Richard Wagner - Great Recordings

To best describe the contents of this collection, presently being offered at ridiculously low price here on Amazon (but that is not likely to last forever), here are the recordings included as well as links to those individual releases here on Amazon, so that anyone interested in this box set can look at the contents in detail and see how they have been individually reviewed:● Discs 1-2: Der Fliegende Holländer: James Levine conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus; James Morris, Deborah Voigt, Ben Heppner, Jan-Hendrik Rootering, Paul Groves, Brigitta Svendén. Recorded April 28-29 and May 3-7, 1994, at Manhattan Center, New York City.● Discs 3-5: Lohengrin: Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Sándor Kónya, Lucine Amara, Rita Gorr, William Dooley, Jerome Hines, Calvin Marsh. Recorded August 23-28, 1965, at Symphony Hall, Boston.● Discs 6-9: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Joseph Keilberth conducting the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper; Otto Wiener, Jess Thomas, Claire Watson, Hans Hotter, Benno Kusche, Lilan Bennigsen, Friedrich Lenz,, Josef Metternich. Recorded November 23, 1963, 'first performance in the rebuilt Nationaltheater, Munich'.● Discs 10-11: Das Rheingold: Marek Janowski conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden; Theo Adam, Siegmund Nimsgern, Peter Schreier, Matti Salminen, Christian Vogel, Eberhard Büchner, Karl-Heinz Stryczek, Roland Bracht, Yvonne Minton, Lucia Popp, Uta Priew, Hanna Schwarz, Ortrun Wenkel. Recorded December 8-11, 1980, Lukaskirche, Dresden.● Discs 12-15: Die Walküre: Marek Janowski conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden; Jeannine Altmeyer, Yvonne Minton, Jessye Norman, Siegfried Jerusalem, Christel Borchers, Eva-Maria Bundschuh, Ruth Falcon, Anne Gjevang, Kathleen Kuhlmann, Uta Priew, Cheryl Studer, Ortrun Wenkel. Recorded August 22-29, 1981, Lukaskirche, Dresden.● Discs 16-19: Siegfried: Marek Janowski conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden; René Kollo, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, Siegmund Nimsgern, Matti Salminen, Ortrun Wenkel, Jeannine Altmeyer, Norma Sharp. Recorded February and March, 1982, Lukaskirche, Dresden.● Discs 20-23: Götterdämmerung: Marek Janowski conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden; Jeannine Altmeyer, Norma Sharp, Ortrun Wenkel, René Kollo, Matti Salminen, Hand Günter Nöcker, Siegmund Nimsgern, Lucia Popp, Uta Priew, Hanna Schwarz, Anne Gjevang, Daphne Evangelatos, Ruth Falcon. Recorded January, March & April, 1983, Lukaskirche, Dresden.NOTE that the above recordings with Marek Janowski conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden are now released as a package by Sony: Der Ring Des Nibelungen● Discs 24-27: Parsifal: Herbert von Karajan conducting the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper; Fritz Uhl, Elisabeth Höngen, Christa Ludwig, Walter Berry, Hans Hotter, Eberhard Waechter, Tugomir Franc. Recorded by Austrian Radio (ORF) April 1, 1961. Restored from a private radio recording.● Disc 28: Die Walküre: Act One: Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic; Eva Marton, Peter Hofmann, Martti Talvela. Recorded January 31 through February 5, 1985, during live performances at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City.● Disc 29: Peter Hofmann Sings Wagner Arias: Ivan Fischer conducting the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart; Peter Hofmann, tenor (recording date & venue not given).● Disc 30: Gösta Winbergh Sings Wagner: Siegfried Köhler conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera; Gösta Winbergh, tenor. Recorded September 19-22, 1995, at Culture Center, Ytterjärna, Sweden.● Disc 31: Kirsten Flagstad: Wagner Arias and Duets with Melchior: Kirsten Flagstad, soprano; Lauritz Melchior, tenor. Recorded at various dates between 1935 and 1940, venues not given.● Discs 32-33: Helen Traubel & Lauritz Melchior Sing Wagner: Helen Traubel, soprano; Lauritz Melchior, tenor. Recorded at various dates between 1942 and 1945, venues in New York City and Buenos Aires.● Disc 34: [[ASIN:B003YT0RVQ Eileen Farrell/Wagner]: Eileen Farrell, soprano, sings Wagner excerpts. Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic. Recorded between 1961 and 1967, venues in New York City.● Disc 35: Waltraud Meier Sings Wagner: Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano; Lorin Maazel conducting the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. Recorded December 1996 - January 1997, at Studio 1 of the Bavarian Radio, Munich.● Disc 36: Orchestral Highlights from Wagner's Ring: Orchestral Highlights from the Ring: George Szell conducting the Cleveland Orchestra. Recorded October 1968 at Severance Hall, Cleveland.● Disc 37: Orchestral Highlights, Stokowski: Orchestral Highlights: Leopold Stokowski conducting the Symphony of the Air, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded 1960-61, and 1973, New York City and London.● Disc 38: Lorin Maazel Conducts Wagner: Orchestral Highlights: Lorin Maazel conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded September 13-14, 1999 at Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin-Dahlem.● Disc 39: [[ASIN:B0013AYXAO Tannhäuser Without Words]: Lorin Maazel conducts the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Mendelssohn Choir. Recorded December 1990 at Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh.● Disc 40: Wagner: Piano Transcriptions for Four Hands: Yaara Tal and Andreas Groethuysen. Recorded May 1997 at Reitstadel, Neumarkt in der Operfalz.Since Amazon allows only a maximum of 10 links to be included in any review, I've added a comment below to provide the links that I've not been able to incorporate here.As per normal for a bargain collection of this type, no libretto or other descriptive information is included. The booklet contains only a listing of performers for each piece, and date and venue for the performance along with the original cover art shown. The box is a heavy cardboard container, and each disc sleeve is also cardboard with original cover art on the front and track listing on the rear of the cover. It's actually a very nice package and well done, especially for the price.At the current bargain pricing, this is surely worth picking up for anyone interested in Wagner and/or these particular performances or artists. As time goes by and the pricing fluctuates, the desirability of this box set will vary. Referring to the links above will help facilitate a decision regarding whether or not the investment might be worthwhile.

This has to have been one of the best purchases of classical music that I have made recently. Firstly, I am a massive Wagner fan and own many of his works. I bought this collection for a meager $16 less shipping. The box is sturdy--mine was damaged in transit, but this is only a minor irritation. The sleeves containing each disc are firm cardboard and contain all the information that you will need to know about each disc. There is also a glossy booklet containing the same information as the disc sleeves. There are no libretti and at this price you wouldn't expect any. I mainly bought this for Janowski's adaptation of "Der Ring des Nibelungen" and it really is an excellent "Ring" cycle. For the price I paid for this box-set, this would have been enough. However, there are many other notable discs for you to enjoy. For me, one of the highlights is CD 31 containing Kirsten Flagstad performing arias and duets with Lauritz Melchior. The sound quality on this disc to say that the earliest recording is 1935 is extremely good, as is all the other discs in this box-set. My only reservation and slight disappointment is with the "Parsifal" (Herbert von Karajan and the Wiener Staatsoper) discs--there is some low-level noise fluctuations, which marred my listening pleasure. However, having said that, I am aware that the recording from 1961 was restored from a private radio recording from the original Austrian radio broadcast and it is a piece of musical history that we should be glad that it has been preserved--regardless of the slight sound imperfections. I would highly recommend this box-set to all with an interest in Wagner's music. It isn't a complete set of his works and it was never advertised as so, but you certainly get a lot of Wagner for your money. This box-set will keep you happy for hours on end and the price-to-quality ratio is outstanding. Enjoy!