Wagner

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Sir Adrian Boult: Complete Warner Stereo Recordings (Warner Classics)

A cornucopia of patrician music-making that has rarely been rivalled [RMo]

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Gundula Janowitz (soprano) In Concert (VAI)

I’d be willing to stay up all night to hear her [RMo]

Wagner’s Tannhäuser – a survey of the major recordings

by Ralph Moore

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The Golden Age of Singing Vol 1, 1900 – 1910 (Nimbus Prima Voce)

There is a reason why “The Golden Age of Singing” is so named here… [RMo]

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Arthaus Musik)

(Déjà Review) A very likeable performance [GF]

Wagner’s Lohengrin – a survey of the major recordings

by Ralph Moore

Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (Testament)

Greater than the “Recording of the Century” [LD]

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Rosa Ponselle: Songs and Arias (Naxos Great Singers)

(Déjà Review) We must be grateful for the opportunity to hear this great soprano [ABo]

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Wagner: Parsifal (Marston)

The Holy Grail available complete at last: The 1938 Met Parsifal [PH]

Wagner: Lohengrin (Unitel)

Fully cooked singing in a half-baked production [ST]

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The Eule Organ: Magdalen College, Oxford (Convivium Records)

Magdalen’s Eule organ: a monument to musical continuity and change [JF]

Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer (Naxos)

Vocally flawed and dramatically inert; you can do much better with either a vintage recording or the recent Decca issue [RMo]

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Wagner: Siegfried (Opus Arte)

This Siegfried definitely had me hooked from beginning to end [GF]

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Ben Heppner sings Scenes from Wagner’s Ring (Deutsche Grammophon)

(Déjà Review) This is a coup for Mr. Heppner, a disc deserving of any number of awards [KS]

Wagner: Tannhäuser (Warner Classics)

A swings-and-roundabouts recording of the Dresden version of Tannhäuser – stick with Konwitschny and Solti [RMo]

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Wagner: Götterdämmerung (Testament)

Keilberth ends Götterdammerung splendidly but that’s not enough – the world does not sound as though it is collapsing [DH]

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Great Singers in Moscow: 1901-1913 (Nimbus Prima Voce)

A remarkably listenable and comprehensive survey, showcasing the extraordinary depth of vocal talent available in Moscow in the first decade of the 20C [RMo]

Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer (Decca)

A fine Dutchman whose focus is firmly centred upon Lise Davidsen’s radiant Senta [RMo]

Lovro von Matačić (conductor) (Supraphon)

A tribute to a great and versatile conductor containing some superb and some less successful performances [RMo]

Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer (Decca)

A tour de force from the leading dramatic soprano of the modern age [PH]

Hirose Complete Recording Danacord

Etsuko Hirose: The Complete Denon Recordings (Danacord)

These remarkable discs have been hard to track down so it is wonderful to have them collected together and to hear Etsuko Hirose’s dazzling pianism [RCh]

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Jascha Horenstein (conductor): Horenstein in Venezuela Vol 1 (Pristine Audio)

A specialist but intriguing release showing a great conductor working, as it were, off the beaten track [JQ]

Teatro La Fenice Opera Collection Dynamic DYN38055

Teatro La Fenice Opera Collection Vol 1 (Dynamic)

A mixed bag of operatic performances from La Fenice contains some unexpected riches, but the choice of repertoire is unusual [PCG]

Thomas Jensen (conductor): Legacy Vol 23 (Danacord)

An interesting and eclectic collection showcasing Thomas Jensen’s manifest conductorial gifts [RMo]