Georg Solti Rheingold

Richard Wagner was one of the most revolutionary figures in the history of music, a composer who made pivotal contributions to the development of harmony and musical drama that reverberate even today. Indeed, though Wagner occasionally produced successful music written on a relatively modest scale, opera – the bigger, the better – was clearly his milieu, and his aesthetic is perhaps the most grandiose that Western music has ever known. Early in his career, Wagner learned both the elements and the practical, political realities of his craft by writing a handful of operas which were unenthusiastically, even angrily, received. © Rovi Staff /TiVo

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra shines in this recording under the direction of Sir Georg Solti. From the delicate second movement to the robust finale, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra shows its musical dexterity, performing every note with the greatest musical sensibility. Simply the best interpretation of Dvorak's 9th symphony in recent years, this performance is a must have for serious music lovers.

Richard Wagner - Der Ring Des Nibelungen
Wiener Philharmoniker / Sir Georg Solti
14 CD Box | FLAC, EAC, LOG & CUE | Partial Artwork | Size: 4,62 GB + Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Decca 455 555-2 | Country/Year: Europe 1997 [1958, 1962, 1964, 1965]
Genre: Classical, Opera | Remastered | Hoster: Filepost/Filefactory

This first complete studio recording of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, made between 1958 and 1966, was a groundbreaking technical and artistic achievement, the most ambitious and intricately involved opera recording project of the 20th century. Produced for Decca by John Culshaw, whose vision and untiring devotion brought the gargantuan project to completion, the 14 ½-hour release set a new standard for opera recordings. The details Culshaw lavished on the production, which included building new musical instruments, precisely calculating the placement and choreography of each singer to maximize the theatricality of each scene, and creating an array of fabulous special effects resulted in a landmark recording that has lost none of its power with the passage of time.

Richard Wagner - Der Ring Des Nibelungen
Wiener Philharmoniker / Sir Georg Solti
14 CD Box | FLAC, EAC, LOG & CUE | Partial Artwork | Size: 4,62 GB
Label/Cat#: Decca 455 555-2 | Country/Year: Europe 1997 [1958, 1962, 1964, 1965]
Genre: Classical | Style: Opera, Romantic

This first complete studio recording of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, made between 1958 and 1966, was a groundbreaking technical and artistic achievement, the most ambitious and intricately involved opera recording project of the 20th century. Produced for Decca by John Culshaw, whose vision and untiring devotion brought the gargantuan project to completion, the 14 ½-hour release set a new standard for opera recordings. The details Culshaw lavished on the production, which included building new musical instruments, precisely calculating the placement and choreography of each singer to maximize the theatricality of each scene, and creating an array of fabulous special effects resulted in a landmark recording that has lost none of its power with the passage of time.

DAS RHEINGOLD, the prelude to Wagner's drama DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN, is the shortest work in the series, and at times it can be forgotten. Of the four pieces that make up the Ring Cycle, it probably would not be a stand alone opera, as the other three would be, and with the exception of "The Entry of the gods into Valhalla" it does not have the memorable highlights of the other three longer works of the cycle.

Five CDs of otherworldly beauty and power that revolutionized opera. These 19th-century masterworks include selections and scenes from Der Ring des Nibelungen, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Parsifal. Performances by Birgit Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Waltraud Meier, Wolfgang Windgassen, Peter Hofmann, Theo Adam, Matti Salminen with Georg Solti, James Levine and others.

Some have likened Herbert von Karajan's "chamber-music approach" to Wagner's Ring cycle in terms of his scaling down or deconstructing the heroic roles. This approach has less to do with dynamics per se than it does with von Karajan's masterful balancing of voices and instruments. He achieves revelations of horizontal clarity, allowing no contrapuntal strand to emerge with an unwanted accent or a miscalibrated dynamic. The texts are unusually pinpointed and distinct, although the singers don't convey the experience and dimension of Sir Georg Solti's cast on London. There are exceptions.