Wagner, Richard (1813 - 1883)

[Ein Heldenleben]

... I agree : I was there, and disappointed.

I was still more disappointed that they didn't even try to do the rest of the Cycle on HIPP lines

Heard his new Rach 2 last week - was there some eccentric phrasing and oddly prominent orchestral inner parts in evidence ?

[cloughie]

Heard his new Rach 2 last week - was there some eccentric phrasing and oddly prominent orchestral inner parts in evidence ?

Is there a Rach 2 that hasn’t got some eccentric phrasing somewhere - that’s part of the fun of listening to the many recordings - I found the start of Rattle’s very quiet - but I was cooking at the time with some kitchen sounds competing! I will in due course compare it with the LAPO he recorded when he wore a younger man’s clothes! The download of the New LSO recording is good value on 7 digital!

[LMcD]

Better half has reacted with caution to my suggested compromise - a cruise down the Rhine with optional short horse ride and free funeral insurance with Valhalla Cruises GmbH.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Is there a Rach 2 that hasn’t got some eccentric phrasing somewhere - that’s part of the fun of listening to the many recordings - I found the start of Rattle’s very quiet - but I was cooking at the time with some kitchen sounds competing! I will in due course compare it with the LAPO he recorded when he wore a younger man’s clothes! The download of the New LSO recording is good value on 7 digital!

Yes it invites pulling about in a way perhaps that Wagner doesn’t ...and it all depends what you mean by eccentricity..

[vinteuil]

Better half has reacted with caution to my suggested compromise - a cruise down the Rhine with optional short horse ride and free funeral insurance with Valhalla Cruises GmbH.

... as long as she hasn't started worrying about your relationship with your aunt. Or asked difficult questions about the 'relationship' of your parents


.

[LMcD]

... as long as she hasn't started worrying about your relationship with your aunt. Or asked difficult questions about the 'relationship' of your parents


.

That business with my aunt was the result of a genuine misunderstanding and nobody never proved nuffink.
Regarding birthdays, I'm considering asking our local string quartet to assemble on the stairs and play something on the morning of her birthday.

[cloughie]

Yes it invites pulling about in a way perhaps that Wagner doesn’t ...and it all depends what you mean by eccentricity..

It seems that Rachmaninov either agreed to or at least tolerated cuts - also I am unsure about repeats, which are present in some longer performances eg LSO Rozhdestvensky. Over the years also movt3 seems to have slowed down!

[Ein Heldenleben]

It seems that Rachmaninov either agreed to or at least tolerated cuts - also I am unsure about repeats, which are present in some longer performances eg LSO Rozhdestvensky. Over the years also movt3 seems to have slowed down!

Yes the first clarinet needs oxygen at some of the speeds these days....

[smittims]

This month it's fifty years since the Furtwangler (Rome) Ring was issued by EMI; coincidentally I'm listening to it again; I hear the Ring every Autumn, perhaps because I first heard it then, in Bayreuth broadcasts on Radio3.

Does anyone have particular memories of this recording, or indeed af their first-owned 'Ring'? I remember the Gramophone calling it 'the gramophone event of the century', and the demand was huge, not just becasue few would have heard Furtwangler conduct it since the BBC Third Programme played tapes of the 1950 Scala production, but because it was the first bargain Ring on disc, the only alternative then being the Solti at full price (£44 I think, about £700 in modern money).

I well rememer scouring Manchester for it (yes, in those days there were several classical record shops in the city centre). 'Everyone's screamin' for it' said one retailer. Eventually I found one , took it home and put on the first of those plum-label LPs. It's still my favourite interpretation.

[Joseph K]

Does anyone have particular memories of this recording, or indeed af their first-owned 'Ring'?

I have memories of listening to the Solti Ring and following it with Rudolph Sabor's edition of the libretto along with annotation and commentary for a module on Wagner I was doing for my degree.

[kernelbogey]

Richard Wagner
Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay). Orchid Classics. 107
Music Arranger: Andrew Gourlay
London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Gourlay

An extract from this was broadcast by Martin Handley on Sunday Breakfast this morning. I'm not a big fan of Parsifal, alas, so not in a postion to judge the appropriateness of such an endeavour.

There is I believe, a 'symphony' of music from the Ring - but so far I have not pursued that (although the Ring is the where my Wagner fandom resides).

[smittims]

Yes, 'the Ring, an orchestral journey'; I think it lasts about an hour. I've heard it and it's not for me. Maybe for some people it's the introduction they want .

At a concert in 1940 Toscanini performed a 23 minute orchestral piece called 'Klingsor's Garden' which mixes music from acts two and three of 'Parsifal'. Its been reissued on a Naxos Cd, and I've enjoyed it, but Mortimer Frank, a Toscanini expert, was dismissive.

[kernelbogey]

The Ring with 18 players!

Interesting article in the Guardian by Ben Woodward of Regents Opera.

[Joseph K]

I've decided it's time I finally got round to giving my Karajan Der Ring des Nibelungen a spin and also that I make use for the first time of the Dover full scores that have been gathering dust on my shelves for years.

I've decided on a disk a day. See you in a couple of weeks...

[silvestrione]

I've decided it's time I finally got round to giving my Karajan Der Ring des Nibelungen a spin and also that I make use for the first time of the Dover full scores that have been gathering dust on my shelves for years.

I've decided on a disk a day. See you in a couple of weeks...

God go with you. Watch out for dwarves, giants and dragons...