Thanks for the posts,
Elgarian.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elgarian
(I've read Donington's book but I'm not convinced that it changed the way I listen).
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I suspect that it hasn't, and that's a
good thing.
Now, what follows should be preceded by the disclaimer "in my dilettente opinion..." The Howitzer responsible for the hulking derelict wreck where once stood Donington's 'Jungian interpretation' of
The Ring can be found in the "Objectivity in Interpretation" section of Deryck Cooke's
I Saw the World End. Sample passage:
The defect of Jungian interpretation is that it imposes its own categories on the work interpreted... in HAMLET, say, Ophelia would have to be Hamlet's anima, Claudius his shadow, and Gertrude the Terrible Mother, and the whole work would have to be treated as a therapeutic development of the psyche; likewise, the last stage would have to be nobody's actual death, but a general rebirth, except for the shadow, which would disappear, leaving the psyche in one final healthful state of transformation- and the peculiar quality of the masterpiece HAMLET unilluminated.
BWAHHAHAHaha!
I feel as though I'm in sincere agreement with you on the recordings front. My good friend
Guarnerius and I used to talk about how it's much more significant to talk about the special qualities of Wagner than to get into a "recycled water" battle about whether this version or that is the best gateway for musical understanding. Oh, I have preferences, to be sure- and have discussed them spiritedly. However, the more I listen, the more I recognize that a number of versions of
The Ring are suitable for getting a measure of the genius of the work. I understand that price has been (and will be) a barrier to the acquisition of some. In such cases, I think we should heed the French proverb and not let the best become the enemy of the good. I believe that Solti, Keilberth, Böhm, and Janowski all make for good "live-with it" versions. No question there are others, too- I just haven't heard them all the way through.
One position I do hold passionately, though, is that Wagnerian sonorities are such that it's a disservice to one's own enjoyment to settle for a non-stereo version the the
Ring Cycle- and mono cycles should be reserved as an alternate option for those who aspire to collect multiple versions.