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What are your TOP 5 RING recordings....................

86K views 578 replies 62 participants last post by  SanAntone 
#1 ·
I'll let you folks go first. :D
 
#508 · (Edited)
Janowski Ring new Issues - Remaster?

And for the rest: I heard that the new Sony Classical releases are really new remasters unlike the Decca and Warner Classics similar releases, which are reissues of old remasters (nothing wrong with ART 2000's releases)

Does it apply to the Janowski Ring? The cheap purple box was released in 2012 and the alledgedly new remasters in individual operas were issued in 2016. Should there be any sound improvement in the later releases, though more expensive?


 
#509 ·
1) Furtwangler's 1950 (La Scala): I'm not really fond of the fact that most of the leads have passed their prime, but Furtwangler shines.
2) Moralt's 1949: pretty rounded.
3) Karajan's DG: controversial, but this cute, "chamber" version of the Ring helped me a lot to explore the music when I first started.

And of course, one need to experience the "potted" Ring too.
 
#510 ·
1) Furtwangler's 1950 (La Scala): I'm not really fond of the fact that most of the leads have passed their prime, but Furtwangler shines.
2) Moralt's 1949: pretty rounded.
3) Karajan's DG: controversial, but this cute, "chamber" version of the Ring helped me a lot to explore the music when I first started.

And of course, one need to experience the "potted" Ring too.
I am always amazed at this statement which was coined by some critic with tin ears imo. What they perhaps means it's done with more subtlety than the sledge hammer approach of some. Just listen to the BPO roaring through the storms in Walkure - chamber music? :lol:
 
#511 ·
My 23rd Ring of the year is the Boulez Ring on Phillips.

For Das Rheingold, I was let down by Alberich and Loge, but liked the Rhinemaidens. I am liking Boulez conducting. It is on the quick side, but it works.

Die Walküre has a nice Sieglinde in Jeannine Altmeyer. Then there's Donald McIntyre in the second act, where he is just great with Brünnhilde. He conveys a lot.

I was not that into Gwyneth Jones, though, until the third act, specifically "Der diese Liebe... ihm innig vertraut, trotzt' ich deinem Gebot" which is simply stunning. And McIntyre really picks it up after that, too. Like, this is unbearably good. Or at least it is for stretches when we get to hear a single performance. The chops and edits are really jarring.
 
#524 ·
Dude, you have to head over to Opera Depot and get the '76 or '77 live recordings of the Boulez cycle. The '77 is amazing - the sound is even better than the commercial release and the performances are better. The '76 is fascinating to hear for all the jeers and boos from the audience. I'm not a fan of the commercial release, but the '77 recording is one of my top 5 favorite Rings, in a collection of over 30.
 
#512 · (Edited)
While I don't think that either will make my top five, I've recently picked up a couple of interesting ones on the cheap:

Tire Automotive tire Font Rim Automotive wheel system
Chin Facial expression Tie Coat Organism


The Konwitschny (bought on the Amazon Marketplace for under $20) is exceptionally well cast (with casts similar to 50's Bayreuth casts), but sonically limited, alas.

The Frankfurt Ring (bought from Berkshire for under $30) OTOH, isn't nearly as well cast, but Weigle's conducting is really superb, making the performances much greater than the sum of their parts. Most of the singing is decent, if not particularly outstanding, although the Siegfried, Lance Ryan, is pretty atrocious. The sonics, though, are fantastic - this may be the best sound that the Ring has ever received.
 
#514 ·
View attachment 99056

The Konwitschny (bought on the Amazon Marketplace for under $20) is exceptionally well cast (with casts similar to 50's Bayreuth casts), but sonically limited, alas.
Compared to the 50's Bayreuth recordings, this Konwitschny cycle does have the distinct advantage of a Mime (Peter Klein), who largely sings the notes that Wagner wrote (unlike Paul Kuen, who doesn't).
 
#513 ·
^^^^I tried one of the Konwitschny installments but couldn't put up with the poor sound.
 
#517 · (Edited)
Yes Lance Ryan is desperate. He spoiled the Barenboim Ring I saw in Berlin a few years ago. I kept wishing Hagen would stick him with his spear when he turned up at the Gibichung Hall in Act 1 and save us a painful couple of hours!:D
 
#519 ·
Omm. Which Furtwängler? Is it Pristine Remaster?
And you mean Boulez 81? I'm listening and being blown away by Boulez 76 in Operadepot, and DarkAngel has also shared positive praise for the 77 Ring.
And is your Keilberth 52, 53 or 55?
 
#530 ·
Dear mountmccabe et al.

For those interested, these 26 are what I have found on Spotify. A + indicates one opera is missing (if more than one is missing I didn't include it).

+1948-49 - Moralt - Frantz, Grob-Prandl, Treptow, Vogel - Wien
1950 - Furtwängler - Frantz, Flagstad, Lorenz - Milan
1952 - Keilberth - Hotter, Varnay, Lorenz, Neidlinger - Bayreuth
1956 - Knappertsbusch - Hotter, Varnay, Windgassen, Neidlinger - Bayreuth
+1957 - Stiedry - New York
1957 - Knappertsbusch - Hotter, Varnay, Windgassen, Neidlinger - Bayreuth
1958 - Knappertsbusch - Hotter, Varnay, Windgassen, Andersson - Bayreuth
+1960 - Kempe - Uhde, Nilsson, Hopf, Kraus - Bayreuth
1958-65 - Solti - Hotter, Nilsson, Windgassen, Neidlinger - Wien
1966-67 - Böhm - Adam, Nilsson, Windgassen, Neidlinger - Bayreuth
1966-70 - Karajan - Stewart, Dernesch, Thomas, Kelemen - Berlin
1968 - Swarowsky - Polke, Kniplova, McKee, Kühne - Nürnberg
1973-77 - Goodall - Bailey, Hunter, Hunter, Hammond-Stroud - London
1979-80 - Boulez - McIntyre, Jones, Jung, Becht - Bayreuth
1980-83 - Janowski - Adam, Altmeyer, Kollo, Nimsgern - Dresden
1987-89 - Levine - Morris, Behrens, Goldberg, Wlaschiha - New York
+1988-91 - Haitink - Morris, Marton, Jerusalem, Adam - München
1991-92 - Barenboim - Tomlinson, Evans, Jerusalem, von Kannen - Bayreuth
1993-95 - Neuhold - Wegner, Pohl, Cook, Bryjak - Karlsruhe
2004 - Zagrosek - Stuttgart
+2005 - Haenchen - Nederlands
2008 - Thielemann - Bayrueth
2008-10 - Young - Hamburg
2010-12 - Weigle - Frankfurt
+2012-13 - Janowski - Berlin
2013 - Fisch - Seattle
Stiedry 57
DR Spotify
DW Missing
SF Spotify
GD Spotify

Kempe 60 Myto
DR Spotify
DW Spotify
SF Spotify
GD Missing




This is the Götterdämmerung from the Kempe 1960 ring, missing on Spotify, in case you want to give it a comparative listen like me in a while.
Kempe 60 Myto
DR Spotify
DW Spotify
SF Spotify
GD YouTube

Kempe 61 Orfeo
Spotify

Kempe 62 Myto
DR Spotify
DW Spotify
SF Spotify
GD Spotify


With that we complete the three Wagner rings by Rudolf Kempe in Bayreuth, except 1963 which remains in Operadepot. This is the third time I post the Götterdämmerung video, but it was worth it because now I can review it in my challenge. Were you looking for it too, mountmccabe?
 
#531 ·
With that we complete the three Wagner rings by Rudolf Kempe in Bayreuth, except 1963 which remains in Operadepot. This is the third time I post the Götterdämmerung video, but it was worth it because now I can review it in my challenge. Were you looking for it too, mountmccabe?
Nice! I accidentally mixed up the 61 and 62 Kempe Rings, and have not been back to anything he conducted. And at this point I'm not going to have time to get back to him this year, due to travel.

I think I can only fit in two more. I'm definitely doing Knappertsbusch 1957, and I had been planning on the Bodanzky/Leinsdorf, but maybe I will opt for the Haitink (the Siegfried is on NML) and come back to the early one later.

The other available audio sets I have not gotten to:

1993-95 - Neuhold - Wegner, Pohl, Cook, Bryjak - Karlsruhe
1997-99 - Paternostro - Kassel
2004 - Zagrosek - Probst/Rootering/Schone, Behle/Gasteen/DuVol, West/Bonnema - Stuttgart
2012-13 - Janowski - Konieczny, Lang, Gould/Ryan - Berlin
2013 - Fisch - Grimsley, Vinke, Mellor - Seattle
 
#534 ·
Today I listened to the Knappertsbusch 1957 Siegfried, part of my 24th Ring of the year. It's really, really incredible. I know various people have been talking up this Ring, and I'm thrilled to have finally gotten to it.

Das Rheingold was also stunning; the Rhinemaidens seeing the gold was particularly glorious. I was less enthralled with Die Walküre, mostly because of how prominent the prompter was throughout much of the opera. (Yes, I am also bothered when people sitting near me in the house talk through an opera). Perhaps a different issue of the recording would come off better (I listened to the Walhall version via Spotify).

But Siegfried is on another level. Paul Kuën, Bernd Aldenhoff, and Hans Hotter made for a stunning first two scenes, even if Aldenhoff wasn't as thrilling as some in the forging song. He had everything else down, though, and the finale scene with Astrid Varnay was among the best I've ever heard. They worked incredibly well together.

Really looking forward to Götterdämmerung tomorrow!
 
#539 ·
My twenty-fifth and final Ring cycle of the year is the Early Met "Cycle" from Bodanzky and Leinsdorf.

So Melchior and Lawrence make a fantastic set of twins. I am not a big fan of Melchior's voice here, but the performances sure are thrilling. I have much the same take on Flagstad; there's something very exciting about her singing, but I'm not sure what it is conveying. Of course I will happily listen again sometime to see what I might have missed.
 
#541 · (Edited)
OK, I'm ready to post my final list. 25 Rings, even if two were cobbled together (only one of those by me).

The main thing I learned is that I LOVE the 50s Bayreuth Rings. I will be spending a lot of time with them. It was amazing hearing the many singers who were featured year after year such as Wolfgang Windgassen, Hans Hotter, and Astrid Varnay. But also Josef Griendl, Gustav Neidlinger, Ira Malaniuk, Maria von Ilosvay. It was also fun to hear some of them manage to sing in all four operas*.

Some my preference for the 50s Bayreuth Rings is because - as I learned - I prefer live Rings, especially actual/one-take live. Even the (great) Böhm 60s Bayreuth "live" set on Philips is put together from various performances and I find it distracting. Which means I find Rings like the Solti Decca set - recorded in nine minute sections - really disconcerting. I do really like some more modern conductors, such as Barenboim, Janowski, Thielemann, and Young (and understand that I may like say Solti more after I listen some live recordings from him).

I'm not putting number rankings on them because many of them are so close, but they are grouped into tiers.

FAVORITES:
1958 - Knappertsbusch - Bayreuth - Fantastic. Greindl. Windgassen, Varnay's Immolation.
1957 - Knappertsbusch - Bayreuth - Stunning. Aldenhoff > Windgassen, and he works so well with Varnay.
1953 - Keilberth - Bayreuth - Such a great cast. Witte, Malaniuk, Windgassen, Hotter, Mödl.
1991-92 - Barenboim - Bayreuth - Tomlinson and Jerusalem are fantastic. Barenboim's conducting is top notch.
2013 - Barenboim - BBC Proms - Stunning. Gorgeous music, fantastic performances, save Siegfried in S.
1980-83 - Janowski - Great! Adam as Wotan. Exceptional clarity.
2008 - Thielemann - Bayreuth - Strong cast, Thielemann is vibrant without destroying it

GREAT: Still a lot that is exceptional. Some I really want to revisit
1950 - Furtwängler - Milan - Siegfried is really vivid, the other operas were a bit of a let down. Sound is a problem.
1956 - Knappertsbusch - Bayreuth - Not sure what is off compared to 1958. Slightly sloppy?
1953 - Krauss - Bayreuth - S+G are quite good. Not sure why the first two did not come off that well.
1955 - Keilberth - Bayreuth - Should listen again. It's not bad, but was not exciting and sounded like it was recorded in a well.
1966-67 - Böhm - Bayreuth - Real mixed on Windgassen, Adam, and Nilsson. Conducting is very good, editing is annoying.
2008-10 - Young - Hamburg - Young goes for the long lines. Polaski is great, Struckmann is very good, Franz is OK. Die Walküre is the best, Götterdämmerung more of a let down.
1980 - Boulez - Bayreuth - Good. I mostly like Boulez; Jones is occasionally absolutely stunning, esp. with McIntyre.
1961/1962 Kempe - Bayreuth - [accidentally cobbled together: Rheingold + Götterdämmerung from 1962, Walküre + Siegfried from 1961]

GOOD: These are often quite fine, but with major flaws.
1936-41 - Bodanzky/Leinsdorf - New York/Boston - Some exciting performances, but not much character to the singing. Some dodgy playing (or poorly captured audio; orchestra is not vibrant or clear). Götterdämmerung is a mess.
1958-65 - Solti - Wiener Philharmoniker - My favorite pre-Digital studio Ring, even with distracting studio effects. Worthwhile for Nilsson and a great Götterdämmerung.
2014 - Thielemann - Wiener Staatsoper - Good. Gould is a great Siegfried. Dohmen is a let down as Wotan.
2017 - Janowski - Bayreuth - Fine. Janowski is better at this score than most. Foster is a solid Brünnhilde. Vinke is a let down as Siegfried. First 2 operas are best.
1968 - Swarowsky - Nürnberg - Götterdämmerung is great, especially Kniplová's Brünnhilde. The others are mediocre. Not great, but no major issues.
1987-89 - Levine - Metropolitan Opera - Fine. Morris is a good Wotan. Strangely uneven. Orchestra sounds great.

DISAPPOINTING: None of these are without merit.
2010-12 - Weigle - Frankfurt - Disappointing Siegfried and Wotan. Other roles solid to great. Quiet orchestral parts are beautiful; louder parts tend towards blasting.
2016 - Farnes - Opera North - Kelly Cae Hogan is great, but uneven casting overall.
1973-77 - Goodall - London - Dull. There's drama in Walkure, but the rest is spotty.
1966-70 - Karajan - Berlin - Conducting ruins it. Some fantastic performances. Both of these aspects partially because in studio.

* In the sets I listened to, I found it happening 12 times by six different people. Josef Greindl was the only male singer to do it, always as Fafner, Hunding, Fafner, and Hagen (both 1953 sets, 1955, 1958). For female singers it always included Erda in Siegfried, and usually Erda in Rheingold plus a Valkyrie in Die Walküre. Elisabeth Höngen however managed with Fricka in those two operas for the 1950 Furtwängler set. The other female singers that did it were Maria von Ilosvay (4x), Anne Collins, Jean Madeira, and Birgitta Svendén.
 
#543 · (Edited)
OK, I'm ready to post my final list. 25 Rings, even if two were cobbled together (only one of those by me).
...
1968 - Swarowsky - Nürnberg - Götterdämmerung is great, especially Kniplová's Brünnhilde. The others are mediocre. Not great, but no major issues.
...
Nice to see some love for Swarowsky's ring. It is a good one and unique.

If you ever wish to try any more rings, I highly recommend Wolfgang Sawallisch's live 1989 Bavarian State Opera Ring.
 
#542 · (Edited)
The main thing I learned is that I LOVE the 50s Bayreuth Rings. I will be spending a lot of time with them.
Great survey of post 51 Rings MM......so much talent in the 1950s and revolutionary stage productions by Wagner grandchildren, thank the opera gods we have some good sound quality recordings of those glorious events

It was also fun to hear some of them manage to sing in all four operas*.
Varnay also in at least one Ring had to sing the Norn part and quickly transition to Brunnhilde in very next scence for Gotterdammerung at Bayreuth 1950s, talk about a marathon singing session......

I know you said you were done but also very worthy are 1976-77 Boulez Bayreuth also 1971 & 73 Stein Bayreuth Rings from operadepot :)
 
#544 ·
Congratulations for your dedication, mountmccabe. It's always a joy to read your updates and comments. I'll soon start with the mono rings. When I'm done with Wagner, we could discuss rings more carefully! (I think we agree on Solti but disagree on Karajan)
 
#545 ·
Hello all:

What a great thread! So many fantastic thoughts, reviews, and conversations. This is what I’ve been able to collect over the last 20 years or so (complete cycles*)

Asahina - 1984-87 (Fontec)
Barenboim (Teldec)
Bodansky (Naxos and Archipel)
Böhm (Philips)
Boulez (Philips - DVD)
Fisch - 2013 (Seattle - Avie)
Furtwängler - 1950 (Wilhelm Furtwängler Society - France)
Furtwängler - 1953 (Gebhardt)
Goodall (Chandos)
Janowski (RCA)
Karajan (DG)
Keilberth - 1952 (Andromeda)
Keilberth - 1953 (Archipel)
Keilberth - 1955 (Testament)
Kempe - 1957 (Testament)
Kempe - 1960 (Myto)
Kempe - 1962 (Myto)
Knappertsbusch - 1956 (Music & Arts)
Krauss (Opera d’Oro and Archipel)
Levine (DG)
Neuhold (Brilliant Classics)
Petrenko, K. - 2015 (Bayreuth - premiereopera.net)
Moralt - 1949 (Gebhardt)
Solti (Decca)
Stiedry - 1951 (Gebhardt)
Suitner - 1972 (San Francisco - premieropera.net)
Swarowsky (Profil)

Wish List:

Karajan - 1967-70 (Salzburg)
Kempe - 1961
Knappertsbusch - 1957 (Walhall)
Knappertsbusch - 1958 (Walhall)
Maazel - 1968 (Bayreuth)
Sawallisch (EMI)
Schneider - 1984 (Bayreuth)
Sinopoli - 2000 (Bayreuth)
Solti - 1983 (Bayreuth)
Stein - 1975 (Bayreuth)
Thielemann (Bayreuth - Opus Arte)

Commercial wise, the Sawallisch seems to be the most important missing link. I have the Haitink Gotterdämmerung, but it didn’t make a good impression. Maybe I need to revisit?

Because of this thread (and a couple of others) I will get the Karajan Salzburg very soon (I’m a big fan of his studio set and incomplete set on Myto and EMI). I’m also about to pull the trigger on Kna’s 1957-58. Any other suggestions?

Thank you!
 
#547 · (Edited)
Commercial wise, the Sawallisch seems to be the most important missing link. I have the Haitink Gotterdämmerung, but it didn't make a good impression. Maybe I need to revisit?

Because of this thread (and a couple of others) I will get the Karajan Salzburg very soon (I'm a big fan of his studio set and incomplete set on Myto and EMI). I'm also about to pull the trigger on Kna's 1957-58. Any other suggestions?

Thank you!


Maybe in a month I come up with more. For now, this one is my favourite Ring in Stereo. However, try also Bayreuth 77 (I will try Götterdämmerung for a fresh Manfred Jung instead of a burnt Jess Thomas).
 
#551 ·
Thanks to all for the guidance. I will be ordering the Kna 57-58, Karajan Salzburg, Solti '83, and Boulez '77 in the next 7-10 days.
Regarding the Karajan and Boulez, how is the sound? I have never ordered from Opera Depot.

I bought the Petrenko and Suitner from premiereopera.net and the sound is very good. They have the Karajan, Solti, and Boulez.

I have ordered a few cds from Pristine Classical before so I will look into the Krauss and Furtwängler transfers as well.
 
#577 ·
Thanks to all for the guidance. I will be ordering the Kna 57-58, Karajan Salzburg, Solti '83, and Boulez '77 in the next 7-10 days.
Regarding the Karajan and Boulez, how is the sound? I have never ordered from Opera Depot.

I bought the Petrenko and Suitner from premiereopera.net and the sound is very good. They have the Karajan, Solti, and Boulez.

I have ordered a few cds from Pristine Classical before so I will look into the Krauss and Furtwängler transfers as well.
Both the '76 and '77 Boulez recordings on Opera Depot have fantastic sound. I think the sound is better on both than the Philips commercial release. The singing is certainly better, and it's interesting to hear the crazy audience on the '76 cycle.
 
#552 · (Edited)
Regarding the Karajan and Boulez, how is the sound? I have never ordered from Opera Depot.
77 Boulez excellent live sound, 67-70 Karajan good to very good sound.....

Operadepot always has 50% or more sales every 30-60 days, be patient and take advantage of price breaks, CDRs come in 4 pocket clear plastic sleeve with two sided paper insert with track listing and cast, fast delivery 5-8 days usually
 
#562 ·
These are the only Wagner Ring cycles I really need:

This because it is a very good Ring throughout and while there may be better rings in various respects, I am hooked on Hildegard Behrens Brunnhilde and between her two Rings this one is better IMO.


This one because it is great to hear in English and this is a very good performance:


Every other Ring I start listing to ends up with me quitting before I finish. I just tried Bohm's ring last night and it sounds like it is too fast. For some reason I like my Ring slow, which is an especially good thing with Goodall.

Do I then miss out on historic rings? No. I get my fill of historic rings with this nice 4-disk set:



So, now what to do with the other ten ring cycles I have on CD?
 
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