One of the best especially at budget price
Ray Barnes | Surrey, British Columbia Canada | 06/07/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I share the very favourable sentiments of other reviewers about this recording. Generally the orchestral playing is of the very highest quality and Szell sustains a high level of tension without the music feeling somewhat overdriven, as was the case with some of Toscanini's later recordings with the NBC Symphony. Certainly the Ring excerpts are convincing and the finale of Gotterdammerung, tacked on to the Funeral March without a break, makes a thrilling, apocalyptic impact. The Meistersinger Act I Prelude is played at a sensible tempo, with the multiple polyphony coming through very clearly, and the Tristan excerpts are also very strong and intense, although some listeners might prefer here a slower pace. Szell's work as a general rule was utterly lacking in sentimentality, prefering instead to let the emotion of the music come through discipline and precision. This no-nonsense approach works here. The sound is a bit dated, but that should not deter anybody. The documentation is excellent. At budget price, this can be enthusiastically recommended."
A summit
R. Kunath | Illinois, USA | 07/10/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"One of the truisms about George Szell is that he was a "cold" conductor (British music critics often recycle this claim). It's a total misrepresentation: you will NEVER hear these selections from the Ring played with such extraordinary emotional intensity. Add to that some of the most breathtaking orchestral virtuosity ever recorded, and you have one of the great classics of recorded music in our century. You'll never hear a better "Siegfried's Funeral Music," I guarantee."
Wagner for Wagnerians!
R. Kunath | 01/20/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The kind of Wagner I dream about. What an authentic sound! One minute into this great budget-priced CD and you know you're in good hands--hang on, it's going to be a heck of a ride! Truth be told, I bought this one for "Magic Fire Music," and it satisfied. I don't really need another Wagner compilation, but I was in the mood, and this one struck my fancy. Lucky me! I'm sure it will supplant the others. And the pieces here? First-rate choice. After we leave Valhalla there's some Meistersinger, then straight into the Prelude and Isolde's Liebestod (strung together; no singing [anywhere on the album]). It really is a shame that Szell didn't conduct more opera, judging by this CD. Sounds like he and the orchestra were born to play Wagner. And that "Tristan" excerpt, boy oh boy. Szell was like a storyteller with that baton. I was pretty much exhausted at the conclusion of the CD. Highest recommendation."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1
