What are you currently reading?

[Scarpia]

I just spotted this by accident, a month late, but thought it worth offering a contrasting view. The list of books I've read more than half a dozen times in my life isn't particularly long, but Culshaw's book is among them. I love it; I wish it were 5 times as long as it is; and I don't find those negative qualities in it that you mention. True, he's aware of having participated in the achievement of something of great importance in the history of recording - but I don't find it self-inflating. His tendency isn't to draw attention to himself, but to point outwards, towards the music, and the recording, and the performers, and his colleagues, and he conveys a real sense of privilege at having worked with them. I enjoy his pleasure in all this.

Despite my initial annoyance I have read further, through the part describing Rheingold.  Seems like it is mostly catty swipes at his competitors and gossiping about opera singers, though.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.   

[Elgarian]

Seems like it is mostly catty swipes at his competitors and gossiping about opera singers, though.

The interesting thing is that in my reading of it, I don't really pick up those cattiness and gossip angles at all. I suppose one person's interesting anecdote is another person's gossip, but what I get from the book is a really good impression of what it was like to work with all these extraordinary people, under extraordinary circumstances. So for me, it comes over as a very positive, inspiring account of a historic achievement against the odds, endlessly re-readable. The relationship he develops with the progressively ailing Flagstad is quite moving, for example.

Incidentally do you have the later edition, reissued as part of a Time-Life Wagner trilogy? I read somewhere that it has a lot more illustrations than the first edition. Is that so, do you know?

[Scarpia]

The interesting thing is that in my reading of it, I don't really pick up those cattiness and gossip angles at all. I suppose one person's interesting anecdote is another person's gossip, but what I get from the book is a really good impression of what it was like to work with all these extraordinary people, under extraordinary circumstances. So for me, it comes over as a very positive, inspiring account of a historic achievement against the odds, endlessly re-readable. The relationship he develops with the progressively ailing Flagstad is quite moving, for example.

I do find interesting material there, which is why I have continued to read it in fits and starts.  But the proposition that recording these operas was some sort of earth shattering achievement puts me off.  Decca, EMI, DG, Philips, were recording several operas of similar scale every year.  They make it sound like recording these four operas over 10 years was equivalent to landing a man on the moon.  In fact Decca had a better recording of the Ring in the can all those years, which was not released until recently due to contract difficulties.  Culshaw devotes a few sentences to that inconvenient fact.

[Philoctetes]

The Inheritance by Sanger

I'm liking it quite a bit. I particularly like its unbiased and balanced approach to the issues, but he's also not afraid to take shots when they are well deserved (like the North Korea-Syria fiasco).

I've gained a lot more respect for W and his staff, espeically Rice, who really began to shine in his second term.

The book is essentially an historical-intelligence briefing, with a slight view of things to come. And although there were some severe understimates on the author's part (especially in regards to China's economic growth), I'd rank the book as offering a very fair assessment of the countries previewed.

[Elgarian]

In fact Decca had a better recording of the Ring in the can all those years, which was not released until recently due to contract difficulties.  Culshaw devotes a few sentences to that inconvenient fact.

But it's not the same thing, is it? Wasn't the concept of the live recording (albeit in that case a particularly good one) fundamentally different to what the Culshaw team spent so long attempting to do in the studio?

I think our differing views of the book are probably explained by our differing opinions about the value of the recording itself. If the Solti recording itself isn't perceived as anything particularly special, then I can see that the book would seem self-aggrandising.

[SonicMan46]

Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First BlackCongressmen (2008) by Philip Dray - sitting in my 'to read' pile for a while and just getting started; appropriate w/ our first black president - 

[Scarpia]

But it's not the same thing, is it? Wasn't the concept of the live recording (albeit in that case a particularly good one) fundamentally different to what the Culshaw team spent so long attempting to do in the studio?

I think our differing views of the book are probably explained by our differing opinions about the value of the recording itself. If the Solti recording itself isn't perceived as anything particularly special, then I can see that the book would seem self-aggrandising.

Well, they were nicely done, probably among the best that Decca released, but in the end we are talking about making a recording of a work that is performed live on the stage of numerous opera houses every year.  Culshaw makes it sound as though assembling a cast to sing one opera from the cycle is the greatest logistical problem in the history of the universe.  Bayreuth does it (all four parts) every year.  Making a studio recording, one installment every two years, should be easier, not harder, than putting a production on the stage.

[BMW]

Incidentally do you have the later edition, reissued as part of a Time-Life Wagner trilogy? I read somewhere that it has a lot more illustrations than the first edition. Is that so, do you know?

The Time-Life edition does in fact have many more photographs and a little more text (not about the Ring recording specifically but about Vienna, Wagner, the Philharmonic, and Solti).

But the proposition that recording these operas was some sort of earth shattering achievement puts me off.  Decca, EMI, DG, Philips, were recording several operas of similar scale every year. 

Were they really?

They make it sound like recording these four operas over 10 years was equivalent to landing a man on the moon.  In fact Decca had a better recording of the Ring in the can all those years, which was not released until recently due to contract difficulties.  Culshaw devotes a few sentences to that inconvenient fact.

Culshaw does discuss Decca's recording activity in Bayreuth and the final product that he was inferior to what he was trying to achieve in the studio.  Whether or not one enjoys the fruit of his labor, it cannot be denied that it was a fantastic (and most importantly, unprecedented) technical achievement.  Not quite like putting a man on the moon (an impression I do not feel he gives) but impressive nonetheless.

Bayreuth does it (all four parts) every year.

Once again, Culshaw was aiming for something he felt was of better quality than what was being presented in Bayreuth.

Culshaw makes it sound as though assembling a cast to sing one opera from the cycle is the greatest logistical problem in the history of the universe.  Bayreuth does it (all four parts) every year.  Making a studio recording, one installment every two years, should be easier, not harder, than putting a production on the stage.

Too bad none of us were around to show him how to do it better. 

[Scarpia]

Were they really?

There were recordings of Salome, Tristan, Parsifal, Rosenkavelier, Tannhauser, etc, any one of which was comparable to an installment of the Ring.

Once again, Culshaw was aiming for something he felt was of better quality than what was being presented in Bayreuth.

Certainly they were very fine recordings that came from the Culshaw production team, but I don't think they eclipsed what was coming from Bayreuth.

[BMW]

There were recordings of Salome, Tristan, Parsifal, Rosenkavelier, Tannhauser, etc, any one of which was comparable to an installment of the Ring.

Yes, and it was the Ring project that led the way.  Rheingold was the "earth shattering achievement" (anybody with the information in front of them, please correct me if I am wrong with my dates here, assuming we are talking about stereo versions).  And none of those operas make nearly as many demands on a production team attempting to literally present a work as they Ring cycle (and all its anvils, thunder, stage directions, off stage sounds, voice manipulation) does.

Certainly they were very fine recordings that came from the Culshaw production team, but I don't think they eclipsed what was coming from Bayreuth.

And I will not claim that they do on a musical level (having never heard the oh-so-expensive 1955 recordings... anybody hate their copy?  ).  On a technical level, however, I have my doubts (setting aside a listener's dislike for Culshaw's sound effects and such).

I am not suggesting that the Solti Ring cycle is the greatest interpretation of that work on record.  I only believe that, from a technical perspective, it was in fact ground breaking and that it will always be (as the box proudly exclaims) "one of the greatest achievements of the gramophone."



What am I reading?

Just started this clearance bin find today, fairly engaging so far --

[Elgarian]

The Time-Life edition does in fact have many more photographs and a little more text (not about the Ring recording specifically but about Vienna, Wagner, the Philharmonic, and Solti).

Thanks! I've often wondered if it was worth trying to get hold of one, and it sounds as if it would be. (My 'standard' edition in fact has a curious fault, with some of the same photographs printed twice, and others, that should be there, missing.)

[greg]

Went to the bookstore today and looked at Camus' The Plague. I really want to read it now... might start soon. 

[CD]

Just take a day off and sit in a chair with a pot of coffee and read it all in one sitting.

[Scarpia]

Thanks! I've often wondered if it was worth trying to get hold of one, and it sounds as if it would be. (My 'standard' edition in fact has a curious fault, with some of the same photographs printed twice, and others, that should be there, missing.)

After all the drama about "Our Siegfried" in Culshaw's book I'd be curious to know if the tapes they made before giving up on Ernst Kozub are still in existence, and if they are really as dreadful as Culshaw portrays them.   After all the live tapes from Bayreuth were portrayed as unacceptable in Culshaw's book, but have been lauded as brilliant upon their subsequent release by Testament.

[Elgarian]

After all the live tapes from Bayreuth were portrayed as unacceptable in Culshaw's book

What he actually says is this:
"Thus, for a second time, did Decca embark on a Bayreuth Ring, and this time there was the additional advantage of stereo equipment. (Keilberth was the conductor.) Again conflicting contracts prevented the commercial release of the recordings, but the experience was invaluable for Gordon Parry. He came to know every aspect of the famous Bayreuth sound .... " etc, etc.

He doesn't make any comment on what the recordings themselves were like, presumably because they were never released, for contractual reasons (at that time), and so the matter was academic as far as he was concerned.

[Scarpia]

He doesn't make any comment on what the recordings themselves were like, presumably because they were never released, for contractual reasons (at that time), and so the matter was academic as far as he was concerned.

Yes, I remember the passage well.  Later on he mentions that he sent a copy of the entire Ring to Flagstad when he was trying to convince her to participate in the recording. 

It is the terseness of the mention I am responding to.  He makes it seem as though his recording complete ring was superhuman accomplishment requiring almost a decade of work.   But in reality if they had gotten a few people to sign off, the first complete ring would have been released by Decca in 1955.   Since he had reason to believe that those tapes would never be heard, he could create the impression that they were inconsequential, just a learning experience for Gordon Parry.  Earlier in the book he described Bayreuth productions of the Ring as being dismal, which also fosters this impression.  Now that they are public, the consensus seems to be that they are of extraordinary and a worthy rival to the Solti set.

[MN Dave]

NORSE CODE by Greg Van Eekhout

Is this Ragnarok, or just California?

The NorseCODE genome project was designed to identify descendants of Odin. What it found was Kathy Castillo, a murdered MBA student brought back from the dead to serve as a valkyrie in the Norse god's army. Given a sword and a new name, Mist's job is to recruit soldiers for the war between the gods at the end of the world—and to kill those who refuse to fight.

But as the twilight of the gods descends, Mist makes other plans.

Journeying across a chaotic American landscape already degenerating into violence and madness, Mist hopes to find her way to Helheim, the land of the dead, to rescue her murdered sister from death's clutches. To do so, she'll need the help of Hermod, a Norse god bumming around Los Angeles with troubles of his own. Together they find themselves drafted into a higher cause, trying to do what fate long ago deemed could not be done: save the world of man. For even if myths aren't made to be broken, it can't hurt to go down fighting...can it?

[Philoctetes]

Truth and Method by Hans-Georg Gadamer

I read this one a while ago, but I cannot directly recall any passages. I know I like the topic, and that I enjoyed the book the last time I read it. So I'm expecting more of the same.


"Only by forgetting does the mind have the possibility of total renewal, the capacity to see everything with fresh eyes, so that what is long familiar fuses with the new into a many leveled unity."

[greg]

On p.46/127 of The Plague...

interesting how he describes the reactions of people when the plague takes over. Especially interesting how he describes the development of indifference after seeing so much death. Kind of explains what could lead to someone becoming a Meursault, although I'm not sure a person just like him could even exist, technically...

[Hollywood]

I just started reading the book "Oliver Cromwell" (from the Very Interesting People Series) by John Morrill. I just recently discovered that my 10 times great grandfather was Sir Oliver Cromwell the Lord and Protector's uncle (so this makes him my first cousin 11 times removed).