Wagner's final masterpiece demands an orchestra capable of producing gauzy, radiant sonorities, a cast with both beauty of tone and, perhaps even more important, superb acting skills, and a conductor with a talent for both sustaining long musical lines and bringing them together into an overwhelming overall tapestry. Above all, everyone must capture the mood and feel of this challenging piece. This last point is the reason why I think studio recordings of this opera, perhaps even of any Wagner opera, are at a disadvantage right from the start. It's much easier to capture the elusive soul of this work when you're living the story on stage.
Karajan's 1980 recording is a case in point… Read more
Despite the frequency with which the Ring Cycle has been recorded over the last fifty years, there is yet to be a definitive recording of it. This is perhaps not surprising, considering that the cycle is around fifteen hours long, and is full of intensely demanding music. Although Solti's Ring has been long considered the ideal recording, I do not agree. I believe it is the best stereo set in the catalogue, but because it is the "least bad" of a flawed group.
The main issue is Solti's conducting. His conducting is very extrovert and dramatic, sometimes whipping the climaxes up to peaks of astounding intensity. However, he tends to neglect the long line of the piece in favor of… Read more
Wilhelm Kempff, a pianist who could at times be very eccentric, is at his most satisfyingly straightforward in these 1962 recordings. He is particularly well-suited to the Fourth Concerto, because it is the most introverted concerto Beethoven ever wrote and thus is well-suited to Kempff's introverted, introspective style of playing. The famous solo opening is wonderfully expressive, and the entire performance is just as satisfying. It is only in the finale that I feel Kempff's playing lacks anything: Kempff's fine performance doesn't have the festive character and rhythmic drive of Pollini, Böhm and the Vienna Philharmonic, also on DG. Overall, though, it is a very fine… Read more
