Bohm Vienna

Live Recordings 1955 - 1994. The wide-ranging repertory in which Christa Ludwig appeared at the Vienna State Opera, often surprising her audiences over a period of many years, is central to the present set of three CDs issued to mark her 80th birthday. It begins with her Cherubino from Le nozze di Figaro and her Composer from Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, both of which she sang at the Salzburg Festival soon after her Vienna State Opera début in 1955.

Live Recordings 1955 - 1994. The wide-ranging repertory in which Christa Ludwig appeared at the Vienna State Opera, often surprising her audiences over a period of many years, is central to the present set of three CDs issued to mark her 80th birthday. It begins with her Cherubino from Le nozze di Figaro and her Composer from Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, both of which she sang at the Salzburg Festival soon after her Vienna State Opera début in 1955.

"Bravo Mozart!" exclaimed Emperor Joseph II as he stood up and tipped his hat at the end of the first performance of Piano Concerto No. 18 KV 456 , played by Mozart himself on 30 September 1784.

Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Karl Böhm (1944) {4CD Set Preiser 90234 rel 1994}
XLD rip | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 678 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 586 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 39 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1944, 1994 Preiser Records | 90234 | Mono
Classical / Opera

This is the greatest operatic recording ever made, and one of the reasons is the astounding difficulty of doing even a good performance of this opera, which in all other recordings fails to sustain, throughout the work's 4+ hours, a continuity of tension and of a sense of forward-motion. Karl Bohm was unsurpassed at achieving such archetectonic unity; and he surpassed even himself in this recording, which was the second and last complete studio recording he made of this joyous masterwork, and much better than either his Bayreuth or Metropolitan Opera live recording of the complete opera. It's also better than his first studio recording of the work, which he made in Dresden in 1938.

This is the most beautiful of Mozart playing, his last piano concerto given here by Emil Gilels with total clarity. This is a classic performance, memorably accompanied by the VPO and Böhm. Suffice it to say that Gilels sees everything and exaggerates nothing, that the performance has an Olympian authority and serenity, and that the Larghetto is one of the glories of the gramophone. He's joined by his daughter Elena in the Double Piano Concerto in E flat, and their physical relationship is mirrored in the quality, and the mutual understanding of the playing: both works receive marvellous interpretations. We think Emil plays first, Elena second, but could be quite wrong. The VPO under Karl Böhm is at its best; and so is the quality of recording, with a good stereo separation of the two solo parts, highly desirable in this work.

Bohm: The Mozart Symphonies - BOXSET 3 DVD - Symphonies Nos. 29, 34 35, 40 & 41 - DVD 1/3 [DVD9]
Classical | DVD | with complete scans (covers and booklet) | 7,52 Gb (DVD9) | DVD´s FULL No compression
Audio: PCM Stereo - DTS 5.1 | Relesase: September 12, 2006 | Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon

Almost any recording of a Mozart symphony by Austrian conductor Karl Bohm (1894-1981) is a sure thing: excellent sound, and sensible, solid, non-sentimental interpretation.
The films in this DVD were made in the 1970s: both picture and sound are excellent. Bohm is an easy conductor to watch, and his conducting style does not distract or call attention to him over the musicians or the music. Indeed, Bohm SERVES Mozart, and watching him conduct the great Vienna Philharmonic is a joy from beginning to end.

This is a very satisfying account of ‘Die Zauberflöte‘, principally on account of Böhm’s handling of the score. He inspires the Berlin Philharmonic to convey a Masonic ‘gravitas’ which is in keeping with the philosophy of Enlightenment Reason which lurks behind the pantomime elements of this unusual work. You will certainly find deliberate speeds here, which may not be to your taste if you like fleet, revisionist, original-instrument Mozart. Vocally it’s the women in this recording that have had a bad press: but Evelyn Lear has some lovely tones in her voice even if there are occasions when Pamina’s music presents her with challenges.

“The immediacy of expression, the dramatic tension and the vitality achieved not only by the singers but also by the full-throated chorus, the wonderful orchestra and, last but not least, Karl Böhm himself all set standards by which other performances must be judged and found wanting.” So sayeth the liner notes to this first official release of the original broadcast tapes of the Fidelio that reopened the Vienna State Opera in 1955.