Mime

Wilhelm Furtwangler's only live opera house recording of the complete Ring is indispensable for serious Wagnerians. (A 1953 broadcast concert series from Rome had an inferior orchestra and lesser singers.) This 1950 La Scala Ring with the house band and chorus and a stellar cast of mostly German Wagnerians sports crude recorded sound, but the Music & Arts transfer is far superior to its previous incarnations. Furtwangler's conducting is incandescent. His command of structure is awesome; you sense the long, overarching lines of each of the operas even as you revel in telling details.

Wilhelm Furtwangler's only live opera house recording of the complete Ring is indispensable for serious Wagnerians. (A 1953 broadcast concert series from Rome had an inferior orchestra and lesser singers.) This 1950 La Scala Ring with the house band and chorus and a stellar cast of mostly German Wagnerians sports crude recorded sound, but the Music & Arts transfer is far superior to its previous incarnations. Furtwangler's conducting is incandescent. His command of structure is awesome; you sense the long, overarching lines of each of the operas even as you revel in telling details.

Die aufnahmetechnisch hervorragendste, die erste digitale 'Ring'-Produktion: Dynamische Expansion, Brillanz des Klangbildes, instrumentale Qualität und Präzision des Zusammenspiels sind vermutlich nicht zu übertreffen. Die Staatskapelle Dresden erweist sich etwa den Wiener und Berliner Philharmonikern bei Wagner als gleichwertig. Janowski, ein vorzüglicher Musiker, ist als Koordinator von Orchester und Sängern, als Disponent des Gesamtklanges außergewöhnlich gut. Gleiches gilt für Schreiers Loge, die auffallendste Einzelleistung.