher! Hieher! Tuckischer Zwerg! - Gerhard Stolze

Tracks:

Nibelheim Hier! - Gerhard Stolze
Wer Halfe Mir? - Gerhard Stolze
Was Wollt Ihr Hier? - Gerhard Stolze
Auf Wonnigen Hohn - Gerhard Stolze
Ohe! Ohe! Schreckliche Schlange - Gerhard Stolze
Da, Vetter, Sitze Du Fest! - Gerhard Stolze
Gezahlt Hab, Ich: Nun Lasst Mich Ziehn! - Gerhard Stolze
Bin Ich Nun Frei? - Gerhard Stolze
Fasolt Un Fafner Nahen Von Fern - Gerhard Stolze
Freia, Die Schone, Schau' Ich Nicht Mehr - Gerhard Stolze
Weiche, Wotan, Wiche! - Gerhard Stolze
Halt, Du Geiriger! - Gerhard Stolze
Schwules Gedunst Schwebt In Der Luft - Gerhard Stolze
Abendlich Strahlt Der Sonne Auge - Gerhard Stolze
Rheingold! Rheingold! Reines Gold! - Gerhard Stolze

Tracks:

Prelude - Hans Hotter
Wes Herd Dies Auch Sei, Hier Muss Ich Rasten - Hans Hotter
Einen Unseligen Labtest Du - Hans Hotter
Mud Am Herd Fand Ich Den Mann - Hans Hotter
Friedmund Darf Ich Nicht Heissen - Hans Hotter
Die So Leidig Los Dir Beschied - Hans Hotter
Ich Weiss Ein Wildes Geschlecht - Hans Hotter
Ein Schwert Verhiess Mir Der Vater - Hans Hotter
Schlafst Du, Gast? - Hans Hotter
Winderstume Wichen Dem Wonnemond - Hans Hotter
Du Bist Der Lenz, Nach Dem Ich Verlangte - Hans Hotter
O Susseste Wonne! Seligstes Weib! - Hans Hotter
Siegmund Heiss Ich Und Siegmund Bin Ich! - Hans Hotter

Tracks:

Prelude - Nun Zaume Dein Ross, Reisige Maid! - Hans Hotter
Ho-Jo-To-Ho! Ho-Jo-To-Ho! - Hans Hotter
Der Alte Sturm, Die Alte Muh! - Hans Hotter
So Ist Est Denn Aus Mit Den Ewigen Gottern - Hans Hotter
Heiaha! Heiaha! Hojotoho! - Hans Hotter
Schlimm, Furcht Ich, Schloss Der Streit - Hans Hotter
Als Junger Liebe Lust mir Verblich - Hans Hotter
Ein Andres Ist's: Achte Es Wohl - Hans Hotter
So Nimmst Du Von Siegmund Den Sieg? - Hans Hotter
So Nimm Meinen Segen, Niblungen-Sohn! - Hans Hotter
So Sah Ich Siegvater Nie...Raste Nun Hier: Gonne Dir Ruh! - Hans Hotter

Tracks:

Hinweg! Hinweg! Flieh Die Entweihte! - Hans Hotter
Siegmund! Sieh Auf Mich - Hans Hotter
Erdenluft Muss Sie Noch Atmen - Hans Hotter
Weh! Weh! Susseste Weib - Hans Hotter
Zwei Leben Lachen Der Hier - Hans Hotter
Zauberfest Bezahmt Ein Schlaf - Hans Hotter
Wehwalt! Wehwalt! - Hans Hotter
The Ride Of The Valkyries - Hojotoho! Hojotoho! - Hans Hotter
Schutz Mich Und Helft In Hochster Not! - Hans Hotter
Nicht Sehre Dich Sorge Um Mich - Hans Hotter
Steh, Brunnhild'!... Wo Die Verbrecherin? - Hans Hotter

Tracks:

Heir Bin Ich, Vater: Gebiete Die Strafe! - Hans Hotter
War Es So Schmahlich, Was Ich Verbrach - Hans Hotter
Deinen Leichten Sinn Lass Dich Denn Leiten - Hans Hotter
Du Zeugtest Ein Edles Geschlecht - Hans Hotter
Leb Wohl, Du Kuhnes, Herrliches Kind! - Hans Hotter
Der Augen, Leuchtendes Paar - Hans Hotter
Loge, Hor! Lausche Hieher! - Hans Hotter
Magic Fire Music - Hans Hotter

Tracks:

Prelude - Rita Streich
Zwangvolle Plage! Muh Ohne Zweck! - Rita Streich
Hoiho! Hoiho! Hau Ein! Hau Ein! - Rita Streich
Nun Tobst Du Wider Wie Toll - Rita Streich
Vieles Lehrtest Du, Mime - Rita Streich
Ans Leben Gehst Du Mir Schier! - Rita Streich
Und Diese Stucke Sollst Du Mir Schmieden - Rita Streich
Heil, Dir Weiser Schmied! - Rita Streich
Auf Wolkigen Hoh'n Wohnen Die Gotter - Rita Streich
Verfluchtest Licht! - Rita Streich
Was Ist's Mit Dem Furchten? - Rita Streich

Tracks:

Ist's Eine Kunst, Was Kenn, Ich Sie Nicht? - Rita Streich
Notung! Notung! Neidliches Schwert! - Rita Streich
Hoho! Hoho! Schmiede, Mein Hammer, Ein Hartes Schwert! - Rita Streich
Den Der Bruder Schuf, Den Schimmernden Reif - Rita Streich
Prelude - Rita Streich
In Wald Und Und Nacht Vor Neidhohl Halt, Ich Wacht - Rita Streich
Durch Vertrages Treuerunen Band Er Dich Bosen Mir Nicht - Rita Streich
Wir Sind Zur Stelle! Bleib Hier Stehn! - Rita Streich
Dass Der Mein Vater Nicht Ist - Rita Streich

Tracks:

Hei, Ich Versuch's Sing' Ihm Nach - Rita Streich
Haha! Da Hatte Mein Lied Mir Was Liebes Erblasen! - Rita Streich
Ist Mir Doch Fast, Als Sprachen Die Voglein Zu Mir - Rita Streich
Wohin Schleichst Du Eilig Un Schlau - Rita Streich
Was Ihr Mir Nutzt, Weiss Ich Nicht - Rita Streich
Neides Zoll Zahlt Notung - Rita Streich
Nun Sing! Ich Lausche Dem Gesang - Rita Streich
Prelude - Rita Streich
Wache, Wala! Wala! Erwach! - Rita Streich
Stark Ruft Das Lied - Rita Streich
Dir Unweisen Ruf, Ich Ins Ohr - Rita Streich
Dort Seh' Ich Siegfried Nahn - Rita Streich

Tracks:

Mein Voglein Schwebte Mir Fort! - Rita Streich
Bleibst Du Mir Stumm, Storrischer Wicht? - Rita Streich
Zieh Hin! Ich Kann Nicht Halten! - Rita Streich
Selige Ode Auf Sonniger Hoh'! - Rita Streich
Heil Dir, Sonne! Heil Dir, Licht! - Rita Streich
So Starb Nicht Meine Mutter? - Rita Streich
Ewig War Ich, Ewig Bin Icht - Rita Streich

Tracks:

Introduction - Josef Greindl
Welch Licht Leuchtet Dort? - Josef Greindl
Zu Neuen Taten, Teurer Helde - Josef Greindl
Lass, Ich, Liebste, Dich Heir - Josef Greindl
Siegfried's Rhine Journey - Josef Greindl
Nun Hor, Hagen, Sage Mir, Held - Josef Greindl
Hoiho! Wohin, Du Heitrer Held? - Josef Greindl
Heil Siegfried, Teurer Held! - Josef Greindl
Willkommen, Gast In Gibichs Haus - Josef Greindl
Gutrune...Sind's Gute Runen - Josef Greindl

Tracks:

Bluhenden Lebens Labendes Blut - Josef Greindl
as Nahmst Du Am Eide Nicht Teil? - Josef Greindl
Hier Sitz' Ich Zur Wacht, Wahre Den Hof - Josef Greindl
Altgewohntes Gerausch - Josef Greindl
Hore Mit Sinn, Was Ich Dir Sage! - Josef Greindl
Welch Banger Traume Maren - Josef Greindl
Blitzend Gewolk - Josef Greindl
Brunnhild'! Ein Frier Kam - Josef Greindl
Prelude - Josef Greindl
Schlafst Du, Hagen, Mein Sohn? - Josef Greindl

Tracks:

Hoiho, Hagen! Muder Mann! - Josef Greindl
Hoiho! Ihr Gibischmannen, Machet Euch Auf! Heil Dir, Gunther! - Josef Greindl
Brunnhild', Die Hehrste Frau - Josef Greindl
Brunnhild', Huhne Frau - Josef Greindl
Heil'ge Gotter, Himmlische Lenker! - Josef Greindl
Helle Wehr! Heilige Waffe! - Josef Greindl
Gunther, Wehr Deinem Weibe - Josef Greindl
Welches Unholds List Liegt Hier Verhohlen? - Josef Greindl
Schlafst Du, Hagen, Mein Sohn? - Josef Greindl
Schlafst Du, Hagen, Mein Sohn? - Josef Greindl

Tracks:

So Schon! - Gerhard Stolze
Mein Schwert Zerschwang Einen SPeer - Gerhard Stolze
Hoiho! - Gerhard Stolze
Brunnhilde, Heilige Braut! - Gerhard Stolze
Funeral Music - Gerhard Stolze
Was Das Sein Horn? - Gerhard Stolze
Starke Scheite Schichtet Mir Dort - Gerhard Stolze

Album Description

Unavailable for several years, this classic complete Ring recording now returns triumphantly to the catalogs at budget price! Ring groupies and enthusiasts, who are a very active and vocal subset of opera lovers, argue vigorously over which are the best complete recordings of all time. Most will agree that this is one of the finest ever, and many rate it the best of all! Wagner performances recorded in Wagner's own theater in Bayreuth, Germany always have a special appeal due to the unique acoustics, which Wagner took into account when composing. His music dramas just seem to sound better there than anywhere else. This recording caused a commotion when it came out in 1953 due to its palpable excitement in comparison to the relative sedateness of previous recorded performances. Clemens Krauss was one of the great Wagner conductors (and a personal friend of Richard Strauss), but what really sets this recording apart is the cast. Overall, it is arguably the greatest cast assembled for Der Ring at Bayreuth in the last 60 years. Although the great bass-baritone Hans Hotter sang Wotan in the Solti Ring years later, here his voice is in far better condition. Wolfgang Windgassen as Siegfried is also much more youthful. Astrid Varnay was one of the outstanding Brünnhildes of all time, and the other singers are equally fine. Even small parts are taken by major singers of the era, such as the famed coloratura Rita Streich as the Forest Bird. The sonics on this set, although monophonic and not up to modern standards, are quite acceptable and have been digitally remastered. A magnificent set including plot synopsis and track listings, absolutely essential to the serious opera lover, especially the Wagner fan and Ring aficionado! Live performance, Bayreuth Festspielhaus, 1953.

Customer Reviews:

Simply put........ASTOUNDING!....OUTSTANDING!....An AWESOME RING!.......2007-06-25

Wow! It doesn't get much better than this!

I had heard lots about this recording over the years, but hadn't ever had the opportunity to hear it, or even excerpts from it.

I recently had a choice of a gratis item from a major bookseller, and I chose this recording. Upon its arrival, I opened it immediately and put "Rheingold" on my machine, and must say that I was "stunned" by it. As well, with the following entrants that make up the series.

This is such a delight, I hardly know where to start. But, first, I guess I should express my delight at the packaging. Upon opening the box, there, under the booklet, were the cd's, all picture discs, one image per opera, in individual soft plastic sleeves! Wonderful! The booklet itself, while not sporting librettos of the operas, does contain a wonderful article about Krauss' ring by Robert Levine, a page for each opera, sporting the matching cd artwork, and a complete cast list, followed by track keys, and a synopsis. It also includes a few photos, and some biographical information on John Martinez, the artist who painted the cd art illustrations. The Booklet is, itself, printed on a quality weight and grade of paper, and the pages have been varnished, which helps with keeping it looking sharp and new, and with its longevity. An only comment I would make is, I wish there was a fabric spine on the outer box, to protect and reinforce the binding at the opening, as the pasteboard will eventually break along the fold from opening and closing the set.

First, I have to tell you that I was simply blown away by the sound on these recordings! I have tried searching everywhere to find out if this remastering is ADD, or AAD, and I cannot seem to raise this information. I will keep searching and update this review later. The sound quality on these discs is so clean, clear, and crisp it is hard to believe they were recorded in 1953 Bayreuth. The next "great observation" is the cast list, and listening to the artists themselves in their individual roles. What a GRAND ACHIEVEMENT to have assembled this cast for the 1953 Ring at Bayreuth....OH, to only have been there!

This is truly one of the finest recorded achievements I have heard. It is so amazing to me that recently we have had so many great recordings surface from the past, especially Wagner from Bayreuth. The recent releases from Testament have been breathtaking, also. Hotter, Vinay, Windgassen, Varnay, Resnik, Neidlinger, Uhde, and Kuen, combined together, certainly put this Ring in a class by itself. We NOW have TWO sets of The RING that belong in everyone's collection. This, and the recent release on Testament conducted by Keilberth in 55 at Bayreuth. Hotter is certainly the blackest and most masterly Wotan ever, bar none. And, Varnay's Brunnhilde is simply awe inspiring! Neidlinger's Alberich is truly evil, Resnik and Vinay are both just knockouts as Seglinde and Siegmund, what a pairing! Uhde is exceptional as the blackest Guntherthat I believe I have ever heard. Last, Paul Kuen is an awesome, sly, little Mime...one of the very best! Holding this all together is Clemens Krauss at the head of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus. These "old guys" certainly had the insight, heart, and feeling to create truly "close to the bone" Wagner. Today, with modern productions, ideas, interpretations, etc., this really does not happen any more. How very thankful we should be to have these marvelous old recordings, especially this one! Do pick up a copy of this before it is out of print, again, and Enjoy it! ~operabruin

Finally.......2006-11-29

I have had this performance for 15-20 years, in dreadful sound (Foyer, Gala) At long last somebody had given the performance the quality transfer it needed and deserved. The sound is superior, the packaging is superior, and, it goes without saying, the performance is superior. It hasn't got a libretto, but they assume (correctly) that any collector who has gotten this far already has a pile of libretti.

I would not, however, recommend this version as somebody's first ring. That must be Solti's, because he set the standard, which stands to this day. Then, if you're hooked, you can start with the historic performances such as this one, the Kna '56, the Furt '53 and '50. You will also want to consider some of the more modern ones such as Boehm's, and Levine's DVD (much better than his CD version). Von Karajan is to be avoided. I have not heard the Kleiberth '55 yet, although I suppose I am going to have to get it when they get finished issuing it.

A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME "RING".......2006-11-22

How to describe this RING without going over-the-top?

CONDUCTING: Krauss had the lyricism of Bruno Walter, the fire of Toscanini, the clarity and linear tension of Reiner, the pacing of Muck, and the depth and transitional instinct of Furtwangler- plus a few qualities of his own. And within 9 months of this RING, he would be dead. (He was engaged to conduct the '53 Bayreuth RING & PARSIFAL- only because Knappertsbusch got into a spat with the Wagner grandsons and stayed away, that year.) That is to say, we are very fortunate to have him in the RING.

Now, there IS the '55 Keilberth/Bayreuth RING (taped in stereo by Decca, with most of Krauss's cast), which is being released, piecemeal, at over-the-top prices. Granted, Keilberth was unjustly underrated (or, to quote a certain Politician, "misunderestimated"). But Krauss was even greater.

SINGING: On the Krauss RING, we hear several of Solti's singers, in younger and fresher voice (Wolfgang Windgassen's Siegfried, Hans Hotter's Wotan and Gustav Neidlinger's Alberich, to name only three). Not to mention Astrid Varnay's Brunnhilde- one of the greatest performances of anything by anyone. She had an intensity and a grandeur all her own- even if her "instrument" may not have been as steely as Nilsson's or as "warm" as Flagstad's.

THE ORCHESTRA: The first post-war Bayreuth Festival was in 1951. And for the next five years (or so), the orchestral playing at Bayreuth was, overall, better than it would ever be again. Within a decade it got rather slack, for at least three reasons:
1) Increased costs led to less rehearsal time.
2) In 1961, the Berlin Wall went up and, on-again off-again, Cold War tensions escalated. This meant that during the political "cold snaps," the best (and reasonably-priced) players from Prague, Leipzig & Dresden (who had earlier been lured to Bayreuth by hard Western currency) encountered greater restrictions in crossing the Iron Curtain.

3) The better players of the West were lured away from Bayreuth by better-paying, more comfortable "gigs" with the other big Festivals- which expanded enough to time-overlap with the Bayreuth calendar.

If you think this is an exaggeration, compare the '53 RING orchestra with the '67 Bohm; and while you're at it, compare the playing on Knappertsbusch's 1951 PARSIFAL with his '62. (The '66 Bohm/Bayreuth TRISTAN is something of an exception.)

"PROBLEMS": With any live Wagner (even under "Bayreuth conditions"), you must factor-in a degree of human fallability and fatigue. So, in the course of this RING you may encounter some not-so-razor-sharp ensemble and momentary intonation "issues." Still, you will be amazed at how clean and in-tune the playing is, throughout. Yes, in the SIEGFRIED sword-forging scene, Windgassen misses a verse and rhythmically goes all over the place before "righting" himself . (But "live" , this passage is almost always a mess.) Yes, at one point, the whole trumpet section forgets to play the "sword-motiv." And yes, in the few lines of her entrance, the Guntrune leaves something to be desired; still, by the time of her little scene just before the Immolation (a passage that was often "cut" in later years- even at Bayreuth) she acquits herself honorably.

These are all fleeting problems, gone in a flash, and no more of an obstruction to the overall "vision" than the occasional pigment blemishes on the restored Sistine Ceiling.

SOUND QUALITY: For 1953 radio broadcast tapes, the sound is first-rate. Bayreuth's acoustic is faithfully captured, and (barring a few stage entrances & exits) the voices are always well-placed. In fact, it's hard to believe that microphones weren't obtrusively suspended within audience sight-lines (which the Wagner grandsons would never permit). Whatever the sonic limitations of the original tapes, the ear adjusts very quickly, and it becomes easy to lose yourself in the performance (i.e., "good enough 4 me").

"AFFORDABILITY CRISIS": Let's assume that, traveling alone, you're up for a 2007 jaunt to Bayreuth for a complete RING. Per ticket/per performance, you're looking at perhaps $3000 (a RING totalling at THAT, times 4- even with a discount for the one-act RHEINGOLD). Plus air-fare, hotels & meals...So, you've parted with the requisite $15,000 (and even THAT may be slumming it, with the US dollar's pitiful performance against the Euro), and you are really and truly THERE...What will you hear? I have never been to Bayreuth, but recent Bayreuth broadcasts are not encouraging. Safe to say, for quality of singing, conducting and playing, you wouldn't get within a wide sea-mile of the Krauss RING...Which you can now have for the price of a reasonably nice dinner for two (drinks & dessert included)- AND minus the silly-a** staging with which latter-day RINGS are often afflicted (Vahalla = Brooklyn subway toilet or stock-exchange or both: yada-yada-yada).

At this price, HOW COULD YOU LOSE?

Still one of the Best Ring Sets!.......2006-06-01

Here we have one of the best "Ring Cycle" recordings to come along in a long time! This set can easily compete with the Solti, Karajan, or the Bohm sets. While it is only Monorual sound
which is not a bad thing, The sound on this latest version is quite acceptible, You also have as fine a cast of Wagnerians as could be asked for. The only drawback is no libretto. A small quibble, but then when you are paying over half the price for a set like this compared with the price of a Solti, or Karajan set, a little thing like no libretto can be overlooked. And maybe by having sets like this one and the Naxos one being released perhaps the big companies will fianlly decide to re-issue theirs at mid-price or at budget price. If you want a really good "Ring" recording as a first one or as an additonal set this is clearly a first choice. The only other complaint I have with this recording is the perfomance of Natalie Hinsch-Grondahl, her Gutrune is not one of the best performances, she tries just a little to hard I think. There are many good performances to balance hers though. Astrid Varnay gives us a Brunhilde that is a benchmark performance. Rita Strich as the Woodbird is luxury casting indeed! As I said before a "Ring" to
compete with the big ones. Allegro is starting to put an online Libretto for the "Ring" on it's web site. They for some reason have started with "Gotterdammerung"

Very good, but be careful..........2006-05-30

I don't disagree with any of the comments below, with one exception. It is true that 1953 is the earliest year in which Wolfgang Windgassen's Siegfried was heard at Bayreuth, and that consequently he is in the freshest voice of his many portrayals that have appeared on disc (spanning 1953-1967). HOWEVER - it is rarely mentioned that along with this youthful vigour so ideal for the young Siegfried you have to put up with a lot of slips. The forging song in Act 1 in particular involves a lot of 'running before the beat' (though this was something he often did, so is not only noticeable here), small slips in notes and text, and in one verse of the song a complete memory loss for a couple of lines. This is not to diminish his artistry, or his voice at all, but I don't believe it's fair to call this his best recorded Siegfried. He is only very slightly less youthful in the Keilberth of 1955 and Knappertsbusch of 1956. Keilberth's 1953 cycle (identical cast to the Krauss, but swapping Martha Modl for Astrid Varnay's Brunnhilde) features some similar slips, though actually not as many as the evening captured under Krauss. The 1955 cycle (appearing throughout 2006 on Testament) has incomparably superior sound - and Windgassen two years into the role is still very fresh and now much more secure in the part. I would call 1955 his finest Siegfried.

Dies Irae-The Essential Choral Collection

Average customer rating:

Dies Irae-The Essential Choral Collection Review
The Greatest Choral Masterpieces
Not that bad... at first
Gread Idea, Great Performance
Dies Irae

Dies Irae-The Essential Choral Collection

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000041NV
Release Date: 1997-09-16

Tracks:

Dies Irac: Requiem - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
Chorus Of THe Hebrew Slaves: Nabucco - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
Entrance Of The Toreadors: Carmen - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
An die Freude: Symphony No. 9 - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
Zadok the Priest - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
Bridal Chorus: Lohengrin - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
Easter Hymn: Cavellera Rusticana - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
Requiem Aeternam: Requiem - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
Pavane - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
Gloria In Excelsis Deo: Gloria - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
For Unto Us A Child Is Born: Messiah - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
O Isis und Osiris: The Magic Flute - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
Credo: Messe Solennelle Di Sainte Cecile - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
I Vow To Thee, My Country - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL
Final Chorus: Turandot - DIES IRAE-ESSENTIAL CHORAL COL

Tracks:

O Fortuna: Carmina Burana - Various Artists
Trimphal March: Aida - Various Artists
Deus in adiutorium - Domine ad adiuvaum: Vespro Della Beata Vergine - Various Artists
See, The Conqu'ring Hero Comes: Judas Maccabeus - Various Artists
In The Hall Of The Mountain King: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 - Various Artists
Magnificat anima mea: Magnificat - Various Artists
Agnus Dei: Requiem - Various Artists
Humming Chorus: Madama Butterfly - Various Artists
Ich will hier bei dir stehen: St. Mathew's Passion - Various Artists
Entry Of The Guest: Tannhauser - Various Artists
Auto0da-fe' Chorus: Don Carlo - Various Artists
Polovtsian Dances: Prince Igor - Various Artists
Anvil Chorus: Il Trovatore - Various Artists
Land Of Hope And Glory: Pomp And Circumstance - Various Artists
'Hallelujah' Chorus: Messiah - Various Artists

Amazon.com

This certainly is a desirable compendium of some of the most famous large-scale choral pieces, primarily drawn from Deutsche Grammophon's catalog of operas and oratorios. Among the 30 selections on this two-disc set are choruses from Carmen, Lohengrin, Aida, Madame Butterfly, and Il Trovatore, as well as Messiah, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Bach's St. Matthew's Passion, and Verdi's Requiem. --David Vernier

Customer Reviews:

Dies Irae-The Essential Choral Collection Review.......2007-07-07

This 2 disc collection of Choral music is a great introduction to classical music. Many of these selections have been made famous in movies and will be recognizable to even the most casual listener. I bought this album for O Fortuna by Carl Orff, a song that is featured in Excalibur and Jackass: The Movie. The music on these CDs is great. I especially like Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven, Peer Gynt Suite by Grieg, and Requiem by Mozart.

Other albums recommended:
Amadeus: Original Soundtrack Recording
25 Beethoven Favorites
Excalibur: Original Movie Soundtrack

The Greatest Choral Masterpieces.......2005-10-02

This collection is outstanding, featuring the best choral works from operas and oratorios in classical repertoire. It begins with the fiery and intense Dies Irae from Verdi's Requiem. This piece is sublimely performed by the Berlin forces. It's followed by the anthem-like Va Pensiero from Verdi's early opera Nabucco, as conducted by Sinopoli and sounds maravelous. A brief excerpt from Beethoven's Ninth "The Ode to Joy" is a treat. The Coronation Anthem from Zadok The Priest by Handel is well-executed and powerful. The famous Bridal March (better known as "Here Comes The Bride") from Wagner's opera Lohengrin is sumptuous. A lot of this music is grandiose, and all the famous grand choruse from the grand operas like Aida (The Triumphal March scene) and the Inquistion Scene from Don Carlo. What is missing however, and I would have enjoyed, is the wondrous Finale to Wagner's Die Meistersanger which features a great chorus in praise of art. My favorite piece on here is the little known Mass of Saint Cecilia by Charles Gounod. It is absolutely gorgeous and epic sounding. The underrated but great conductor Igor Markevitch conducts. The famous O Fortuna from Orff's Carmina Burana is also on here, not to mention Handel's "Hallelujah" chorus from Messiah and other pieces from Judas Maccabeus. This is a great collection of chorus masterpieces that any fan would appreciate or if you are studying to sing in chorues yourself.

Not that bad... at first.......2005-03-26

There's plenty of free samples to this CD, and I agree that this is a great collection of music. Chances are you won't find a collection of songs, all of them with angelic choirs, as great as this. When I got it I was quite happy with it, but when I heard the same songs done with different conductors I thought to myself: 'Hey, why doesn't it sound like my CD?' It's the quality that I don't like. For example, Dias Irae is a great song, and it sounds pretty good on the CD, but compare it to another version and this one is slower, the chorus is off key, and it doesn't have that intense emotion. Same thing with O Fortuna, it's a great song, but the chorus is just terrible on this CD, the instruments are lacking in emotion: percussion doesn't add that extra 'oomph' to the bass drum, the cymbals don't have enough emphasis, the chorus sounds like they're about to go asleep, and the dynamics between fortissimo and pianissimo have little effort.

I'd recomend this if you have little cash to blow on a lot of good songs, otherwise you might want to search for a bunch of seperate CDs with the same songs.

Gread Idea, Great Performance.......2003-03-03

This CD should move people in a way that few other recordings can. The one word to describe many of the works is "exalted". This is not music for dinner parties but instead should be heard in solitary contemplation of all the great artists and their efforts in creating such an inspiring recording.

Dies Irae.......2000-03-07

I have an extensive CD collection, but since purchasing this CD, it has become my very favorite. This music sent chills down my spine. I felt transported to a different world....What amazing voices! I intend to give this cd as xmas presents to family and friends.

Average customer rating:

Get the DVDs instead. The CDs just don't cut it.
NIBELUNGEN "BEST BUY"
A legendary release!
Great music, great singing
Bowled over by Barenboim - Exhilarating beauty and dramatic power in the best modern Ring ...

Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

Manufacturer: Warner Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B0009BOJSO
Release Date: 2005-11-08

Tracks:

Vorspiel - Prelude - Prelude - John Tomlinson
Weia! Waga! Woge, Du Welle - John Tomlinson
He He! Ihr Nicker! - John Tomlinson
Garstig Glatter Glitschriger Glimmer! - John Tomlinson
Wie In Den Gliedern Brunstige Glut Mir Brennt - John Tomlinson
Lugt, Schwestern! - John Tomlinson
Was Ist's, Ihr Glatten, Das Dort So Glanzt - John Tomlinson
Der Welt Erbe Gewann' Ich Zu Eigen Durch Dich? - John Tomlinson
Wotan, Gemahl! Erwache! - John Tomlinson
Um Des Gatten Treue Besorgt - John Tomlinson
Um Des Gatten Treue Besorgt - John Tomlinson
Endlich Loge! - John Tomlinson
Immer Ist Undank Loges Lohn! - John Tomlinson
Dir's Zu Melden Gelobt' Ich Den Madchen - John Tomlinson
Hor, Wotan, Der Harrenden Wort! - John Tomlinson
Uber Stock Und Stein Zu Stapfen Sie Hin - John Tomlinson
Was Sinnt Nun Wotan So Wild? - John Tomlinson
Auf, Loge, Hinab Mit Mir! - John Tomlinson
Hehe! Hehe! Hieher! - John Tomlinson
Nibelheim Hier - John Tomlinson

Tracks:

Wer Halfe Mir? - Gunter von Kannen
Nehmt Euch In Acht! Alberich Naht - Gunter von Kannen
Zittre Und Zage, Gezahmtes Heer - Gunter von Kannen
Was Wollt Ihr Hier? - Gunter von Kannen
Die In Linder Lufte Wehn Da Oben Ihr Lebt - Gunter von Kannen
Wen Doch Fabt Nicht Wunder, Erfahrt Er Alberichs Werk? - Gunter von Kannen
Riesen-Wurm Winde Sich Ringelnd - Gunter von Kannen
Krumm Und Grau Krieche Krote! - Gunter von Kannen
Da, Vetter Sitze Du Fest! - Gunter von Kannen
Gezahlt Hab' Ich: Nun Labt Mich Ziehn! - Gunter von Kannen
Ein Goldner Ring Ragt Dir Am Finger - Gunter von Kannen
Ist Er Gelost? - Gunter von Kannen
Lauschtest Du Seinem Liebesgrub? - Gunter von Kannen
Lieblichste Schwester, Subeste Lust! - Gunter von Kannen
So Sind Wir Denn Fertig. Seid Ihr Zufrieden? - Gunter von Kannen
Weiche, Wotan, Weiche! - Gunter von Kannen
Hort, Ihr Riesen! Zuruck, Und Harret - Gunter von Kannen
Halt, Du Gieriger! Gonne Mir Auch Was! - Gunter von Kannen
Was Gleicht, Wotan, Wohl Deinem Glucke? - Gunter von Kannen
Schwules Gedunst Schwebt In Der Luft - Gunter von Kannen
Abdenlich Strahlt Der Sonne Auge - Gunter von Kannen
Ihrem Ende Silen Sie Zu - Gunter von Kannen
Rheingold! Rheingold! - Gunter von Kannen

Tracks:

Vorspiel - Prelude - John Tomlinson
Wes Herd Dies Auch Sei - John Tomlinson
Kuhlende Labung Gab Mir Der Quell - John Tomlinson
Einen Unseligen Labtest Du - John Tomlinson
Mud Am Herd Fand Ich Den Mann - John Tomlinson
Friedmund Darf Ich Nicht Heiben - John Tomlinson
Aus Dem Wald Treib Es Mich Fort - John Tomlinson
Die So Leidig Los Dir Beschied - John Tomlinson
Ich Weib Ein Wildes Geschlecht - John Tomlinson
Ein Schwert Verhieb Mir Der Vater - John Tomlinson
Schlafst Du, Gast? - John Tomlinson
Der Manner Sippe Sab Hier Im Saal - John Tomlinson
Winterstume Wichen Dem Wonnemond - John Tomlinson
Du Bist Der Lenz, Nach Dem Ich Verlangte - John Tomlinson
O Subeste Wonne! - John Tomlinson
War Walse Dein Vater - John Tomlinson
Siegmund Heib' Ich - John Tomlinson

Tracks:

Vorspiel - Prelude - John Tomlinson
Nun Zaume, Dein Rob, Reisige Maid! - John Tomlinson
Der Alte Sturm, Die Alte Muh'! - John Tomlinson
So Ist Es Denn Aus Mit Den Ewigen Gottern - John Tomlinson
Nichts Lerntest Du, Wolt - John Tomlinson
Was Verlangst Du? - John Tomlinson
Deiner Ew' Gen Gattin Heilige Ehre - John Tomlinson
Schlimm, Furcht' Ich, Schlob Der Streit - John Tomlinson
Als Junger Liebe Lust Mir Verblich - John Tomlinson
Ein Andres Ist's: Achte Es Wohl - John Tomlinson
Ao Nimmst Du Von Siegmund Den Sieg? - John Tomlinson
So Nimm Meinen Segen, Niblungen - Sohn - John Tomlinson

Tracks:

So Sah Ich Siegvater Nie - John Tomlinson
raste Nun Hier; Gonne Dir Enweihte! - John Tomlinson
Hinweg! Flieh Die Enweihte! - John Tomlinson
Wo Bist Du, Siegmund? - John Tomlinson
Siegmund! Sieh Auf Mich! - John Tomlinson
Du Sahest Der Walkure Sehrenden Blick - John Tomlinson
Weh! Weh! Subestes Weib - John Tomlinson
So Jung Und Schon Erschimmerest Du Holden Schmerz - John Tomlinson
ZAuberfest Bezahmt EinSchlaf Der Holden Schmerz - John Tomlinson
Wehwalt! Wehwalt! - John Tomlinson

Tracks:

Vorspiel - Prelude - Hojotoho! Hojotoho! - John Tomlinson
Schutzt Mich Und Helft In Hochster Not! - John Tomlinson
Nicht Sehre Dich Sorge Um Mich - John Tomlinson
So Fliehe Denn Eilig Und Fliehe Allein! - John Tomlinson
Wo Ist Brunnhild', Wo Die Verbrecherin? - John Tomlinson
Hier Bin Ich, Vater: Gebiete Die Strafe - John Tomlinson
War Es So Schmahlich, Was Ich Verbach - John Tomlinson
Als Fricka Den Eignen Sinn Dir Entfremdet - John Tomlinson
So Tatest Ein Edles Geschlecht - John Tomlinson
Du Zeugtest Ein Edles Geschlecht - John Tomlinson
Was hast Du Erdacht, Dab Ich Erdulde? - John Tomlinson
Der Augen Leuchtendes Paar - John Tomlinson
Der Augen Lechtendes Paar - John Tomlinson
Loge, Hor! Lausche Hieher! - John Tomlinson

Tracks:

Orchestervorspiel - Prelude - Gunter von Kannen
Zwangvolle Plage! Muh' Ohne Zweck! - Gunter von Kannen
Hoiho! Hoiho! Hau Ein! Hau Ein! - Gunter von Kannen
Da Hast Du Die Stucken, Schandluicher Stumper - Gunter von Kannen
Als Zullendes Kind Zog Ich Dich Auf - Gunter von Kannen
Vieles Lehrtest Du, Mime - Gunter von Kannen
Mein Kind, Das Lehrt Dich Kennen - Gunter von Kannen
Wo hast Du, Mime, Dein Minniges Weibchen - Gunter von Kannen
Einst Lag Wimmernd Ein Weib - Gunter von Kannen
Und Diese Stucken Sollst Du Mmir Schmieden - Gunter von Kannen
Da Sturmt Er Hin! - Gunter von Kannen
Heil Dir, Weiser Schmied! - Gunter von Kannen
Hier Sitz' Ich Am Herd Und Setze Mein Haupt - Gunter von Kannen
Du Ruhrtest Dich Viel Auf Der Erde Rucken - Gunter von Kannen
Viel, Wanderer, Weibt Du Mir Aus Der Erde Nabelnest - Gunter von Kannen
Viel, Wanderer, Weibt Du Mir Von Der Erde Rauhem Rucken - Gunter von Kannen
Fragen Und Haupt Hast Du Gelost - Gunter von Kannen
Nun, Ehrlicher Zwerg, Sag MIr Zum Ersten - Gunter von Kannen
Wie Doch Genau Das Geschlecht Du Mir Nennst - Gunter von Kannen
Ha Ha Ha Ha! Der Witzgste Bist Du Unter Den Weisen - Gunter von Kannen
Dreimal Solltest Du Fragen, Dremal Stand Ich Luft - Gunter von Kannen
Verfluchtes Du Nie Im Finstren Wald - Gunter von Kannen
Heda! Du Fauler! Bist Du Nun Fertig? - Gunter von Kannen
Fuhltest Du Nie Im Finstren Wald - Gunter von Kannen
Sonderlich Seltsam Mub Das Sein! - Gunter von Kannen
Feine Finten Weib Mir Der Faule - Gunter von Kannen
Notung! Notung! Neidliches Schwert! - Gunter von Kannen
Bald Schwing' Ich Dich Als Mein Schwert - Gunter von Kannen
Hoho! Hoho! Hahei! - Gunter von Kannen

Tracks:

Orchestervorspiel - Prelude - Gunter von Kannen
In Wald Und Nacht Vor Neidhohl Halt' Ich Wacht - Gunter von Kannen
Wer Naht Dort Schimmernd Im Schatten? - Gunter von Kannen
Mit Mir Nicht, Hadre Mit Mime - Gunter von Kannen
Fafner! Fafner! Erwache, Wurm! - Gunter von Kannen
Wir Sind Zur Stelle! - Gunter von Kannen
Dab Der Mein Vater Nicht Ist, Wie Guhl' Ich Vater Nicht Ist, Wie Fuhl' Ich Mich Drob Froh! - Gunter von Kannen
Dab Der Mein Vater Nicht Ist, Wie Fuhl Ich Drob So Froh! - Gunter von Kannen
Aber - Wie Sah Meine Mutter Wohl Aus? - Gunter von Kannen
Meine Mutter - Ein Menschenweib! - Gunter von Kannen

Tracks:

Haha! Da Hatte Mein Lied Mir Was Liebes Erblasen! - Gunter von Kannen
Da Lieg, Neidleichst Du Eilig Und Schlau - Gunter von Kannen
Zur Kunde taugt Kein Toter - Gunter von Kannen
Wohin Schleichst Du Eilig Und Schlau - Gunter von Kannen
Was Ihr Mir Nutzt, Weib Ich Nicht - Gunter von Kannen
Willkommen Siegfried! - Gunter von Kannen
Sieh, Du Bist Mude Von Harten Last! - Gunter von Kannen
Neides Zoll Zahlt Notung - Gunter von Kannen
Heib Ward Mir Von Der Harten Last! - Gunter von Kannen
Nun Sing! Ich Lausche Dem Gesang - Gunter von Kannen
Orchestrevorspiel - Prelude - Gunter von Kannen
Wache, Wala! Wala! Erwach! - Gunter von Kannen
Stark Ruft Das Lied - Gunter von Kannen
Mein Schlaf ist Traumen - Gunter von Kannen

Tracks:

Dir Unweisen Ruf' Ich Ins Ohr - Gunter von Kannen
Dort Seh' Ich Siegfried Nahn - Gunter von Kannen
Was lachst Du Mich Aus? Alter Frager! - Gunter von Kannen
Kenntest Du Mich, Kuhner Sprob, Den Schimpf Spartest Du Mir! - Gunter von Kannen
Mit Zerfochntner Waffe Floh Mir Der Feige? - Gunter von Kannen
Selige Ode Auf Sonniger Hoh! - Gunter von Kannen
Das ist Kein Mann! - Gunter von Kannen
Heil Dir, Sonne - Gunter von Kannen
O Siegfried! Siegfried! Seliger Held! - Gunter von Kannen
Dort Seh' Ich Grane, Mein Selig Rob - Gunter von Kannen
Kein Gott Nahte Mir Je! - Gunter von Kannen
Ewig War Ich, Ewig Bin Ich - Gunter von Kannen
Dich Lieb' Ich: O Liebtest Mich Du! - Gunter von Kannen
lachend Mub Ich Dich Lieben - Gunter von Kannen

Tracks:

Dir Unweisen Ruf' Ich Ins Ohr - Gunter von Kannen
Dort Seh' ich Siegfried Nahn - Gunter von Kannen
Was Lachst Du Mich Aus? Alter Frager! - Gunter von Kannen
Kenntest Du Mich, Kuhner Sporb, Den Schimpf Spartest Du Mir! - Gunter von Kannen
Mit Zerfochtner Waffe Floh Mir Der Feige? - Gunter von Kannen
Selige Ode Auf Sonniger Hoh! - Gunter von Kannen
Das Ist Kein Mann! - Gunter von Kannen
Heil Ist Kein Mann! - Gunter von Kannen
O Siegfried! Siegfried! Seliger Held! - Gunter von Kannen
Dort Seh' Ich Grane, Mein Selig Rob - Gunter von Kannen
Kein Gott Nahte Mir Je! - Gunter von Kannen
Ewifg War Ich, Ewig Bin Ich - Gunter von Kannen
Dich Lieb' ich: O Liebtest Mich Du! - Gunter von Kannen
Lachend Mub Ich Dich Lieben - Gunter von Kannen

Tracks:

Wer Ist Gibichs Sohn? - Gunter von Kannen
Begrube Froh, O Held, Die Halle Meines Vaters - Gunter von Kannen
Wilkommen, Gast, In Gibichs Haus! - Gunter von Kannen
Deinem Bruder Bot Ich Mich Zum Mann - Gunter von Kannen
Bluhenden Lebens Labendes Blut Traufelt' Ich In Den Trank - Gunter von Kannen
Frisch Auf Die Zur Wacht - Gunter von Kannen
Altegewohntes Gerausch Raunt Meinem Ohr Die Ferene - Gunter von Kannen
Altegewohntes Gerausch Raunt Meinem Ohr Ferne - Gunter von Kannen
Hore Mit Sinn, Was Ich Dir Sage! - Gunter von Kannen
Welch Banger Traume Maren Meldset Du Traurige Mir! - Gunter von Kannen
Blitzend Gewolk, Vom Wind Getragen, Sturme Dahin - Gunter von Kannen
Brunnhild! Ein Freier Kam, Den Dein Feuer Nicht Erschreckt - Gunter von Kannen

Tracks:

Orchestervorspiel - Prelude - Gunter von Kannen
Schlafst Du, Hagen, Mein Sohn? - Gunter von Kannen
Der Ewigen Macht, Wer Erbte Sie? - Gunter von Kannen
Hoiho, Hagen! Muder Mann! - Gunter von Kannen
Heib Mich Willkommen, Gibichskind! - Gunter von Kannen
Hoiho! Hoihohoho! Ihr Gibchsmannen, Machet Euch Auf! - Gunter von Kannen
Was Tost Das Horn? - Gunter von Kannen
Rustet Euch Wohl Und Rastet Nicht - Gunter von Kannen
Heil Dir, Gunther! - Gunter von Kannen
Gegrubt Esi, Teurer HeldL Gegrubt, Holde Schwester! - Gunter von Kannen
Einen Ring Sah Ich An Deiner Hand - Gunter von Kannen
Betrug! Betrug! Schandlichster Betrug!! - Gunter von Kannen
Achtest Du So Der Eignen Ehre? - Gunter von Kannen
Helle Wehr! Heilige Waffe! - Gunter von Kannen
Hilf, Donner - Gunter von Kannen
Welches Unholds List Liegt Hier Verhohlen? - Gunter von Kannen
Wer Bietet Mir Nun Das Hier Verhohlen? - Gunter von Kannen
Auf, Gunther, Edler Gibichung! - Gunter von Kannen
Mub Sein Tod Sie Betruben, Verhehlt Sei Ihr Die Tat - Gunter von Kannen

Tracks:

Orchestervorspiel - Prelude - Gunter von Kannen
Frau Sonne Sendet Lichte Strahlen - Gunter von Kannen
Ein Albe Fuhrte Mich Irr - Gunter von Kannen
Noch Bin Ich Beutelos - Gunter von Kannen
Behalt Ihn, Held, Und Wahr Ihn Wohl - Gunter von Kannen
Ihr Listigen Frauen, Labt Das Sein! - Gunter von Kannen
Kommt, Schwestern! - Gunter von Kannen
Hoiho! - Gunter von Kannen
Trink, Gunther, Trink! - Gunter von Kannen
Mime Hieb Ein Murrischer Zwerg - Gunter von Kannen
In Leid Zu Dem WipfelLauscht' Ich Hinauf - Gunter von Kannen
Erratst Du Auch Dieser raben Geraun? - Gunter von Kannen
Brunnhilde! Heilige Braut! - Gunter von Kannen
Orchesterzwischenspiel: Traurzug Interlude: Funeral Procession Interlude Orchestral: MArche Funebre - Gunter von Kannen
War Des Sein Horn? Nein! Noch Kehrt Er Nicht Heim - Gunter von Kannen
Hoiho! Hoiho! Wacht Auf! Wacht Auf! - Gunter von Kannen
Siegfried - Siegfried Erschlagen! - Gunter von Kannen
Schweigt Eures Jammers Jauchzenden Schwall - Gunter von Kannen
Starke Scheite Schichtet Mir Dort Am Rande Des Rheins - Gunter von Kannen
O Ihr, Der Eide Ewige Huter! - Gunter von Kannen
Mein Erbe Nun Nehm' Ich Zu Eigen - Gunter von Kannen
Fliegt Heim, Ihr Raben! - Gunter von Kannen
Grane, Mein Rob, Sei Mir Gegrubt - Gunter von Kannen
Zuruck Vom Ring! - Gunter von Kannen

Album Description

The production of a new Ring at the Bayreuth Festival is an event that takes place every six years. Bayreuth recordings of the complete cycle are rare; this is only the third official audio recording and the second filmed version. The Kupfer/Barenboim Ring was performed over a five-year period and recorded at the conclusion when the "Bayreuth Workshop" had raised "the quality of the performance to an almost unsurpassable level" (Der Tagesspiegel).

Customer Reviews:

Get the DVDs instead. The CDs just don't cut it........2007-06-15

As Teldec and its parent company bid farewell to the CD era by shoveling out their back catalog at bargain prices, please go straight to the DVDs and forget this.

This Ring's acting is committed, for which the director, Harry Kupfer, gets the credit. Occasionally Maestro Barenboim balances an orchestral chord or two in a novel way, for which he can take credit. Otherwise this is poor stuff.

Daniel Barenboim, for all his idolatry of Wilhelm Furtwangler, has never figured out how to get from here to there with any feeling of naturalness or inevitability. His awkward pacing makes him no better than mediocre among the Wagner conductors of the last 50 years. He is not at all competitive with Krauss, Keilberth, Kempe, Konwitschny, Bohm, Sawallisch, Solti or Karajan, all of whom make better sense of Wagner's ebb and flow. He is not even competitive with Leinsdorf or Leitner or Hollreiser. A few pretty sounds from the pit do not compensate for a persistent inability to make one section of music follow organically from another.

The singing in this production is bearable on TV, but not so on CD. Siegfried Jerusalem acquits his parched, undersized Siegfried with dignity. However, Anne Evans sounds tremulous and small as Brunnhilde and John Tomlinson declaims brutally at the expense of the musical line, to the utter destruction of Wotan's Farewell. The two of them sound like an Annina and Baron Douphol out of "La Traviata" who've been encouraged by treacherous management to stray out of their league.

Nadine Secunde as Sieglinde is in terrible vocal shape, and Poul Elming has trouble with the top notes as Siegmund, the lowest lying tenor part Wagner ever wrote.

Watch them on DVD instead, and if you must have a CD set, pick up the Bohm at a bargain price, where only a few singers have wobbles instead of all of them, and most have vocal reserves to call upon instead of sounding like they're about to die at any minute. The end of "Walkure" Act One makes for a devastating comparison - Leonie Rysanek and James King are far better.

Then save up your lunch money and get the Keilberth Ring on Testament. Listen to Hans Hotter actually sing Wotan's Farewell, and compare it to John Tomlinson's parlando bellowing. Hotter is so far superior, they're not in the same Valhalla.

A Ferrari and a lawnmower can both do 4 mph. But one can open up with security and confidence and dazzle you, while the other can't ever do any more than 4 mph. That's the difference between Birgit Nilsson's all-enveloping Immolation Scene, where she sounds like she could do the whole thing over again as an encore, and tiny-voiced Anne Evans, who sounds like she'd collapse just at the suggestion.

This set and the Boulez should both survive into a long future as DVDs, but the CDs for both are inadequate, even annoying souvenirs of the weakest part of their productions, the singing.

NIBELUNGEN "BEST BUY".......2007-02-04

Here's a staggering bargain.

These much-praised Bayreuth performances have been available on Teldec since 1994; now Warner has reissued them in a single box and they're an irresistible value: 1/2 the cost, 1/3 the shelf space, still accompanied by 4 deluxe booklets (containing complete German librettos, William Mann's English translations, essays, interviews, performance photos, and 100+ leitmotifs in the margins), plus there's a bonus DVD with generous excerpts from the Unitel video. Rival sets with comparable amenities (Karajan, Solti, Goodall, Keilberth) sell for 2-3 times as much. Budget-priced competitors (the admirable Janowski set, the more variable traversals of Boehm, Levine, Haitink, and Sawallisch) offer only meager pamphlets with plot summaries.

ENGINEERING

Unitel filmed this production during off hours at the 1991-92 Bayreuth festivals - the full staging with no audience, performances featuring live-event energy under controlled conditions. The digital stereo is the lushest I've enjoyed on any Ring recording: Bayreuth's famed acoustic is palpable, there's real room sound, immediacy, and three-dimensionality (but a shade more depth and airiness in '91 - compare the timpani figures in the Todesverkundigung and Siegfried's death scene). Stage noises are mostly unobtrusive: occasional faint shufflings, Hunding banging assorted props in Walkuere, otherwise comparatively few distractions.

CONDUCTOR & ORCHESTRA

These CDs furnish some of the most sumptuous instrumental and choral work you'll hear on ANY Wagner recording. Furtwaengler may be one of his deities, but here Barenboim is the master colorist, closer to Karajan, even to Stokowski. At Bruennhilde's awakening the strings are creamy; launching Goetterdaemmerung Act 3, the brass have a cushioned radiance. More than any recent competitor, Barenboim is supple and specific from beat to beat, turning up subtleties heard nowhere else. In Rhinegold sc. 2 where the gods grow old: the strings sound numb, drained, and fragile. Or Fasolt's murder: an ugly surprise, the curse motive in the brass icy and vibratoless. Or the woodwind asides throughout Siegfried Act 1: Mozartean in their mischief. Or the fatal turning point at "In kampfe nicht": while Bruennhilde teeters on the edge of the pit, the whole orchestra holds its breath. As for the big showpieces - Rheingold's coda, the valkyrie ride, the Siegfried Act 3 prelude - they're breathtakingly powerful yet deft and transparent. In short, there's no more illuminating statement of this vast music on disk.

CAST

The production introduced an all-new, prime-of-life cast, and for continuous listenability Barenboim's lineup outpoints even Janowski's. With his huge, dark, rolling sound, Tomlinson is a stupendous Wotan, every inch the fearsome warlord of myth. Yes, he's a true bass and his high Fs are the end of the line, but he's a consummate theater animal, luxuriant in the "Abendlich strahlt" and Farewell, hypnotic with his big interior monologue, sly and amusing in his Wanderer persona; unquestionably this is a major portrayal. As Bruennhilde, Evans sounds young, sensitive, and technically impeccable - dead-center intonation, effortless slurs in the war cry, consistently lovely tone, and a glowing top that easily rides the orchestra. Her caliber is light for the role, but in the long-lined lyric passages she yields to nobody: "War es so schmaehlich" and "Ewig war ich" are as poised and poignant as I've heard them.

As lead tenor, Jerusalem's adroit musicianship, vivid declamation, and burnished tone are a further pleasure, and he deserves an award for playing his reed-pipe scene in earnest rather than for laughs - Siegfried's loneliness and befuddlement become sincerely touching. True, his voice wearies during the wooing sequence, but he's on form for all of Goetterdaemmerung. Also, his Volsung parents are an exceptional pair: Elming's tenor is fresh and gleaming, Secunde has a sultry soprano, and along with Hoelle's ferocious Hunding, they do exhilarating work in Walkuere Act 1.

Hoelle's Fasolt is better natured but just as granitic; in fact the low voices here are close to superb: Kang is insidious as Fafner and Hagen - a fine-grained, well-knit instrument from top to bottom. As for Alberich, von Kannen is positively virtuosic: his sound isn't plush, but it's firm and in charge over both octaves, he sells the text with immense skill, and the curse is white-hot. Only Brinkmann (Gunther) disappoints, a good baritone behaving badly - attractive in his ariosos, pinched and strained when he tries to get dramatic.

The rest are competitive. Clark's reedy tenor doesn't keep his Loge and Mime from being flamboyantly entertaining. Bundschuh's dusky timbre suggests a forty-something Gutrune, but she's decent listening. Barenboim's other women are all capable: Meier's Waltraute boasts crisp diction, compact tone, and flawless tuning, Svenden's Erda is similarly alert and appealing, Finnie's a high-energy Fricka with potent top notes. Since these ladies double the bit parts, we also get world-class teams of norns, valkyries, and rhinemaidens.

VERDICT

In sum, the total achievement here is formidable - unsurpassed engineering, top-drawer singing, exquisite orchestral playing, uniquely evocative conducting ... and lavish libretto booklets. Verdict: the Ring with the most bang for your buck.

A legendary release!.......2006-12-16

You may argue I am exaggerating quite a lot when I affirm this may be the greatest achievement of Daniel Barenboim as Wagnerian conductor until this date, but I think I am right. And you know as well as I, about the countless and praising epithets around the world.

This superb collection must be included as an obligated reference at the moment you decide to have one of the most complete and extraordinary documents in the Opera History. There is any hole; a superb cast Tomlinson is one the greatest Wotan, the memorable stages, the ravishing illumination, the impressive level of expressiveness of every single character, the incisiveness of the main motifs, the grimace language, the superb eloquence of every little line and the absorbing dramatis personae make of this excellent set a must-have.

Don't miss it under any single pretext this portentous and so long expected Ring.

Great music, great singing.......2006-10-08

First things first, it is difficult to think of a more marvelously conducted Ring cycle in stereo sound than this version. Levine's comes close, though as good as the met is, the bayreuth is in peak form, and BB's conducting lends itself to the music better than Levines slower, though valid, tempos. A good place for amateurs to compare is the giant theme at the entrance of our buddies, Fasolt and Fafner. Levine is almost laughably slow, while BB is at a walking pace(and for those who have seen the DVD, the BB giants are three times the size of the METs-though the mets are superior in voice_Matti Salminen).
Most rings live and die with Wotan. For those who are introduced to the ring with Levines DVD, it is difficult to tolerate anything less than James Morris' outstanding singing, full of full throated and tender legato which tends to reveal a caring fatherly Wotan. Compare Morris and BB's Wotan in Der Alte Sturme and you will find Tomlinsons over annunciation quite unqualified and interfering with the natural beauty and flow of the music. Though overall Tomlinson doesn quite match up to Morris, he is an outstanding Wotan overall. His voice really grows on you as the cycle progresses and it is always apparent how well Tomlinson knows Wotan inside and out. His farewell at the end of Walkure is marvelous, a true test for any Wotan, and he really lets go emotionally and vocally. Despite starting off in rheingold with, as stated before, a tendency to talk instead of sing, which is natural and almost unnoticable when watching the DVD, I tended to long for Morris or Hotter's interpretation with Krauss and KNA. But as this review will be for amateur only, I will not go into the old recording very much and I will also consider price.
BB's brunnhilde is much finer than Behrens on dvd, though on the cd, behrens voice is more powerful than it was several years later when the DVDs were recorded(she is beyond her prime in both).
Of all modern versions, for those who are new to the ring, I would recomend Levine's DVD versions first and foremost. Despite Behrens, everything else is first class. The production is romantic so that first timers will see a something similar to what Wagner intended and what their mind's eye may be predicting. The BB dvd's are complete polar opposites of that visual interpretation, not for those new to the ring.
After aquiring Levine's dvd, I would recomend this set, over Solti's(yes, over Solti's and Karajan's) though not over Bohms. Bohm happens to play with the same orchestra which is interesting to hear this always superb group forty years apart. Though the Bohm doesnt have Hotter, and all who are interested in the Ring must, MUST, hear Hotter's portrayal, though STAY AWAY FROM SOLTI"S DIE WALKURE_it is dreadful after the first act and Hotter is past his prime and sounds as if he is being recorded in an underwater grotto.
For those new to the ring
1. Buy Levine's DVD set
2. Buy this or Bohm's on CD.
fine

Bowled over by Barenboim - Exhilarating beauty and dramatic power in the best modern Ring ..........2006-08-27

Over some years now I have been slowly discovering the daunting world that is Der Ring des Nibelungen, beginning - indeed - with Das Rheingold. I came to Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen completely fresh and unknowing, at first (probably) only having ever heard some 'bleeding chunks' of music from the operas (actually, my first real 'confrontation' with music from the 'Ring' was the gorgeous Erato album with Daniel Barenboim conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which I love, so that probably influenced my expectations about this music ...), and slowly heading on from listening to just the bits and parts I liked best - only casually wandering from one opera to another without knowing the whole intricate and complex poem/text/libretto - to listening to the acts more and more 'from beginning to end', slowly getting a closer grasp of the complex and convoluted (musical) storyline ...
In fact, my sympathy, appreciation, affection and ultimately love for Der Ring des Nibelungen in general is in fact directly related to my love and appreciation for the 'Barenboim Ring', recorded in 1991 (Das Rheingold & Gotterdammerung) and 1992 (Die Walkure & Siegfried). With me, things as big and complex as the 'Ring' have to take time to grow on me, and the Barenboim Ring has captivated me from the start. Why I especially love the 'Barenboim Ring' has much to do with the singing, but more about that a little later. First a word or two about maybe the greatest 'stars of the show' here: conductor and orchestra ...

ORCHESTRA AND CONDUCTOR. From what I have read, Daniel Barenboim seems to be becoming accepted among the ranks of the truly great Wagner conductors. It is of course also a matter of taste what approach one loves best in this music, but anyhow, aside from any 'accepted views', I have just always thought his Wagner the best. Just a matter of taste, indeed.
To me, maestro Barenboim makes the music sound approprately massive and stately, but at the same time does he somehow maintain (how truly special!) an orchestral sound that is somehow crisply articulated, fresh and transparent, but resplendent with saturated color. As a complete musical 'illiterate' (I can't read music) I don't have a grasp of the musical 'reasoning' that undoubtably must lie behind maestro Barenboim's approach, but to me it all 'feels' just right and in complete harmony. A grand but clear-headed vision. A Parthenon or a Pantheon in music. I don't know, but it may also have to do with the (custom built ;-) Bayreuther Festspielhaus' superbly appropriate acoustics, causing a kind of nicely rounded, resounding but polished sound.
Also, maestro Barenboim's tempi are generally exactly right for my own taste: never too fast (why do some people find his tempi too slow?) but always 'charged' with the right amount of dramatic tension. (But then again, I can't read music, so how would I know what would be the 'right' tempo? Oh, well ...) A clear-headed, but at the same time sweeping, grand vision of Wagner's music that does not revel in the music for its own sake, but above all things lets the music speak as a purely dramatic narrative to underline and focus on the drama that is going on on stage, with some of the most beautiful and at the same time dramatic singers I ever heard.
The orchestra must also, in a sense, be able to 'speak for itself' in this music, and indeed it does so here, as eloquently as one could ever wish, I believe, and sometimes so enthousiastically, that voices are slightly drowned out, even, by its sheer power in climaxes :-)

THE SINGERS. Often, emotions color my view of what I see and hear on certain moments. It's just how (and who) I am. And also, matters of personal taste come 'in the way'. I will not try to apologize for either ;-) But I will try to describe as clearly as I am able - however lacking and personally biased the end result may be - what I find so wonderful about this recorded performance of Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Well, most of the singers are to my ears simply the best for their parts, utterly convincing, and often very moving. All of the 'main characters' are singers that I like or indeed love. We have, among many others, the towering talents of the excellent actor-singer Graham Clark (Mime), the energetic and heroic Siegfried by Siegfried Jerusalem, the enormously expressive, deeply resounding, deeply emotional Wotan by John Tomlinson, and we have the beautifully humane and warmly sympathetic Brunnhilde by Anne Evans. I truly adore Anne Evans' sweet but intelligent Brunnhilde. Her singing is engagingly sympathetic and completely captivating. In climaxes her voice really soars (for example the 'immolation scene'), and she never sounds strained, but she is I think at her best especially when allowed to really show all her nuanced beauty and color during softer passages like Brunnhilde's 'duets' with Wotan or Siegmund (take for example "Siegmund! sieh auf mich!"). I am very fond of Siegfried Jerusalem's Siegfried, and singing together with Anne Evans' Brunnhilde in Act III of Siegfried and Act I of Gotterdammerung, they sound like the true 'dream-pair' to me, reaching - in 'threesome' with the orchestra - highest states of harmony and ecstacy. Also, the 'duets' of Wotan and Brunnhilde in Die Walkure are powerful, but at the same time deeply emotionally engaged. (Seeing them together on the DVD's certainly adds to the experience!) Furthermore, I very much enjoy Linda Finnie's full-voiced, bitingly aggressive Fricka (just great in her emotional confrontation with Wotan in Act II of Die Walkure) and Birgitta Svenden's resounding and melancholy Erda ...

AS A SIDE NOTE. Anyone who loves this specific audio-only version of Der Ring des Nibelungen, but has never before seen it (like I myself until recently), should also try the magnificent DVD's of these operas. I for one was truly enraptured, at last also being able to SEE all of the artists that I have come to love, singing (and acting) together within this flabbergastingly evocative stage design! The design is often quite bare, with completely dark background (indeed a feeling of a 'road into nowhere'), which causes, with this particular viewer at least, a sense of timelesness, puzzlement and even of mystery(!), which IMHO is quite appropriate for these larger-than-life operas, the abstractness of the design leaving a lot to your imagination and making them feel more timeless or 'pure', above and beyond any 'Zeitgeist', allowing the listener to focus more on their essential ideas and (inter-personal) emotions.
Talking about emotions, what an enormous 'bonus' to see for example John Tomlinson sing/act his part! His expressive acting does add even more depth to his already deeply moving, highly charged singing. Now that I am finally also able to see this 'Ring' on DVD, it really IMHO enhances the experience of listening to 'just' this audio-only version, which to me is also a 'complete and full' experience in itself, using a bit of imagination (but then again, how much imagination does one need with this great music, so gorgeously performed?), being able to visualize with the mind's eye the close interaction between Wotan, Brunnhilde, Siegfried, et al.

THE RECORDED SOUND. Just a few comments about the sound on these CD's to end this review. I think it is the best ever for this format (and for as far as I have ever heard). It really fills up the whole aural stage lengthwise and sideways! The effect is as if you were sitting front row seat, I guess. Every orchestral nuance and inflection is brilliantly and sumptuously captured and reproduced on CD.
The recorded sound has always been so deep, sonorous and full as to really at some moments take your breath away, especially in the way that the singers' voices are clearly defined (almost three-dimensionally) within the acoustic space (the depth of the Bayreuth stage is almost palpable). But have they maybe remastered it? It seems to me that the sound on this re-issue is even clearer and finer than the original 1993 Teldec issue, with the acoustics of the Bayreuth theatre almost palpable, enhancing the characteristicly sonorous sound of the Bayreuther Festspielorchester. It is as if orchestral textures are even more velvety and clear and finely balanced. The singers seem to be even more in focus as well. (This also means that we are able to hear a little bit more of the whispering of the prompter in Gotterdammerung, which for some could be a distraction, I can imagine.)
Also, I personally think that it is a blessing that this is a 'studio'-recording, so that the sense of mystery (and 'suspension of disbelief') is never broken by intruding audience noises. This I find especially necessary during the softer passages and intense dialogues between for example Brunnhilde & Siegmund and Wotan & Brunnhilde ...

All in all, a magnificent set, this 'Barenboim Ring' - truly a musical milestone - and truly indispensable (beside the likewise indispensible DVD's)! For better or worse, I have really fallen in love with this 'Ring', mostly for the gorgeous (exquisitely recorded) orchestral sound under Daniel Barenboim and the magnificent leading roles. And now, last but not least, you can have the whole 'Barenboim Ring' on 14 CD's (+ bonus DVD with highlights) for the price of no more than about 4!
(Postscriptum: the customer image I added is taken from the DVD of Siegfried, and not from the bonus DVD in this set.)

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