Collecting Wagner

[Josquin des Prez]

1834 - Die Feen (Sawallisch)
1836 - Das Liebesverbot (Sawallisch)
1840 - Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen (Hollreiser)
1841 - Der Fliegende Holländer (Sinopoli)
1845 - Tannhäuser (Solti)
1848 - Lohengrin (Kubelik)
1859 - Tristan und Isolde (Bohm)
1867 - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Kubelik)
1874 - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Bohm)
1882 - Parsifal (Solti)

This is what i got so far. Comments and suggestions about those recordings are appreciated. BTW, did Wagner ever wrote anything of worth besides his operas? I know the Siegfried Idyll is supposed to be pretty good, but he reuses a lot of material in the Ring so i'm not sure its worth listening to. I also tried some of his piano works once but wasn't really impressed.

[Guido]

If you're such a fan that you need to hear Die Feen, then you certainly need to hear the Siegfried Idyll which is commonly lauded as one of his most beautiful pieces. It doesn't do much for me though I have to say. Do you know the Wesendonck Lieder? They're sort of studies for Tristan a lot of the time, so if you are averse to listening to the Idyll then you might be resistant to these, but they are amongst the most wonderful orchestral songs of the 19th century.

[Superhorn]

    The early "Faust" overture is not a bad piece ,and has been recorded a number of times.  The symphony in C ,which he wrote at the age of 19,is not bad at all,  and nothing for a composer of that age to be ashamed of.  There are fragments of a second.
There is an EMI recording of both with Sawallisch and the Philadelphia orchestra, but this may be hard to find,
and an earlier recording of the C major with Edo De Waart and the San Francisco symphony on Philips, but since that label
has unfortunately ceased to exist,it will probably be even harder to find.  Decca has been reissuing many Philips recordings,
often at  terrific bargain prices. 
    I like the Siegfried Idyll very much.Yes, it uses themes from the  Ring, but it has a very different character .
   Jeffrey Tate and the Bavarian R.S.O. had a  CD of some early Wagner rarities, such as something called the "Chriistopher
Columbus overture " !    Another EMI  recording has Marek Janowski and the L.S.O.  doing the overtures to
Die Feen and Das Liebesverbot, and a curiosity called the "American Centennial overture" which he wrote
as a potboiler  for a fee to celebrate the  centennial of the U.S.A. in 1876 ,and a  festival march honoring his wacko
patron, the mad king Ludwig .  It's called the "Homage March ".  I used to have the Janowski  on cassette, but I seem to have lost it. 
    Your best chance of finding these would be at  arkivmusic.com,  which is by far the best place on the internet
to get hard-to-find classical CDs and DVDs.  And their overall selection is  unmatched anywhere ! 
    I have the Jascha Horenstein recording of the Faust overture with  the Sudwestfunk orchestra on the Vox label,
  coupled with  his recording of the Liszt Faust symphony

[Mirror Image]

1834 - Die Feen (Sawallisch)
1836 - Das Liebesverbot (Sawallisch)
1840 - Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen (Hollreiser)
1841 - Der Fliegende Holländer (Sinopoli)
1845 - Tannhäuser (Solti)
1848 - Lohengrin (Kubelik)
1859 - Tristan und Isolde (Bohm)
1867 - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Kubelik)
1874 - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Bohm)
1882 - Parsifal (Solti)

This is what i got so far. Comments and suggestions about those recordings are appreciated. BTW, did Wagner ever wrote anything of worth besides his operas? I know the Siegfried Idyll is supposed to be pretty good, but he reuses a lot of material in the Ring so i'm not sure its worth listening to. I also tried some of his piano works once but wasn't really impressed.

I would really think about getting another Ring cycle. All of them are so different from each other. I would go with Karajan's next. It's my favorite of the four I own.

[Guido]

The (perhaps obvious) Solti choice is also still fantastic for the Ring. Have only heard Solti and Bohm, quite fancy getting a more modern one.

[Sergeant Rock]

As a Perfect Wagnerite I believe the only works you have to have other than the operas are the Wesendonck-Lieder and Siegfried Idyll. Not necessary but very interesting are the Faust Overture and Das Liebesmahl der Apostel (the Wynn Morris recording is coupled with the very best performance of Bruckner's late masterpiece, Helgoland). My favorite recordings:


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The Gould is interesting in that it gives you the original (chamber) version for 13 players plus a piano transcription.









Sarge

[Mirror Image]

The (perhaps obvious) Solti choice is also still fantastic for the Ring. Have only heard Solti and Bohm, quite fancy getting a more modern one.

The Solti is, indeed, very good. There's more than one way to interpret the Ring. For me, I gravitated to Karajan's recordings because of how he gets his orchestra (the BPO) to play. The sound he coaxes from the orchestra is so beautiful, but he drives the orchestra hard when the opportunity presents itself. The weakest link in the Karajan cycle is Siegfried, but I don't care for this opera anyway, so I never listen to it. Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, and Gotterdammerung are just unbelievable in Karajan's hands. Karajan also turned in a fantastic Parsifal, which I enjoyed a lot.

[Mandryka]

There's a very special Tristan by Furtwnagler, 1947, Acts 2 & 3 only, which is speacial and I think you would not regret hearing it whatever your prejudices
I also think that Vickers was excellent in this role, and Nilson an outstanding Isolde : that's another one to hear for sure.

I think Friedrich Schorr's Wotan is so interesting you should try to hear that recording too -- or at least him singing Wontans Abschied.

I'll be interested to hear what other people say about Maestersinger -- I'd like to revisit that opera.

I think that Chereau's Ring is really provocative and interesting -- this stuff is supposed to mean something after all, it's not abstract music, And the Chereau production is a good try to give it a meaning. Anyway I think you should watch the DVDs.

Vickers parsifal is very good particularly in the problematic duet -- I'm talking about the one with Knappertsbusch

I like Wessendonk lieder -- over to others to recommend a singer. There are  a bunch of nice song which  Thomas Hampsen sings on a CD with some good Liszt songs . There's a huge thing on youtube called Faust lied, which I've never heard.  Maybe Wagner's songs  are for serious Wagner fans only 

The Gould transcription CD that sarge mentions is very interesting -- but I have enjoyed Mikhail Rudy's CD  of Wagner transcriptions even more. Rudy is more  soft toned than Gould. Of course there are lots of golden age pianists who played Liszt/Wagner -- if your inerersted say so and I'll let you know the ones I have liked at one time or another.

For orchestral excerpts I like Stokowski.

[Guido]

I also love the Studer Wesendonck Lieder, but it's the only one I have, so can't comment on versions. I've never felt that I wanted another though.

[eyeresist]

1834 - Die Feen (Sawallisch)
1836 - Das Liebesverbot (Sawallisch)
1840 - Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen (Hollreiser)
1841 - Der Fliegende Holländer (Sinopoli)
1845 - Tannhäuser (Solti)
1848 - Lohengrin (Kubelik)
1859 - Tristan und Isolde (Bohm)
1867 - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Kubelik)
1874 - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Bohm)
1882 - Parsifal (Solti)

Looks like you have that great Decca box? I have that too, but I'm not a fan of Bohm's Ring - too hardbitten for my tastes. Others can recommend alternatives.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

It might be worthwhile getting to know Wagner's piano works. The lone piano piece of his I have, titled Elegy (in A flat), is a miniature dandy.

Although the work is a bit of an anomaly in that, from what I can gather, it remained unpublished for a generation and only surfaced in live recitals given by none other that Sviatoslav Richter. The work may be unpublished still. Apparently it was handed down in manuscript form by the Wagner estate to Vladimir Horowitz who in turn handed it down to Richter. (It's turned up twice on Richter recordings, on Music & Arts from Moscow 1975 and on Philips from Copenhagen 1986. Don't know about Horowitz).

The work lasts about two minutes and has at its heart the same high chromaticism as, say, the Tristan prelude. Silences and pauses pervade and the music is distended almost to the bursting point. However, unlike the Tristan prelude its center isn't built on deep romanticism/eroticism but rather on a sort of yearning and contemplation. Befitting the title I suppose...

Not having heard a single other Wagner piano piece I couldn't say if everything else were of the same high quality. But this piece is a true gem.


EDIT: it's on this disc, sample track 9:



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[The new erato]

Here's one interesting tidbit:

"Janowski conducts 10-opera Wagner series on Pentatone Classics

We hear that Pentatone Classics are set to mark their 10-year anniversary with a 10-piece Wagner series (comprising The Ring, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde, The Flying Dutchman, Parsifal and Die Meistersinger) from Marek Janowski and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra: taken from live concert performances, this will be the first major Wagner cycle on SACD and will complete in 2013, the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth."

[mjwal]

There's a very special Tristan by Furtwnagler, 1947, Acts 2 & 3 only, which is speacial and I think you would not regret hearing it whatever your prejudices
I also think that Vickers was excellent in this role, and Nilson an outstanding Isolde : that's another one to hear for sure.

I think Friedrich Schorr's Wotan is so interesting you should try to hear that recording too -- or at least him singing Wontans Abschied.

I'll be interested to hear what other people say about Maestersinger -- I'd like to revisit that opera.

I think that Chereau's Ring is really provocative and interesting -- this stuff is supposed to mean something after all, it's not abstract music, And the Chereau production is a good try to give it a meaning. Anyway I think you should watch the DVDs.

Vickers parsifal is very good particularly in the problematic duet -- I'm talking about the one with Knappertsbusch

I like Wesendonk lieder -- over to others to recommend a singer. There are  a bunch of nice song which  Thomas Hampsen sings on a CD with some good Liszt songs . There's a huge thing on youtube called Faust lied, which I've never heard.  Maybe Wagner's songs  are for serious Wagner fans only 

The Gould transcription CD that sarge mentions is very interesting -- but I have enjoyed Mikhail Rudy's CD  of Wagner transcriptions even more. Rudy is more  soft toned than Gould. Of course there are lots of golden age pianists who played Liszt/Wagner -- if you're interested say so and I'll let you know the ones I have liked at one time or another.

For orchestral excerpts I like Stokowski.

I second the Furtwängler '47 Tristan missing act 1. Suthaus here is at his glorious best. I dislike Nilsson in anything, but that's purely personal. My favourite Wesendonk-Lieder are Varnay/Ludwig and Flagstad/Sebastian for the orchestral version, Lemnitz/Raucheisen for the piano-accompanied version - perhaps the loveliest of all, but I have never done an in-depth survey.
With Meistersinger you have to have listened to and interiorised the Schorr/Schumann etc scenes recorded in the 20s/early 30s (doubtless all on YouTube), then I personally like the Jochum/Hotter '49 and the Kubelik '67, but there are a lot I haven't listened to out of prejudice against the Sachs (Karajan/Adam, Jochum 2/FiDi etc) or because I have had no opportunity.
The great Lohengrin for me is Heger '42, because of Müller and Klose in my all-time favourite scene, and the Cluytens Bayreuth '58 is excellent (I have read of an even better Bayreuth with Konya recently issued).

[Lisztianwagner]

1834 - Die Feen (Sawallisch)
1836 - Das Liebesverbot (Sawallisch)
1840 - Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen (Hollreiser)
1841 - Der Fliegende Holländer (Sinopoli)
1845 - Tannhäuser (Solti)
1848 - Lohengrin (Kubelik)
1859 - Tristan und Isolde (Bohm)
1867 - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Kubelik)
1874 - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Bohm)
1882 - Parsifal (Solti)

This is an excellent discography, especially about what concerns Tristan, Parsifal, Lohengrin and Tannhauser, Bohm, Kubelik and Solti are very brilliant conductors for Wagner's music.

I've never listened to the whole Bohm's Ring Cycle, only some excerpts, and they were very good; but I personally prefer Karajan's or the Solti's versions, those ones are more passionate and powerful.

Well, apart from the operas, I think his most remarkable non-operatic works are the Wesendonck-Lieder, the Siegfried Idyll, Symphony in C major, Piano Sonata in B flat, Faust Ouverture and the Kaisermarsch.

Ilaria

[Lisztianwagner]

I would really think about getting another Ring cycle. All of them are so different from each other. I would go with Karajan's next. It's my favorite of the four I own.

Four Ring Cycles, definitely amazing!!!

Ilaria

[kishnevi]

Four Ring Cycles, definitely amazing!!!

Ilaria

Well, the Ring has a special quality of its own.  I've just ordered my third cycle (Bohm), and the Ring isn't even my favorite Wagner (that's Meistersinger and Parsifal--both of which I have fewer versions (for each, one modern stereo in hand and one Knappertsbusch on order).

Actually, the Bohm will make it three and a half cycles: Furtwangler RAI, Levine/Met on DVD being the complete ones; I have the Zagrosek Rheingold and Walkure on Naxos, and the Halle Gotterdammerung under Elder that was released last year.

Tristan I have three versions: Furtwangler EMI, Pappano (the one with Domingo), and Barenboim/La Scala on DVD, plus the Bohm which I also just ordered.

And strangely enough, the tenor most represented in my Wagner holdings is Domingo--Parsifal, Tristan, Lohengrin and a newly arrived Tannhauser.

[Lisztianwagner]

Well, the Ring has a special quality of its own.  I've just ordered my third cycle (Bohm), and the Ring isn't even my favorite Wagner (that's Meistersinger and Parsifal--both of which I have fewer versions (for each, one modern stereo in hand and one Knappertsbusch on order).

Actually, the Bohm will make it three and a half cycles: Furtwangler RAI, Levine/Met on DVD being the complete ones; I have the Zagrosek Rheingold and Walkure on Naxos, and the Halle Gotterdammerung under Elder that was released last year.

Tristan I have three versions: Furtwangler EMI, Pappano (the one with Domingo), and Barenboim/La Scala on DVD, plus the Bohm which I also just ordered.

And strangely enough, the tenor most represented in my Wagner holdings is Domingo--Parsifal, Tristan, Lohengrin and a newly arrived Tannhauser.

I've got three Ring Cycles as well: Karajan/Berlin Phil/DG, Solti/Vienna Phil/Decca and Barenboim/BFO/Warner Classics, they're definitely the top!

Except for the Ring, I have different recordings only for "Tristan und Isolde" (Karajan/Berlin Phil and Furtwangler/Philharmonia Orchestra) and "Lohengrin" (Karajan/Berlin Phil and Kempe/Vienna Phil).

Yeah, Domingo is very good as wagnerian singer 

Ilaria

[Sergeant Rock]

My collection

DAS LIEBESVERBOT   HEGER GROßES WIENER RUNDFUNK

RIENZI HOLLREISER   STAATS DRESDEN
RIENZI DOWNES BBC NORTHERN SO

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER SOLTI CHICAGO
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER DORATI COVENT GARDEN
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER BARENBOIM STAATS BERLIN
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER NELSSON BAYREUTH (1985)
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER STEINBERG   ORF VIENNA
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER KLEMPERER PHILH
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER KARAJAN BERLIN PHIL
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER SAWALLISCH BAYREUTH (1961)

TANNHÄUSER HAITINK SOBR
TANNHÄUSER BARENBOIM STAATS BERLIN
TANNHÄUSER SZELL MET
TANNHÄUSER CLUYTENS BAYREUTH (1955)
TANNHÄUSER SAWALLISCH BAYREUTH (1962)
TANNHÄUSER SOLTI VIENNA PHIL
TANNHÄUSER SINOPOLI PHILHARMONIA

LOHENGRIN KUBELIK SOBR
LOHENGRIN KEMPE VIENNA PHIL
LOHENGRIN BARENBOIM STAATS BERLIN
LOHENGRIN KEILBERTH BAYREUTH (1953)
LOHENGRIN KARAJAN BERLIN PHIL
LOHENGRIN SAWALLISCH BAYREUTH (1962)
LOHENGRIN BYCHKOV WDR SO KÖLN

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE FURTWÄNGLER PHILHARMONIA
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE KLEIBER   STAATS DRESDEN
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE KARAJAN BERLIN PHIL
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE LEINSDORF MET
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE BÖHM BAYREUTH (1966)
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE BERNSTEIN SOBR

DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG JOCHUM    DEUTSCHEN OPER BERLIN
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG KUBELIK    SOBR
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG KARAJAN BAYREUTH (1951)
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG KARAJAN STAATS DRESDEN
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG VARVISO BAYREUTH (1974)

RING (THE POTTED RING)
RING KARAJAN BERLIN PHIL
RING SOLTI VIENNA PHIL
RING KRAUSS BAYREUTH (1953)
RING KNAPPERTSBUSCH BAYREUTH (1956)
RING BÖHM BAYREUTH (1967)
RING BARENBOIM BAYREUTH (1991)
RING MORALT VIENNA SYMPHONY
RING LEVINE MET
RING FURTWÄNGLER RAI ROME
RING THIELEMANN BAYREUTH
RING HAITINK SOBR

DIE WALKÜRE FURTWÄNGLER   VIENNA PHIL
THE VALKYRIE (IN ENGLISH) GOODALL ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA

PARSIFAL SOLTI VIENNA PHIL
PARSIFAL BARENBOIM BERLIN PHIL
PARSIFAL KARAJAN BERLIN PHIL
PARSIFAL KNAPPERTSBUSCH BAYREUTH (1951)
PARSIFAL BOULEZ BAYREUTH (1970)
PARSIFAL KNAPPERTSBUSCH BAYREUTH (1962)
PARSIFAL KNAPPERTSBUSCH BAYREUTH (1964)
PARSIFAL LEVINE BAYREUTH (1985)

[Lisztianwagner]

My collection

DAS LIEBESVERBOT   HEGER GROßES WIENER RUNDFUNK

RIENZI HOLLREISER   STAATS DRESDEN
RIENZI   DOWNES   BBC NORTHERN SO

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER SOLTI CHICAGO
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER DORATI COVENT GARDEN
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER (DRESDEN)   BARENBOIM STAATS BERLIN
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER NELSSON BAYREUTH (1985)
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER STEINBERG   ORF VIENNA
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER KLEMPERER PHILH
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER KARAJAN BERLIN PHIL
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER SAWALLISCH BAYREUTH (1961)

TANNHÄUSER (DRESDEN VERSION)   HAITINK   SOBR
TANNHÄUSER   BARENBOIM   STAATS BERLIN
TANNHÄUSER   SZELL   MET
TANNHÄUSER (1955)   CLUYTENS   BAYREUTH
TANNHÄUSER (1962)   SAWALLISCH   BAYREUTH
TANNHÄUSER   SOLTI   VIENNA PHIL
TANNHÄUSER   SINOPOLI   PHILHARMONIA

LOHENGRIN   KUBELIK   SOBR
LOHENGRIN   KEMPE   VIENNA PHIL
LOHENGRIN   BARENBOIM   STAATS BERLIN
LOHENGRIN (1953)   KEILBERTH   BAYREUTH
LOHENGRIN   KARAJAN   BERLIN PHIL
LOHENGRIN (1962)   SAWALLISCH   BAYREUTH
LOHENGRIN   BYCHKOV   WDR SO KÖLN

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE FURTWÄNGLER PHILHARMONIA
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE KLEIBER   STAATS DRESDEN
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE KARAJAN BERLIN PHIL
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE LEINSDORF MET
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE BÖHM BAYREUTH (1966)
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE BERNSTEIN SOBR

DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG JOCHUM    DEUTSCHEN OPER BERLIN
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG KUBELIK    SOBR
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG KARAJAN BAYREUTH (1951)
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG KARAJAN STAATS DRESDEN
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG VARVISO BAYREUTH (1974)

RING (The POTTED RING) VARIOUS   VARIOUS
RING KARAJAN BERLIN PHIL
RING SOLTI VIENNA PHIL
RING KRAUSS BAYREUTH (1953)
RING KNAPPERTSBUSCH BAYREUTH (1956)
RING BÖHM BAYREUTH (1967)
RING BARENBOIM BAYREUTH (1991)
RING MORALT VIENNA SYMPHONY
RING LEVINE MET
RING FURTWÄNGLER RAI ROME
RING THIELEMANN BAYREUTH
RING HAITINK SOBR

DIE WALKÜRE FURTWÄNGLER   VIENNA PHIL
THE VALKYRIE (IN ENGLISH) GOODALL   ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA

PARSIFAL   SOLTI VIENNA PHIL
PARSIFAL   BARENBOIM BERLIN PHIL
PARSIFAL   KARAJAN BERLIN PHIL
PARSIFAL KNAPPERTSBUSCH BAYREUTH (1951)
PARSIFAL BOULEZ BAYREUTH (1970)
PARSIFAL KNAPPERTSBUSCH BAYREUTH (1962)
PARSIFAL  KNAPPERTSBUSCH   BAYREUTH (1964)
PARSIFAL LEVINE BAYREUTH (1985)

What a big, outstanding collection!! I'm rather impressed, you're certainly a great Wagnerite 

Ilaria

[Sergeant Rock]

What a big, outstanding collection!! I'm rather impressed, you're certainly a great Wagnerite 

Ilaria

And an old one   

Sarge