What are you listening to?

[fergus]

What a stunning portrait that is!!

[fergus]

[mcq]

Richard Wagner
Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries
Das Rheingold: Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla
Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music (from Die Walküre)
Siegfried: Forest Murmurs
Siegfried's Funeral March from Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung: finale
Wiener Philharmoniker
Georg Solti conducting

I bought this set from Arkiv. I didn't know what to expect and as the orchestras were conducted by Georg Solti I know that I would not be disappointed. Well nothing prepared me for the musical onslaught that greeted me when I played the second disc. I am not familiar with Wagner's music and this recording is an absolute revelation to me. The Decca recordings engineers did a wonderful job so that the sound of the Wiener in all of its glory is clear and distinctive. Solti and the VPO are a class apart on this recording. This music is of another world.....it's fabulous............................WOW!

I am a big fan of Wagner's operas. Solti's recording is a magnificent achievement - a classic performance beautifully caught by the Decca engineers. In my opinion, no studio recording has bettered it but, to be honest, there haven't been many studio performances because of the mammoth cost of such a project, but Solti's achievement can be measured - favourably, in my view - against any extant recording, whether live or studio. And what a line up - Kirsten Flagstad, Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson, Gustav Neidlinger and Wolfgang Windgassen are some of the greatest Wagner voices of the 20th century. Solti was magnificent in Wagner. Passionate but also sensual, he brings the best out of the singers as well as the VPO. There are many competing versions - mostly live - but this is the best place to start to dip your toe into this glorious, life-enhancing music.

[Seán]

I am a big fan of Wagner's operas. Solti's recording is a magnificent achievement - a classic performance beautifully caught by the Decca engineers. In my opinion, no studio recording has bettered it but, to be honest, there haven't been many studio performances because of the mammoth cost of such a project, but Solti's achievement can be measured - favourably, in my view - against any extant recording, whether live or studio. And what a line up - Kirsten Flagstad, Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson, Gustav Neidlinger and Wolfgang Windgassen are some of the greatest Wagner voices of the 20th century. Solti was magnificent in Wagner. Passionate but also sensual, he brings the best out of the singers as well as the VPO. There are many competing versions - mostly live - but this is the best place to start to dip your toe into this glorious, life-enhancing music.

I am delighted to see that you like the Solti/VPO Wagner recordings. I don't have the the full cycle all I have is what I mentioned previously and I think that the music is stunning, I was amazed that I liked it so much. The Solti/VPO Ring cycle is ridiculously expensive though, the cost is prohibitive. I would love to listen to more of it.

[mcq]

Yes, it is very expensive but, thankfully, Decca have released the first part - Das Rheingold - at a budget price. Hopefully the remainder of the series will follow in due course. (Two other great versions are by Karl Bohm, whose 1966 performance at Bayreuth may be the most intense, and Wilhelm Furtwangler's magisterial 1953 cycle which may well be the most profound interpretation.) All four parts are exceptional and tie together to form a coherent story but the acknowledged masterpieces are Die Walkure and Gotterdammerung. The closing scenes of the latter are absolutely extraordinary and are amongst the most powerful in any music. Perhaps the best definition of a really great piece of music is the way it renders everything else meaningless. This is one of those pieces of music. In my opinion, the parts that Wagner wrote for the soprano voice (in particular, Brunhilde) remain the most demanding in the classical reportoire. Birgit Nilsson's performance for Solti is an exceptionally moving achievement and never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=146tTKSXu7s

You might consider purchasing a DVD box of the complete cycle which may work out cheaper. My recommendations would be Pierre Boulez on DG and Daniel Barenboim on Warner, both of which are among the greatest things either man has done.

If you do get a taste for Wagner, Sean, you really should listen to Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal and Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg as well.

[fergus]

JSB – Two Cantatas BWV2 and BWV76 for the Second Sunday after Trinity....

[fergus]

Lunch time listening: guitar music from Barrios....

[mcq]

Last week, I spent a lot of time listening to a box set on DG devoted to Gidon Kremer's performances of various violin sonatas. A personal highlight is his outstanding traversal of the Beethoven sonata cycle with Martha Argerich which, to me, counts as one of the great ones. But there's a great deal else to enjoy - wonderful performances of the Brahms, Prokofiev and Schumann sonatas as well as less well-trodden repertoire by Busoni, Janacek and Messaien.

[DaveF]

Picked up this outstanding recording a few months ago and it blew me away.



followed by my two favorite Vivaldi recordings.

[fergus]

Brahms – Symphony No. 3 / Gardiner....




I found that Symphony No. 3 is well played with clear textures and well paced speeds; the outer movements have pace, drive and energy while the inner movements are a suitable contrast. This is a most enjoyable version.
However, there are also six different and individually contrasting choral works on this disc which are more than worthy of note. The choral singing is wonderful and this beautiful music is well served indeed; these choral works alone are worth the price of the disc!