Good 'un! The sound of that recording is as good as could be expected, for the time, but the winner for me is the whole "not-afraid-to-get-the-hands-dirty" conducting. What I mean is, Knap isn't overly polite at the wrong places on this recording; he doesn't make the same mistakes that, say, Herr Karajan does in his own, classic recording of Parsifal. (It's not that I don't like the Karajan...it is Karajan, after all 
. I just didn't feel the emotional connection as powerfully as in either of the Knap recordings.)
I agree 100%, Andy. Kna has a strong feel for the rhythm and pulse of this work. No sagging or listlessness. Dynamics swing wide (soft and grand) yet never sound plastered on as mere decoration. He really seems to have a natural inclination as to how this work should go.
Yeah, the sound isn't digital but fortunately there's plenty of weight and clarity so that everything Kna does is perfectly related to the listener. Glad they caught him in the stereo era!
Unfortunately I haven't heard Karajan's
Parsifal. But for comparisons I have Barenboim's recording and yet another of Kna's recordings: the 1951 Bayreuth (on Teldec).
To me Barenboim suffers in the same way Karajan apparently does - there just isn't the sense of an "iron will" imposed on the music as with Kna, which helps keep everything tied together for the (very) long haul. It's probably not fair to compare in this manner as Barenboim certainly is accomplished when appraised on his own, minus any Kna comparisons. But, well, Kna seems to intuitively know his way around this vast score and really pulls out all the stops.
Of course Kna had the benefit of knowing this work inside and out as he performed it at Bayreuth for thirteen consecutive seasons starting in 1951 (when Bayreuth was reopened) until 1964. So kinda puts him a leg up on anyone else.
As far as Kna's 1951 Bayreuth recording, the cast is a great one but I still prefer the 1962 Philips Bayreuth recording for its superior sonics. The comparatively dim 1951 mono sound is a major handicap in that the orchestra isn't as present nor as weighty and hasn't the impact the later recording does. Which to me means I'm missing much of the music.
So, yes, Kna's Philips recording is something very special and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a first choice.
