Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert 2018

[Stanfordian]

I agree, although the Solti Ring has become very unfashionable with 'experts' it seems. Whether it's because it has become over-familiar and its flaws are more obvious than it's virtues (that woefully inadequate Fasolt always annoys me) or something else, I'm not sure. I still think it's a huge achievement.

Hiya Darkbloom,

A recording project as large as The Ring cycle is bound to have what individuals will consider as flaws. In my view on the whole Solti's Ring cycle is a tremendous achievement.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Hiya Darkbloom,

A recording project as large as The Ring cycle is bound to have what individual will consider as flaws. In my view on the whole Solti's Ring cycle is a tremendous achievement.

Absolutely! The only slight niggle for me is an occasionally wobbly Hans Hotter in Die Walkure.

[jonfan]

Absolutely! The only slight niggle for me is an occasionally wobbly Hans Hotter in Die Walkure.

John Culshaw wanted to preserve his matchless interpretation on record even though Hotter was nearing the end of his singing career and tired quickly. What also didn’t help was the VPO acting up and ruining the last few sessions of Act 3 over some petty dispute over who played in a Siegfried Idyll recording. The atmosphere was so bad that Culshaw cancelled the big celebration marking the end of the Ring recording project. The Act 3 ending shows many edits as Culshaw tried to get the best of Hotter, going against his policy of long takes.
Hotter can be heard in fresher voice in the Bayreuth Festival 1955 tapes which have finally been issued on CD by Testament.

[Darkbloom]

Most people probably begin with a negative impression of Hotter because of that recording, and it took me a while to appreciate how great he was. Unusually for a singer, the top of his voice remained impressive, it was the middle that could be unreliable. It must have been an unforgettable experience to hear that voice in the theatre when he was in his prime. His voice matured quite early, and by his mid-30s his heavy workload was already starting to take its toll, but when he was on form he could be hard to beat.

[Hornspieler]

Worthy of Hoffnung, that, HS

" .... the bucket ...."

Yes. most of us students, making the perilous journey from promising wanabe to niaive professional, wth the assistance of such rehearsal orchestras as Harry Blech's (presided over by Mrs Blech ... woe betide you if you failed to turn up) or The Morley College orchestra conducted by Lawrece Leonard (and it was here that I made my first acquaintance with "Le Sacre du Printemps") knew Gerrard Hoffnung - a lovely chap and a pretty good Tuba Player.

Do you remember the Hoffnung concerts in the RFH?

In one of those, Dennis Brain played a tune on the hosepipe. It sounded absolutely dreadful - and I have the evidence on cassette "The Art of Dennis Brain" 3 cassettes with practically all of his recordings with von Karajan, Gerald Moore and even the Halle Orchestra, conducted by Lawrence Turner in the absence (through illness) of Sir John Barbirolli.

Yes, the sort of cartoon that Hoffnung might have drawn, but this was by one of the bass players in the CBSO.

Let's get back onto post before someone raps my knuckles.

HS