BaL 14.12.24 - Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

[Pulcinella]

1500
Building a Library
Wagner's Siegfried Idyll with Gillian Moore

"Music was sounding, and what music! After it had died away, R put into my hands the score of his “Symphonic Birthday Greeting." So wrote Richard Wagner's wife Cosima after the first performance of the composer's Siegfried Idyll - written as a surprise birthday present for Cosima which she first heard as she awoke on Christmas morning 1870 while the specially assembled chamber orchestra was playing it on the stairs of the couple's villa. The intensely romantic work is full of personal significance for the Wagners, and much of the music was later incorporated into the third instalment of Wagner's operatic Ring cycle, Siegfried.

Presto listing: 227 entries!

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/works/56149--wagner-siegfried-idyll/browse

It features on two BBC MM CDs.
Volume 7, Number 5: Mainly Mozart Festival Ensemble, David Atherton (Spreckles Theatre, 14 June 1998)
Volume 30, Number 10: BBCSSO, Donald Runnicles (BBC Proms, 3 August 2012)

Spreckles Theatre (sic) is a performing arts center (sic) in San Diego, California.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreckels_Theatre

[Darloboy]

It's Siegfried Idyll

[Pulcinella]

It's Siegfried Idyll

Thanks: OP now updated with info from R3 website etc.

[Petrushka]

For the original 13 player version the Solti with members of the Vienna Philharmonic wins hands down, in my opinion. It's a gorgeous performance, intimate and beautiful, as if we were eavesdropping on the original players sitting on the stairs on that Christmas morning in 1870.

My pick for the chamber orchestra version would be Haitink and the Concertgebouw which is beautifully played with a first clarinet to die for.

[smittims]

It's still the old guard for me here: Toscanini, Furtwangler, Boult. I don't think these have been surpassed.

It's worth reflecting that this is Wanger's only significant non-vocal work.

[Pulcinella]

The first (LP) version I had was this:

https://www.discogs.com/release/2124013-Colin-Davis-Conducts-Sinfonia-Of-London-Colin-Davis-Conducts-Wagner-Siegfried-Idyll-Brahms-Haydn-Var

I'd forgotten till just now that the Sinfonia of London was involved!

[Darloboy]

Not sure that this is the best use of BaL's time given that only one Wagner opera has been covered by the programme since this piece was last done in 2014 (Die Mesistersinger in 2015) - at that rate it'll take a century to build a library of Wagner operas:

Anyway, here are the most recent previous BaL recommendations:

John Warrack (April 79): Solti (chamber) + Boult (orchestral)
David Huckvale (Jan 98): Klemperer (chamber) + Henzold (orchestral)
Martin Cotton (July 14): Abbado/COE (chamber) + I've noted mentions of Norrington's period version + Marriner's 1969 version (mixed chamber) + Boult's full orchestral version

[Petrushka]

I got the Solti recording in October 1970 (I was 16) and recall playing it on Christmas morning for the centenary. I repeated this on Christmas morning 2020 for the 150th anniversary.

[CallMePaul]

Given that reviewers are now required to recommend only one recording and the "also recommended" list appears to have been dropped, will there be discussion of the various versions or will they all be lumped together? Issues of editions have not been a major feature of recent BALs - I don't know whether the producers or presaenter have asked for this or not. Having heard both versions but only having the orchestral version in my collection, I actually prefer Wagner's original 13 player version but without having seen Presto's listing I don't know how many versions of this are out there on CD (as I don't use hand-held devices I don't buy downloads).

[Goon525]

Fully agree with Darloboy. Why on earth do this relatively minor work again when so much major Wagner goes uncovered?

[Maclintick]

For the original 13 player version the Solti with members of the Vienna Philharmonic wins hands down, in my opinion. It's a gorgeous performance, intimate and beautiful, as if we were eavesdropping on the original players sitting on the stairs on that Christmas morning in 1870.

My pick for the chamber orchestra version would be Haitink and the Concertgebouw which is beautifully played with a first clarinet to die for.

Hard to disagree. I have that VPO/Solti Siegfried Idyll, along with Kindercatechismus as fill-ups to Deryck Cooke's introduction to the Ring on the LP presentation set.

[Petrushka]

Fully agree with Darloboy. Why on earth do this relatively minor work again when so much major Wagner goes uncovered?

The Ring was certainly covered in 2013, Wagner's 200th anniversary year. Meistersinger has been mentioned already and I thought Tristan was done relatively recently but perhaps I'm mistaken. I can't recall a Parsifal BaL.

There have been few (any?) new recordings of the major operas in recent years so presumably previous recommendations still stand.

[vinteuil]

I actually prefer Wagner's original 13 player version but without having seen Presto's listing I don't know how many versions of this are out there on CD

I like the Norrington a lot

And you can get it for almost nothing -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Overtures-London-Classical-Players/dp/B000002RVJ

.

[Maclintick]

There have been few (any?) new recordings of the major operas in recent years so presumably previous recommendations still stand.

Another point to bear in mind is that for any reviewer to audition the Ring cycle operas in any depth, the time taken far exceeds the ability of the BBC to recompense adequately.

[HighlandDougie]

I like the Norrington a lot

And you can get it for almost nothing -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Overtures-London-Classical-Players/dp/B000002RVJ

.

80p + P ‘n P? Never mind the quality … but seriously has to be a bargain. Ta, Vints for the spot.
.