Wagner Overtures

[Bogey]

I need a Wagner Overture/"War Horse" cd for m...errrr....for a friend.  That's right, a friend.    What do you recommend?  A two cd set would be excellent as well.  Thanks!

[Martin Lind]

Well I have a Deutsche Grammophon double CD with ouvertures and that kind of stuff, Böhm, Karajan, Jochum, Kubelik and others but I guess this double CD is not existing any longer. I can't find it.

[PSmith08]

You would be hard-pressed to do much better than the two-record set of Otto Klemperer doing the whole overtures-and-preludes thing. In my book, the Klemperer set is the only one you need, and - in my even-more-subjective view - one of Klemperer's best records.

[uffeviking]

A perfect chance for you to introduce your friend to Christian Thielemann the best contemporary Wagner conductor. Let the old warhorses rest on their well-deserved laurels!

[Daverz]

Stokowski on Decca.  Hair raising stuff (in a very good way.)

http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-Orchestral-Masterpieces-Richard/dp/B000004267
http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-Weekend-Ride-Valkyries-Richard/dp/B0000041T7

(I can't vouch for the masterings here; I have this on yet another Decca reissue in the "Classic Sound" series, and these should also be in one  of the Decca Stokowski boxes.)

[Bonehelm]

...Do you get the point? 

[Que]

Bill, that 2CD set with Klemperer would be my choice as well.

Q

[anasazi]

Szell & Cleveland Orchestra.  No kidding.

[hautbois]

PERFECT orchestral discipline and playing. Dresden has a long history relating to Wagner, and though i never believed in the hype of that man named Sinopoli, this cd changed how i looked at music forever, in a positive way. You will never listen to orchestras the same way ever again. I promise, or, i hope.


Howard

[Anne]

This has nothing to do with quality of recording but did you know Sinopoli was also an MD?  He died on the conductor's podium in the middle of a performance and they were unable to revive him.  Sad. 

[dirkronk]

Szell & Cleveland Orchestra.  No kidding.

Seconded. I own or have owned many of the versions already noted (and a few more), and would urge listening to the Klemperer (EMI) for its structural power and Stokowski (some on Decca, some on RCA, some on Everest) for the emotional/expressive power, since you may respond more positively to one of these approaches. But the Szell never fails to astonish in sheer control, shaping, precision and orchestral execution. Occasionally, it helps to be reminded just how well Szell did in Wagner, since he's not the first guy I tend to think of in that repertoire.

Not mentioned yet is Bruno Walter. I find him a bit more variable, but when he's "on" (as in his Parsifal excerpts and some others) he's so-o-o good. And of course, someone should point out the benefits of hearing Toscanini and Furtwangler in this music: two masters with a LOT to say, albeit in ancient sonics.

Cheers,

Dirk

[head-case]

If it is for a novice, go with the old-school choice



http://www.tower.com/details/details.cfm?wapi=106015776

[marvinbrown]

I need a Wagner Overture/"War Horse" cd for m...errrr....for a friend.  That's right, a friend.    What do you recommend?  A two cd set would be excellent as well.  Thanks!

 Hi Bogey, I recommend that after you..eh...I mean your "friend"   have/has   listened to those wonderful recommended recordings of Wagner overtures that you..eh..I mean your "friend"   listen to the entire operas that these overtures came from.  As stunning as Wagner's overtures/preludes are I find that Wagner's genius is truly manifested in the "vocal" arena.  In short the singing is NOT to be missed!

 PS:  I second the Sinopoli  recording recommended by hautbois.
 marvin

[dirkronk]

PERFECT orchestral discipline and playing. Dresden has a long history relating to Wagner, and though i never believed in the hype of that man named Sinopoli, this cd changed how i looked at music forever, in a positive way. You will never listen to orchestras the same way ever again. I promise, or, i hope.


Howard

I wasn't bowled over by Sinopoli's Wagner disc with the NYP, but based on your recommendation I'll look for this one. Thanks for the heads-up.

Dirk

[PSmith08]

  Hi Bogey, I recommend that after you..eh...I mean your "friend"  have/has  listened to those wonderful recommended recordings of Wagner overtures that you..eh..I mean your "friend"  listen to the entire operas that these overtures came from.  As stunning as Wagner's overtures/preludes are I find that Wagner's genius is truly manifested in the "vocal" arena.  In short the singing is NOT to be missed!

  PS:  I second the Sinopoli  recording recommended by hautbois.
  marvin

Within reason, though. I really like the Rienzi overture, but I wouldn't go out of my way to have listen to the integrale more than once or twice. I haven't, either, though I have it around here somewhere.

[Iago]

On RCA, "Reiner Conducts Wagner"
With the Chicago Symphony. It's available in several incarnations, most recently in the original "Living Stereo" version.
Contains, Overture to Act I and Prelude to Act III of "Die Meistersinger", Seigfrieds Rhine Journey, and Funeral Music from Gotterdammerung ,

For a sense of "massiveness" in the Meistersinger excerpts, this disc cannot be beaten. Typically, when conducted by Reiner, the orchestra plays with precision, yet with abandon. The climaxes and brass and percussion choirs are beautifully captured by Lewis Layton and his team of recording engineers. This recording is almost 50 years old now, and I have NEVER (and I mean NEVER) heard a better capturing of the sound and force of the "tympani" than on this recording. It's not a dull thud here. It's a real musical instrument.

[M forever]

This is quite nice, too, and among the better recorded Karajan/BP albums from that period (just like the Bruckner 4 and 7 on EMI). It gives you a fairly good idea of what they sounded like. Of course, the performances are rather leaning towards the "grandiose". But I guess that's what a lot of people look for in Wagner performances.

[Brian]

Tell your friend there is no shame whatsoever in listening to Wagner's orchestral extracts!

[PerfectWagnerite]

A perfect chance for you to introduce your friend to Christian Thielemann the best contemporary Wagner conductor.

Now now, let's not get carried away here. He's pretty good, then again so are lots of contemporary conductors.

[PSmith08]

This is quite nice, too, and among the better recorded Karajan/BP albums from that period (just like the Bruckner 4 and 7 on EMI). It gives you a fairly good idea of what they sounded like. Of course, the performances are rather leaning towards the "grandiose". But I guess that's what a lot of people look for in Wagner performances.

I'd second this one, but the Klemperer set has, to my mind, a broader range of extracts. It is a very nice set, though. As a rule, I find myself enjoying Von Karajan's EMI output at least as much as some of his DGG records.