[wkasimer]

I've just listened to BBC Radio 3's Building a Library podcast on Die Meisteringer and the reviewer also recommended the Kubelik. Unfortunately it's not exactly easy to acquire these days. The Arts Archive transfer they recommend is selling at prices of upwards of £140 on ebay these days. I've also come across one on the Calig label, which is selling at a little less (£44) but I don't know what this transfer is like.

The Calig sounds every bit as good as the Arts Archives.

 

[SixFootScowl]

Opera Depot does indeed have it. Munich 1967 radio broadcast.

Also see posts #67 & #72

Good to know the sound is about as good with OD as the original.

 

[Mark Farrington]

Same here. For liveliness and team spirit, this Kempe set - especially the stereo-ambient Pristine transfer - is the one to have. Kubelik is almost, but not quite as, lively. But both are essential. If I had to add a third contender, it would be the 1960 Knappertsbusch Bayreuth.

View attachment 93099

Meistersinger is the Wagner opera I've listened to the least so my opinion is coming from limited exposure. In short, the 1956 Kempe release by Pristine with Schock, Grummer and Frantz knocked it out of the park for me, over the Kubelik. I listened to Kube first but found the Kempe cast and orchestration superior, especially Schock's "Walther" compared to Konya. Grummer a vocally resplendent "Eva".

(I do have a Naxos compilation of Schorr singing Hans Sachs which is outstanding)

 

[SixFootScowl]

We are lucky to have Sawallisch, as a digital recording.

SixFootScowl, you have to hear Kubelik though!

Wish I could find a copy at a reasonable price, but they are up around $50 shipped wherever I look.

 

[wkasimer]

Wish I could find a copy at a reasonable price, but they are up around $50 shipped wherever I look.

Worth every penny!

 

[SixFootScowl]

At the time I voted Sawallisch. But now my favorite has changed.

#1 is Kubelik
#2 is Solti CSO
#3 is Karajan 1970

These I also have but I'll focus on the above three:

Goodall
Jochum
Sawallisch
Varvsio
Keilberth
Karajan 1951

I should give Karajan 1951 another shot, though the sound quality is not the best.

 

[Itullian]

Kubelik, Solti 2, tied

 

[SixFootScowl]

Kubelik, Solti 2, tied

Oh that's right, there are two Solti recordings. Mine is CSO, which is #2 chronologically.

 

[Itullian]

In fact, i think Meistersinger has been served very well on cd.
Sawallisch, Jochum, Solti 1, Karajan, Barenboim, Jurowski
are all very good. There are flaws in each, but overall these
are excellent recordings. I like them all for different reasons.
Some very good mono ones also: Kempe, Knappersbusch '60,
And others. But imho there are enough excellent stereo recordings
to mot have to sacrifice great sound.
But the mono's are great for collectors.
But to me the Kubelik stands out for it's outstanding cast and excellent conducting.
The stereo sound is good but not great
I also love the Solti CSO for its fantastic deep and detailed sound.
Solti is very good with the score and the cast is very good.
The flaw is Van Dam;s lighter voiced Sach's which could have been
caught better. But overall an awesome recording.
imho

 

[SixFootScowl]

I have been listening to Mesitersinger for a couple months now. Of the sets I have, my favorite is Kubelik.
After that, all these are good:
Karajan 1971
Barenboim
Solti (edit per post 91, this one is CSO)
Sawallisch

Not so fond of these three:
Jochum
Varvsio
Keilberth

Karajan 1951 is sound-quality challenged, but seems like a good performance.

That's all I have other than Goodall and some Opera Depot sets that I have not listened to in a long time: Sawallisch (Roma), Schippers, and Wallat

A quick check and sampling of the OD sets and I can see I need to spin the Roma Sawallisch as it has the same two wonderful ladies as the Kubelik set has. Shippers and Wallat don't seem to be in as good of sound. Goodall can wait.

 

[wkasimer]

I have been listening to Mesitersinger for a couple months now. Of the sets I have, my favorite is Kubelik.
After that, all these are good:
Karajan 1971
Barenboim
Solti
Sawallisch

Not so fond of these three:
Jochum
Varvsio
Keilberth

Karajan 1951 is sound-quality challenged, but seems like a good performance.

I am pretty much in agreement with these views. I assume that Solti is the second one with the Chicago SO, with van Dam as Sachs. I think that it's the better of Solti's two recordings; Sachs aside, the CSO cast is much stronger.

I'm less fond of Barenboim's, mostly because I dislike most of his cast (except for the two tenor leads, Seiffert and Wottrisch, who are both excellent). I wish that Sawallisch had a better Sachs than Weikl.

I agree with you about Jochum, Varviso, and Keilberth.

To my ears, the 1951 Karajan is among the most overrated recordings in the Wagnerian discography. It's poorly recorded, with a largely lackluster cast (or worse, in the case of Hopf's Walther). Karajan's stereo remake is vastly superior in ever respect.

If you haven't heard it, you might consider Dohnanyi's recording from Vienna 1975. It was issued on CD by Ponto, in excellent sound, with Ridderbusch as Sachs, with Janowitz, James King, and Kurt Moll. You should also seek out Kempe's second recording; I don't think that his cast is competitive any longer, and the sound should have been better (it's monaural, when EMI had already begun recording in stereo, alas), but I love Kempe's way with the score, and Grümmer is the best Eva on records. Another one that I love is the 1960 Bayreuth performance conducted by Knappertsbusch, which is better in reality than it looks on paper.

 

[SixFootScowl]

I think my top two boil down to Kubelik and Sawallisch.

 

[SixFootScowl]

I think my top two boil down to Kubelik and Sawallisch.

And right now, and it could be a difference in the recorded sound, but I think overall in the totality of voices, I am liking the Sawallisch recording just a bit more than the Kubelik.