Karl Bohm Wagner

When we turn to live recordings, we enter another world, one in which the performances have, on the whole, a greater consistency of thought and execution. That applies in spades to the famous Bayreuth set of 1966. Karl Böhm's swift, incandescent, very theatrical interpretation isn't to everyone's liking. Yet, for all the fast speeds, the charge of superficiality is misplaced. Böhm's direct, cogently thought through reading, in which tempo relationships, inner figures (as one might expect from a Mozart and Strauss specialist), and instrumental detail are all carefully exposed and related to each other, offers rich rewards. Expressive intensity is here married ideally to a transparency of texture.

"The Austrian conductor Karl Böhm is one of the towering conductors of the 20th Century. As the embodiment of the long Austro-German musical tradition, he helped to write musical history. This 19-CD set assembles all the extant recordings he conducted for EMI (notably its German Electrola label) over the period 1935 to 1949 in Dresden, Berlin, Vienna and London includes a number of rarities and the world premiere release of a version of Mozart’s Serenata notturna recorded in Vienna in 1947. It was during these years that Böhm cemented his reputation as a major conductor of Austro-German repertoire. Collectors will also be pleased to know that this set contains all the recordings that featured in the now-iconic series of Dresden-themed LP boxes released by EMI to mark Böhm’s 85th birthday in 1979. "

Newly remastered onto 12 CD's and in wonderful, refreshed sound for this 2013 release in honor of Wagner's 200th birthday, this cycle, recorded live in Bayreuth during 1966 and 1967, remains one of the greatest "Rings" on record. Legendary singers Theo Adam as Wotan, James King as Siegmund, Leonie Rysanek as Sieglinde, Thomas Stewart as Gunther, Wolfgang Windgassen as Siegfried, and Birgit Nilsson as Brühnnhilde lead an outstanding cast in this fast-moving and dramatic reading led by expert conductor Karl Böhm.

Bohm conducts Bruckner's 1889 revised score which represents the composer's final thoughts on his Third Symphony. As Bruckner matured - artistically speaking - his thoughts turned towards a more Beethovenian "Classical" view of symphonic music, in the Brahms mould, and the references to Wagner's - the Third's dedicatee - music were excised, all but one, from the score of the Third Symphony. This purity of symphonic form allowed Bruckner to present his musical thoughts in such a way that the music's inner logic conveyed a more well-structured architecture, allowing Bruckner's - and not Wagner's - voice to ring-out, loud and clear.

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.

Karl Bohm’s name carries with it immense respect among musicians and connoisseurs in our most sophisticated markets, particularly for opera where his “gods” were Mozart, Wagner and Richard Strauss. Deutsche Grammophon proudly brings together for the first time his complete vocal recordings for the label – including the star-studded 1968 ‘Le nozze di Figaro’; the legendary ‘Zauberflöte’ from 1964 with Fritz Wunderlich and Roberta Peters; Bohm’s two recordings of the ‘Missa solemnis’, two Rosenkavaliers, three recordings of Ariadne auf Naxos, Wagner’s Hollander & Tristan … and one disc of new-to-CD recordings. Beautiful packaging and presentation.

Karl Bohm’s name carries with it immense respect among musicians and connoisseurs in our most sophisticated markets, particularly for opera where his “gods” were Mozart, Wagner and Richard Strauss. Deutsche Grammophon proudly brings together for the first time his complete vocal recordings for the label – including the star-studded 1968 ‘Le nozze di Figaro’; the legendary ‘Zauberflöte’ from 1964 with Fritz Wunderlich and Roberta Peters; Bohm’s two recordings of the ‘Missa solemnis’, two Rosenkavaliers, three recordings of Ariadne auf Naxos, Wagner’s Hollander & Tristan … and one disc of new-to-CD recordings. Beautiful packaging and presentation.

Richard Wagner - Der Ring Des Nibelungen
Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele / Karl Böhm
14xCD | EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 3,84 GB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Philips # 446 057-2 | Country/Year: Germany 1967, 2006
Genre: Classical | Style: Opera, Romantic

"Musikalisch dichte, klanglich prächtig ausbalancierte und das Primat der Sänger wahrende Aufnahme, deren Schönheit aus der Gesamtwirkung resultiert…Im Gesamteindruck setzt diese Aufnahme große Wagner-Tradition mit großer Bestimmtheit und Überzeugungskraft fort." ~Hermes Opernlexikon