Wagner Conductors on Record

On this CD:

1. Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen, opera, WWV 49 Overture
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Paris Conservatory Orchestra
Conducted by Felix Weingartner

2. Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman), opera, WWV 63 Overture
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Richard Strauss

3. Tannhäuser, opera, WWV 70 Overture
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Albert Coates

4. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75 Prelude to Act 1
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra
Conducted by Artur Bodanzky

5. Tristan und Isolde, opera, WWV 90 Prelude to Act 1 (with concert ending)
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra
Conducted by Otto Klemperer

6. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, opera, WWV 96 Prelude to Act 1
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra
Conducted by Karl Muck

7. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d Dawn & Siegfried's Rhine Journey
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by British Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Bruno Walter

8. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111 Act 1 Transformation Music
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch

9. A Faust Overture, for orchestra in D minor, WWV 59
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham

10. Huldigungsmarsch, for military band in E flat major, WWV 97
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Siegfried Wagner

11. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75 Prelude to Act 1
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Wilhelm Furtwangler

12. Tristan und Isolde, opera, WWV 90 Act 2: Isolde Awaits Tristan's Arrival
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin State Opera Orchestra
Conducted by Max von Schillings

13. Tristan und Isolde, opera, WWV 90 Prelude & Liebestod
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by NBC Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Arturo Toscanini

14. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b Ride of the Valkyries
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Fritz Reiner

15. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d Finale
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Philadelphia Orchestra
Conducted by Leopold Stokowski

16. Siegfried Idyll, for small orchestra in E major, WWV 103
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Leopold Stokowski

Tracks:

Rienzi - Overture
Der Fliegende Hollander - Overture
Tannhauser - Overture (Dresden Version)
Lohengrin - Prelude To Act I
Tristan Und Isolde - Prelude To Act I (With Concert Ending)
Die Meistersinger Von Nursnberg - Prelude To Act I
Gotterammerung _ Dawn And Siegfird's Rhine Journey
Parsifal - Act I Transformation Music

Tracks:

A Fuast Overture
Huldigungsmarsch
Lohengrin - Prelude To Act I
Tristan Und Isolde - Act II: Isolde Awaits Tristan's Arrival
Tristan Und Isolde - Prelude
Tristan Und Isolde - Liebestod
Die Walkure - Ride Of The Valkyries
Gotterdammerung - Finale
Siegfried Idyll

Customer Reviews:

A Great Set of Historic Wagner Performances.......2004-07-29

As Mark Obert-Thorn observes in the perceptive and well-written notes that accompany this CD, the years between the World Wars were not only a golden age of great singing but a grand era for great Wagner conducting as well. This two-disc Pearl set brings together recordings from 1922-42 from 16 outstanding Wagner interpreters. The transfers are superb, and in the case of the Weingartner Rienzi (magnificent!) and Coates Tannhauser overtures, far more vivid than what is heard from their volumes in EMI's Great Conductors of the 20th Century series.

Amazon's display of this set's contents (shown above) contains one error: it is Leo Blech, not Stokowski, who conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in Siegfried Idyll.

There is too much here to go into detail. Here are the performances, with recording dates and a few comments:

1. Felix Weingartner (1863-1942): Rienzi Overture (1939)
2. Richard Strauss (1864-1949): Flying Dutchman Ov. (1928)
3. Albert Coates (1882-1953): Tannhauser Ov. (Dresden) (1926)
4. Artur Bodanzky (1877-1939): Lohengrin Preslude Act I (1927)
5. Otto Klemperer (1885-1973): Tristan Prelude, Act I (1927)
6. Karl Muck (1859-1940): Meistersinger Prelude Act I (1927)
7. Bruno Walter (1876-1962): Dawn & Sieg. Rhine Jouney (1932)
8. Hans Knappertsbusch (1888-1965): Parsifal I Transform.(1928)
9. Thomas Beecham (1879-1961): Faust Overture (1935)
10. Siegfried Wagner (1869-1930): Huldigungsmarsch (1927)
11. Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886-1954): Lohengrin Prelude (1930)
12. Max von Schillings (1868-1933): from Tristan Act II (1927)
13. Arturo Toscanini (1867-1952): Tristan Prelude/Lieb. (1942)
15. Fritz Reiner (1883-1963): Ride of the Valkyries (1940)
16. Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977): Gotterdamm. Finale (1940)
17. Leo Blech (1871-1958): Siegfried Idyll (1922)

All of these are wonderfully sympathetic performances that should be heard by anyone interested in the history of Wagner conducting. My favorites are the Weingartner Rienzi, the Strauss Dutchman (one of the two outstanding 78 rpm accounts, along with Schuricht's on History), the Beecham Faust Ov. (the best I have heard, along with Abendroth's), and the sweetly lyrical, portamento-laden Blech Siegfried Idyll (in surprisingly good sound for an acoustic recording).

Congratulations to Mr. Obert-Thorn and Pearl for a job well done!

Music Track:

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