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5.0étoiles sur 5
Perfect Place To Start!, Nov. 29 2002
Since his music is so controversial & demanding, it's probably cruel to introduce a person to Wagner by first experiencing one of his operas. Personally, I've fallen in love with Wagner's earlier Romantic operas & later music dramas. This passion, however, wasn't linear, and I spent a lot of time skipping through sections that I didn't particularly appreciate until rather late in the game. If that makes me a slow developer, fair enough. It also puts me in with the majority of people who grow to love this operatic genius. This 2-disc set is the perfect way to determine if you would like to delve further. Klemperer's brooding conducting is perfect for the sheer weight of many of these pieces. The Gotterdammerung selections are absolutely perfect! The prelude to Parsifal is also stunning, as is the Tristan prelude & Isolde's liebestod! Wagner's popular mid-period Tannhauser & Lohengrin selections range from lusty (Tann. overture, Lohengrin prelude act 3) to sublime (Lohengrin prelude act 1) The ever-popular Meistersinger is well represented with the regal overture (minus the Lutheran choral music, unfortunately) and the exquisite Dance of the Apprentices/Entry of the Masters. The towering Ring selections include the perennial potboiler Ride of the Valkyries, albeit in severely abbreviated form. Donner's powerful "aria" (without words) w/ the final march from Rheingold is present, along with a gorgeous Forest Murmurs from Siegfried and a spectacular selection from Wagner's greatest, Gotterdammerung. Early Wagner selections from Rienzi and Der fliegende Hollander tend towards the more bombastic side; but hey, if your neighbor plays really annoying rap music at high volume, you can always counter it with these selections. I can guarantee you they'll stop. In order that the eardrums don't bleed too profusely, Wagner's chamber piece, the Siegfried-Idyll is included and is played with a refreshing lightness of touch. Perhaps the most exciting experience one can have listening to this music is witnessing this astonishing progression of genius. From Rienzi to Parsifal, no artist (with the possible exception of Beethoven) has progressed so far from the heroic to the sublime. This is truly timeless music.
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