Richard Wagner

Bruno Walter's recording of the Siegfried Idyll with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra is radiantly beautiful–one of the most affecting of all this great conductor's statements. The horns wobble and nick a couple of notes, the ensemble isn't always perfect, and little things happen in the winds, but the sense of what the music is about–the character of the solo playing, the phrasing, and the wonderful feeling of delicacy and joy–is unmatched by anyone, except perhaps Karajan. The "cradle song" quality of the oboe solo early in the piece is captured to perfection, and the music moves along without ever being in a hurry. The end just floats away without seeming to drag or slow down at all. –Ted Libbey

So this is, on the whole, a fine performance. The only other commercial recording of Die Meistersinger to come along in the last couple of decades has been Sawallisch's (for my review see Fanfare 18:3). And that one, despite its many virtues, is seriously disfigured by Weikl's Sachs. So if you want a Meistersinger in up-to-the-minute digital sound, you would do better with Solti. I must add, however, that while the sound on this new recording is very full and clear, it lacks warmth.

Richard Wagner - Tannhäuser (Highlights/Höhepunkte)
Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele / Wolfgang Sawallisch
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 373 MB | Full Artwork: 28 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Philips "Wagner Edition" # 446 620-2 | Country/Year: Germany 1995, 1963
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Opera

Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. (…) When he debuted at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus conducting Tristan und Isolde in 1957, he was the youngest conductor ever to appear there. (…) For thirty years, he was closely associated with musical events in Munich. Here he conducted practically all of the major Richard Strauss operas, Salome being the sole exception. He also conducted 32 complete Richard Wagner Ring des Nibelungen cycles and is credited with nearly 1200 opera performances in the city alone…

Transfiguration is acclaimed star soprano Camilla Nylund’s much-awaited first album of arias. This CD portrays the lyric-dramatic soprano with famous arias and scenes from operas by Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner, including the grueling final scenes from Tristan und Isolde and from Salome. The featured arias reflect the lyrical and dramatic facets of Camilla Nylund’s current roles at such venues as Staatsoper Dresden, Vienna State Opera, and Bayreuther Festspiele. The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra is led by their chief conductor Hannu Lintu.

Richard Wagner - Tannhäuser (Highlights/Höhepunkte)
Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele / Wolfgang Sawallisch
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 373 MB | Full Artwork: 28 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Philips "Wagner Edition" # 446 620-2 | Country/Year: Germany 1995, 1963
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Opera

Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. (…) When he debuted at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus conducting Tristan und Isolde in 1957, he was the youngest conductor ever to appear there. (…) For thirty years, he was closely associated with musical events in Munich. Here he conducted practically all of the major Richard Strauss operas, Salome being the sole exception. He also conducted 32 complete Richard Wagner Ring des Nibelungen cycles and is credited with nearly 1200 opera performances in the city alone…