- Audio CD (Jan 25 2000)
- Number of Discs: 2
- Label: RCA
- ASIN: B00002DEWB
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #112,423 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Details |
Track Listings
| Disc: 1 |
|---|
| 1. Die Walkure - The Valkyrie: Ride Of The Valkyries |
| 2. Siegfried: Forest Murmurs |
| 3. The Twighlight Of The Gods: Dawn And Siegfried's Rhine Journey |
| 4. The Twighlight Of The Gods: Siegfried's Death And Funeral Music |
| 5. Siegfried-Idyll |
| 6. Tristan und Isolde: Vorspiel Und Liebestod |
| Disc: 2 |
| 1. Die Meistersinger von Nurnbert - The Matersingers of Nuremberg: Act III Prelude |
| 2. Parsifal: Act I Prelude |
| 3. Parsifal: Good Friday Spell |
| 4. Lohengrin: Act I Prelude |
| 5. Lohengrin: Act III Prelude |
| 6. Tannhauser: Ouverture Und Bacchanale |
Product Description
From Amazon.co.uk
The booklet notes make a persuasive case for reconsidering Toscanini as one of the great Wagnerians. His love of the music is undoubted, giving the Italian premières of Siegfreid, and Götterdämmerung, as well as many other performances of Wagner throughout his long career. From the 1930s onwards he also made a considerable number of Wagner recordings, though the only complete opera remaining is a 1937 Die Meistersinger. More happily, many of his recordings of instrumental music survive, and this double set collects recordings made with the NBC Symphony Orchestra between 1949 and 1952. Further emphasising the conductor's commitment to this music, Toscanini sometimes made his own, more expansive arrangements, and here both "Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey", and "Siegfried's Death and Funeral Music" contain more music than the standard concert versions. Obviously in mono, and remastered with state-of-the-art equipment from, whenever possible, the original sources, the sound quality generally far surpasses expectations--though "Ride of the Valkyries" and the Tannhäuser music push the dynamic range to the limit. Such deficiencies notwithstanding, for the committed Wagnerian, and for those seeking to enhance their appreciation of one of the great conductors of the 20th century, this volume of the RCA Toscanini series is essential. For everyone else, this is simply well over two hours of great music, with performances offering insight, depth, rare moments of sublime, almost preternatural beauty, and in the case of Tannhäuser literally breathtaking musical drama. --Gary S. Dalkin
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional performances,
By
This review is from: The Immortal Toscanini--Wagner (Audio CD)
Toscanini was a mercurial conductor, a force of nature and the performances of Wagner are filled with deep commitment , when you play Wagner you must notice the existence of several gravity centers you must keep in mind. Otherwise you can play a lineal Wagner and that would be a mess. The score and the dramatic sequence are so important and even more perhaps that the music itself . They work out as if they were twins , So if you want to win in Wagner you have to maintain in your mind the dyoinisiac and apolinean features in the performance .Beethoven seventh is filled with histamine and powerful and overwhelming rhytm presence . It's not my favorite Seventh I must confess but it has character , violence and rapture , and with these elements it's very difficult for you to fail the challenge. One of the major achievements of the master Toscanini.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Toscanini and Wagner,
By
This review is from: The Immortal Toscanini--Wagner (Audio CD)
Although Toscanini was usually associated closely with Italian opera, particularly the works of Verdi, he made it clear that he considered Richard Wagner the master when it came to musical drama. He had a long-standing appreciation of Wagner, which led him to conduct many of the composer's works during his long career. Furthermore, Toscanini was the first non-German conductor to be invited to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival, in 1930. The invitation came from no less than Siegfried Wagner, the composer's son. Unfortunately, the only complete opera by Wagner that Toscanini ever recorded was "Meistersinger," during the Salzburg Festival in 1937. In Toscanini's many recordings with the NBC Symphony for RCA Victor, he recorded only excerpts from Wagner's operas. Nevertheless, the excerpts of Wagner's music are quite impressive. One of the more memorable recordings was of the finale to Act I of "Walkure," recorded during a broacast concert in Carnegie Hall in February 1941 with soprano Helen Traubel and tenor Lauritz Melchior. Typically, the Maestro drove the orchestra relentlessly, maintaining intensity and excitement throughout. The same wonderful results can be heard in the 1952 recording of "The Ride of the Valkyries," a concert arrangement derived from "Walkure." This performance builds and builds as the valkyries ride. In all of the Wagner music he conducted, one is absolutely amazed at his fidelity to the composer's intentions. He may have come closer to what Wagner wanted than any other conductor. An unfortunate incident came in Toscanini's final NBC broadcast concert, in Carnegie Hall on April 4, 1954, when his emotions over his impending retirement got the best of him. It has become legendary how he faltered during the "Venusburg" music of the Tannhauser overture (Paris version) and NBC temporarily replaced the broadcast with a recording of the Brahms first symphony. Adding to the misfortune of that concert is that it was one of the few times the NBC Symphony under Toscanini was recorded in stereo; despite excellent sound, the orchestra simply did not play its best that day. None of that happened in the 1952 studio recording of the same overture, also recorded in Carnegie Hall. This compilation features the best of Toscanini's performances of Wagner and is definitely worth having. It is an opportunity to really appreciate the greatness of Wagner's music, even if his personal life was marred by his egotism and racism.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Clarity of sound...impeccable conducting...masterful...,
By "acominatus" (Johnson City, TN United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Immortal Toscanini--Wagner (Audio CD)
This review relates to the Toscanini recordingsof Wagner selections with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, Vol. VII, in the BMG series, "Arturo Toscanini: The Immortal" In the enclosed brochure, the producers of the recording tell about the new remastering which has prompted the releasing of this particular set of Toscanini recordings. "The recordings in this new series were made using 20-bit recording technology, UV22 (TM) Super CD Encoding, Cello and Struder tape systems and were processed from the original analog source tape masters at the BMG/RCA Studios in New York." All it takes is listening to the "Forest Murmurs" selection from -Siegfried- to hear what the "masterful" and "clarity" mean. The sound of the French horns and glockenspiel are brilliant and fascinating...the final orchestral chord on each of these pieces is august. There is no murkiness in these interpretations -- all is pristine, but the pace is not slow. I was privileged to be able to preview listen to the recordingbefore I bought the recording...just hearing the first section of the "Ride of the Valkyries" let me know that I wanted the recording (2 CDs for the price of one). My ears are perfectionist, so it takes a lot of different elements combined to satisfy my acutely sensitive ears and aesthetic longings. The quality of the earphones or playback system will, no doubt, affect the quality of sound delivery. The earphones at the sound was richer than the earphone quality of a Sony Discman which I am playing it on as I type this review. On the Discman earphones, the sound is a bit too treble (though those brasses still come through with full- bodied energy and verve) and "boxy." One of the recordings is from a live performance, so be forewarned that you will hear a cough or two. But, for the price, the mastery of conducting and recording reprocessing, this duo can't be bettered. "Holder Sang/ singt zu mir her." ["Lovely sounds/ ravish my ears."] -Das Rheingold-.
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