Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner - Parsifal (2012) [4CD BoxSet] {PentaTone Classics}
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© 2012 PentaTone Classics / Deutschlandradio Kultur | PTC 5186 401
Classical / Orchestral / Opera

The third issue in PentaTone's ambitious project to record ten mature Wagner operas by the time of the composer's bicentenary in 2013 proves to be the finest so far released. The live recording was made on April 8, 2011 in the Philharmonie, Berlin, with an exceptional international cast of soloists under the direction of Marek Janowski and the superb contribution of the Rundfunkchor, Berlin, a vital component in the success of this undertaking… From the opening bars of the Prelude one is struck by the luminous and pellucid sonic quality that the engineers have achieved. The ethereal string playing benefits from the unexpectedly spacious acoustic, and when the brass enter they are rich and weighty in tone. Janowski imparts a wonderful sense of purpose to the music and the clarity of execution that he achieves from his orchestra is remarkable.

When these discs were originally released singly in the early '80s, they were not only marvelous recordings of the purely orchestral music from Wagner's operas, they announced the arrival of a marvelous new conductor. At the time, Klaus Tennstedt was known only as the conductor of several astonishingly good recordings of Mahler's symphonies, but his abilities in the standard repertoire were as yet unknown. But with these two discs of recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic, Tennstedt proved that his Mahler was no accident. Indeed, so strong, so central, and so overwhelmingly compelling are his Wagner recordings that his Mahler recordings seem almost accidental. In the disc of excerpts from the Ring operas, Tennstedt is at once immensely dramatic, ecstatically lyrical, and profoundly musical. In the disc of preludes and overtures from Tannhäuser, Rienzi, Lohengrin, and Meistersinger, Tennstedt is at once intensely concentrated, widely expansive, and deeply human. Aided by the super-virtuoso playing of the Berlin Philharmonic and the stupendous impact of EMI's early digital, Tennstedt's Wagner was as fine or finer than any of his contemporaries and nearly in the same league as his predecessors.

Leading dramatic soprano Susan Bullock offers a stunning recording for Avie’s innovative Crear Classics series with a recital of songs which are linked by the theme of love and aspects of love. Covering a vast period from 1880 to the 1950s, the 19th century is represented by Richard Strauss in his youthful and flirtatious three early Lieder, and Wagner in his mature romance with Mathilde Wesendonck which resulted in the songs bearing her name. Prokofiev’s wistful and woebegone love songs are a fascinating complement to Britten’s Pushkin settings. Selections by the quintessential song composers Roger Quilter and Ned Rorem round out the eclectic programme.

Deutsche Grammophon continues its successful relationship with the acclaimed Cleveland Orchestra and its chief conductor Franz Welser-Most with this thrilling all-Wagner album. The release of this album will tie in with Franz Welser-Most picking up the baton as General Music Director of the Vienna State Opera. The Clevelanders deliver Lohengrin Prelude (Act I and Act III), The Ride of the Valkyries, the Rienzi and Meistersinger Overture, and the orchestral version of opera's non plus ultra of love's power to transfigure, the Liebestod, from Tristan und Isolde. The impact of soprano Measha Brueggergosman's Wesendonck Lieder, was, said The Plain Dealer "as if she'd penned them herself Tracking Brueggergosman's every move from fierce declamation down to the faintest whisper, Welser-Most and crew nudge the singer's performance into the musical heavens."

Recorded live at the Bayreuth Festival in 2008, this production stars a host of international stars including Michelle Breedt, Albert Dohmen, Stephen Gould, Hans-Peter Konig, Linda Watson & Eva-Maria Westbroek. Christian Thielemann, one of the most sought-after conductors in the world, takes the baton with the Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra.

Wagner at The Met is the first authorized release of Richard Wagner's operatic masterpieces, including the complete Ring Cycle, captured live in historic broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera.