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Wagner on disc...Tristan and Isolde

33K views 85 replies 27 participants last post by  mostly_lurking 
#1 · (Edited)
Wagner took a break from the Ring after Act 2 of Siegfried to write "easier to perform" music dramas. :)
His infatuation with Mathilde Wesendonck, poet and author, is said to have fueled this tragic love story.

So much has been written about this work I won't even attempt to state it all here.
Let us just say it was revolutionary.
Beautiful, spiritual, lewd, spellbinding are just a few descriptions I've read.
It greatly influenced all music after it.

It took me awhile to love this work and it's probably not for beginner Wagner listeners, but once you crack it
it's very moving.
I frequently shed a tear when the last notes fade away.

So what's your pick for this mesmerizing masterpiece?
 
#2 · (Edited)
52 was a great year for Tristans, Furtwangler Pristine XR and Karajan Bayreuth Orfeo.....
Furtwangler gets studio recording and Flagstadt still in great voice with a wealth of experience, magical things happen here with the synthesis of sound and vocal art........

52 Karajan goes out in a blaze of glory final season at Bayreuth with searing performance by Modl & Vinay, not your father's HVK an all out assault to take the wagner throne, not to be missed wagner



76 Kleiber Bayreuth another great one only recently discovered from members post, very good live sound, a version not widely known (but should be) shame we do not have more wagner from Kleiber

 
#5 · (Edited)
Because of the gorgeousness of the score I don't mind a conductor indulging a little in pure sensuality when it comes to this opera, but for my taste Bernstein practically wallows in it and doesn't keep the pace where it needs to be to keep the dramatic temperature turned up like my favorite versions do. Unfortunately his pair of lovers are also one of my least favorite in record. The Furtwangler is still the most effective and all-encompassing to my mind.
 
#7 · (Edited)


No one comes close to Furtwangler for me.
His conducting seems to make time stand still.
Wish he'd have recorded Parsifal.





I also enjoy these 2. The Kleiber is a more lyrical approach but done beautifully.
The Bohm very well recorded and dramatic.

And they both have all 3 acts on their own discs which I LOVE. :)
 
#14 · (Edited)
Fine recordings, but only Furtwangler fully inhabits Wagner's "Wunderreich der Nacht." The Romantic dream he and Flagstad make of the second act is unapproached by others. But I do wish that we had a recording under Victor de Sabata, a truly great opera conductor who gave us the best of all Toscas. Snippets from a 1930 Tristan at La Scala with an excellent Italian cast (singing in Italian, of course) are searingly intense and heartbreaking, infusing the music with a frank emotionality that seems almost a thing of the past.

P.S. The Naxos cover art is criminal.
 
#9 ·
I really have trouble with this opera. Where the Ring operas suite me just fine in length, this one feels too long. :(
I won't say I dislike it, and sometimes I can say I enjoy it but it always feels like such an effort is expended.

Nevertheless I have multiple versions, in search of a satisfying one. Barenboim has my favorite first act and Isolde (Waultraude Meier) and Bohm I think my favorite overall.
 
#12 ·
I really have trouble with this opera. Where the Ring operas suite me just fine in length, this one feels too long. :(
I won't say I dislike it, and sometimes I can say I enjoy it but it always feels like such an effort is expended.

Nevertheless I have multiple versions, in search of a satisfying one. Barenboim has my favorite first act and Isolde (Waultraude Meier) and Bohm I think my favorite overall.
Try assimilating 1 act at a time.
Listen for the interaction of what's being sung and the orchestra.
Listen for the various themes as they weave throughout.
Don't worry about it, it will come.
That helped me.:)
 
#15 ·
The (Carlos) Kleiber studio recording was my first ever Tristan, and Margaret Price's "Mild und Leise" is still my go-to by a country mile. Have also added the Karajan (Vickers), Furtwängler (52), and Böhm (Bayreuth) ... so it seems I've come to the conclusion arrived at by most others. I've never been particularly interested in adding anything new to this list.
 
#20 ·
Yeah, if they were the only four I had I would be well satisfied.
 
#16 ·
I've listened to the Karajan on EMI and the fiddling with the knobs and odd balances ruin it for me.
 
#21 ·
This is a work I admire but have never grown to love, and I have invested in the various versions listed below

Karajan / Bayreuth - the most intense performance on disc. Karajan had to be helped from the pit afterwards. Terrific from Modl, Vinay, Hotter. A white hot occasion

Furtwangler - a classic with Flagstad past her best but still giving the young'uns a run for their money

Bohm 1966 - live - I find Nilsson, despite some terrific singing, wanting in human emotion. Windgassen is over-parted but most tenors are.

Karajan 2 with Vickers and Denersch - my favourite pair. Conducted on a broader scale than before? The playing of the BPO is a thing of wonder

Kleiber - worth hearing for Price and Kleiber. Sadly Kollo sounds past it and so does D F-D in spades.
 
#22 ·
Decca missed the chance when they recorded Tristan with Solti when they had Karajan under contract. Culshaw and Karajan working together at that point might have produced something memorable, despite the journeyman Tristan. As it was Solti (as he admits in his autobiography) was too inexperienced and the result was an over-driven recording with not very imaginative singing. Karajan of course was annoyed that his orchestra was recording an opera that was one of his specialities and set about sabotaging the recording by demanding (and getting) sessions of his own that caused the whole Tristan set to be dismantled and reassembled every day. Not the brightest of Culshaw's decisions as a recording producer even though the Tristan sold well at the time.
 
#26 ·
Wagner Challenge update - Favourite STEREO TUI

Two big winners



Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90
Siegfried Jerusalem
Waltraud Meier
Marjana Lipovsek
Falk Struckmann
Matti Salminen
Johan Botha
Peter Maus

Chor der Berliner Staatsoper
Berliner Philharmoniker
Dabiel Barenboim
Warner Classics (1995)




Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90
Jon Vickers
Helga Dernesch
Christa Ludwig
Walter Berry
Karl Ridderbusch
Bernd Weikl
Peter Schreier

Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan
Warner Classics (1972/1994 Remastered Edition)


Honourable mentions:



Kleiber DG: Surprisingly fine cast, with M. Price and B. Fassbaender as the highlights, while Kollo and late Fischer-Dieskau impress me too.
Böhm: brisk and detailed orchestral sound of the Bayreuther Festspiele; it's very fine (except Ludwig's Bragäne, never of my taste) in all singers. Same vibes as the 62 Lohengrin.
Bernstein: I appreciate this more than Böhm because there is a sense of discovery. Most fascinating orchestral playing over Karajan with highlight in Act III. If only the cast was better. Behrens and Minton are quite lightweight and can defend themselves, what I cannot bear with is the male cast led by a burnt Hofmann.

I would swear by listening to Solti's recording that Wagner was experimenting with atonality in Act I, but his overall interpretation as well as the singers, is quite all over the place. But with some shots of Kleiber and Böhm, I can know what this opera is about.

For this I have two references of TUIs: the aesthetic and the anguished. Both are excellent and almost unbeatable by mono recordings.

Karajan (aesthetic)
Just thumbs down again for Christa Ludwig. I cannot enjoy her in that role. Karajan, the BPO, Dernesch and Vickers (Act III) are unbeatable, only on par with the Barenboim recording. I really liked Dernesch's voice from the beginning, but not Vickers. Act III with a soulful Berry as Kurwenal and the own Vickers were enough to mesmerize me. With this interpretation, this opera cannot be more "beautiful".

Barenboim (anguished)
I seriously have an issue with this staggering version. Do never recommend this to people with heart condition. The Barenboim BPO orchestration can leave you breathless with the constant intensity and the superpowers of Jerusalem, Meier and Salminen can also contribute to give you a headache. High tension everywhere. Jerusalem's Tristan is surprisingly lyrical (where was he in his Lohengrin?). Meier is a highly drama-queen Isolde. Salminen conveys pain as Marke and Struckmann's Kurwenal improves when joined by the orchestra in Act III.
The soloists are as superb as in Tannhäuser, but it's again about to give me a heart attack. I always hoped that I could reccomend this "modern" recording to people, but I'm afraid I cannot do so because this might put their health in peril.
 
#28 ·
Honourable mentions:



Kleiber DG: Surprisingly fine cast, with M. Price and B. Fassbaender as the highlights, while Kollo and late Fischer-Dieskau impress me too.
Böhm: brisk and detailed orchestral sound of the Bayreuther Festspiele; it's very fine (except Ludwig's Bragäne, never of my taste) in all singers. Same vibes as the 62 Lohengrin.
Bernstein: I appreciate this more than Böhm because there is a sense of discovery. Most fascinating orchestral playing over Karajan with highlight in Act III. If only the cast was better. Behrens and Minton are quite lightweight and can defend themselves, what I cannot bear with is the male cast led by a burnt Hofmann.

I would swear by listening to Solti's recording that Wagner was experimenting with atonality in Act I, but his overall interpretation as well as the singers, is quite all over the place. But with some shots of Kleiber and Böhm, I can know what this opera is about.

For this I have two references of TUIs: the aesthetic and the anguished. Both are excellent and almost unbeatable by mono recordings.

Karajan (aesthetic)
Just thumbs down again for Christa Ludwig. I cannot enjoy her in that role. Karajan, the BPO, Dernesch and Vickers (Act III) are unbeatable, only on par with the Barenboim recording. I really liked Dernesch's voice from the beginning, but not Vickers. Act III with a soulful Berry as Kurwenal and the own Vickers were enough to mesmerize me. With this interpretation, this opera cannot be more "beautiful".

Barenboim (anguished)
I seriously have an issue with this staggering version. Do never recommend this to people with heart condition. The Barenboim BPO orchestration can leave you breathless with the constant intensity and the superpowers of Jerusalem, Meier and Salminen can also contribute to give you a headache. High tension everywhere. Jerusalem's Tristan is surprisingly lyrical (where was he in his Lohengrin?). Meier is a highly drama-queen Isolde. Salminen conveys pain as Marke and Struckmann's Kurwenal improves when joined by the orchestra in Act III.
The soloists are as superb as in Tannhäuser, but it's again about to give me a heart attack. I always hoped that I could reccomend this "modern" recording to people, but I'm afraid I cannot do so because this might put their health in peril.
You make interesting points. For Kleiber I find D F-D awful - right over the hill vocally. Kollo thin of voice.

Bohm is brisk but I don't find I hear orchestral detail that well. Nilsson is in tremendous voice but I just can't love her. Windgassen a bit thin by that stage. I think Ludwig is fine btw

With Solti Culshaw tried out a sonic stage system which didn't work. Solti would liked to have recorded it again. They should have got Karajan in to conduct.

Karajan 2 is my favourite. Love the pair of Vickers and Denersch and Karajan's way with it. I know it has been criticised but the playing of the BPO is marvellous. His very different Bayreuth performance is absolutely thrilling but don't know whether it is one to live with.,
 
#30 ·
For Tristan I have new appreciation for Suthaus especially in the act 2 lovers sections, his vocal blending with Kirsten works wonderfully and vocally do not think I would trade him for either of the other two famous Tristans of that time: Vinay or Windgassen, I think he is their equal and perhaps with Kirsten even better match artistically (Furtwangler may have also shared this view)
If you like Suthaus' Tristan, as I do, you should seek out a couple of other recordings. There's a complete recording with Konwitschny from 1950 that finds him in somewhat fresher voice, but the rest of the cast is mostly disappointing (with the notable exception of Gottlob Frick as Marke). This was issued by Preiser, but is now OOP.

The other one is a live performance from Berlin in 1947:

Tree Sky Adaptation Art Tints and shades


Unfortunately, it's only Act 2 and 3, but both Suthaus and Furtwangler are fantastic here, both better than on the commercial recording.
 
#31 · (Edited)
^^^ I was just this afternoon listening to 72 Karajan studio recording with Vickers & Dernesch which has much to admire, but in the act two love scence they did not have the same chemistry, harmony and timing of Suthaus & Flagstadt, almost like the other person wasn't there and they were just singing the notes, not the same level of artistic interplay......yes Suthaus stands tall among Tristans.



The other one is a live performance from Berlin in 1947:

I do have that on Andromeda label release.......very worthy



Also Suthaus is Walther in the famous 43 Bayreuth Meistersinger recording.......

 
#32 ·
^^^ I was just this afternoon listening to 72 Karajan studio recording with Vickers & Dernesch which has much to admire, but in the act two love scence they did not have the same chemistry, harmony and timing of Suthaus & Flagstadt, almost like the other person wasn't there and they were just singing the notes, not the same level of artistic interplay......yes Suthaus stands tall among Tristans.



I do have that on Andromeda label release.......very worthy



Also Suthaus is Walther in the famous 43 Bayreuth Meistersinger recording.......

Funny how tastes vary, I would say the opposite
 
#47 ·
Wagner Challenge update - Favourite MONO TUI - I

Winner



Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90
Ludwig Suthaus
Kirsten Flagstad
Blanche Thebom
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Josef Greindl
Rudolf Schock
Edgar Evans

Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Philharmonia Orchestra
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Warner Classics (1952/2001 Remastered Edition)


Runner-up



Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90 Live recording
Rudolf Lustig
Gertrud Grob-Prandl
Georgine von Milinkovič
Toni Blankenheim
Kurt Böhme
Hugo Meyer-Welfing
Hans Braun

Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper
André Cluytens
Walhall (1956/2008 Remastered Edition)


3rd position



Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90 Live recording
Ramón Vinay
Martha Mödl
Ira Malaniuk
Hans Hotter
Ludwig Weber
Gerhard Unger
Hermann Uhde

Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele
Herbert von Karajan
Orfeo/Walhall (1952, Remastered Edition)


4th position



Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90 Live recording
Wolfgang Windgassen
Birgit Nilsson
Grace Hoffman
Hans Hotter
Arnold van Mill
Hermann Winkler
Fritz Uhl

Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Walhall (1957/2008 Remastered Edition)


Followed by Sawallisch Bayreuth 1958 (5th position). Almost no difference.
 
#48 ·
Wagner Challenge update - Favourite MONO TUI - II

Honourable mentions:

6th position



Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90 Live recording
Max Lorenz
Paula Buchner
Margarete Klose
Jaro Prohaska
Ludwig Hofmann
Erich Zimmermann
Eugen Fuchs

Männerchor der Staatsoper Berlin
Staatskapelle Berlin
Robert Heger
Preiser (1943/1995 Issue Edition)


7th position



Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90 Live recording
Lauritz Melchior
Kirsten Flagstad
Kerstin Thorborg
Julius Huehn
Ludwig Hofmann
Hans Clemens
Arnold Gabor

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Artur Bodanzky
Walhall (1937/2005 Remastered Edition)


8th position



Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90 Live recording
Set Svanholm
Astrid Varnay
Blanche Thebom
Josef Metternich
Jerome Hines
Paul Franke
James McCracken

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Rudolf Kempe
Walhall (1955/2005 Remastered Edition)


9th position



Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90 Live recording
Wolfgang Windgassen
Birgit Nilsson
Hilde Rössel-Majdan
Gustav Neidlinger
Hans Hotter
Anton Dermota
Claude Heater

Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala
Herbert von Karajan
Myto (1959/2010 Remastered Edition)


10th position



Wagner
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90 Live recording
Ramón Vinay
Astrid Varnay
Ira Malaniuk
Gustav Neidlinger
Ludwig Weber
Gerhard Stolze
Hasso Eschert

Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele
Eugen Jochum
Andromeda (1953/2010 Remastered Edition)


Top 11-22
11: Leinsdorf Met 41
12: Mehta RAI 72
13: Knappertsbusch BaySO 50
14: Reiner Met 50
15: Böhm WPO 67
16: Böhm BFO 62
17: Furtwängler SKB 47
18: Karajan BPO Salzburg 72
19: Reiner ROH CG 36
20: Kleiber (E) BaySO 52
21: Beecham ROH CG 37
22: Sabata Scala 51

Although being a long opera, many TUI performances from the 30s felt even more rushed than a Lohengrin. To take advantage, I also dropped a few OperaDepot in stereo from 1972 like Mehta in Rome and Karajan in the Salzburg premiere of his later acclaimed production with Vickers and Dernesh. However, these weren't really brilliant vocally and the sound quality of this broadcast was annoying. I can only be thankful for the Mehta free download because the sound is pristine and with no cuts. Every detail of the orchestration is there. The problem is that the famous Böhm 67 recording with DG exists and shows almost the same.

This time there were a lot of recordings to rate: 22. And, especially through the various Nilsson-Windgassen recordings, it felt really tiring. For the bottom 10, we could go by decades:

1930s: Flagstad and Melchior are the protagonists. This is troubling because all Markes and Brangänes are mere furniture. They never shine. There are two Covent Garden recordings, the Reiner 1936 for HMV and now remastered by Naxos that is recorded in various live sessions in close microphones, so there is no sense of space or representation. However, there are ways to overcome this issue and Bodanzky in the 1937 matinée broadcast finally does it. The Andromeda remaster of the Covent Garden Beecham recording in that same year feels more natural, but this time I end up missing the clearer voices instead of so much white noise. The culmination of so many duets Flagstad-Melchior is the Erich Leinsdorf broadcast from the Metropolitan in 1941, with more mature singers and better soundscape that enables to appreciate the conducting layers. There are two negative remarks. Leinsdorf's conducting and a bored (not boring) Melchior. This whole recording lacks excitement in Acts II and III but totally works out in Act I, imposing all the dark layers for Isolde that were missing in the Bodanzky broadcast.

1940s: This decade is a mixed bag in the years that Flagstad and Melchior stopped singing. More than in the cast, there are more issues in the sound. The Robert Heger 1943 performance in Berlin is the exception. The secondary casts are more able to play a major role. In Berlin 1947, Furtwängler could have given us a great recording, but we'll never know because to have the proper context in the recording we need Act I. His live recording doesn't have it. Terrific Act II overture though. Very close in this decade, I needed to skip the 1951 Scala broadcast of Victor de Sabata because it reminded me of those Covent Garden recordings in the 30s.

1950s: Outside Bayreuth, there are many worthy recordings. However, some of them have something special that only makes me focus in the other flows. The Bayerischen Staatsoper 1950 production with Hans Knappertsbusch is a TUI with Hans Knappertsbusch. Barely anything else. He is the one who lifts everything despite a bland, thin cast. In the same place in 1952, Erich Kleiber is one more of the quite decent team behind this recording. Nothing competitive can come out here. Even stylistically it's questionable in the singers. The Reiner Metropolitan broadcast in 1950 is quite ordinary with a fine Ramón Vinay, who would later become one of the best Tristans of the decade, probably even above Windgassen. I think that many of his performances are really accurate in the voice tone and strength. We don't talk now about the extraordinary Wiener Staatsoper broadcast in 1956. Later, later.
In Bayreuth there are memorable performances, both in the top 10: Karajan and Jochum 52 & 53. In the final reviews there are more details.

1957-72: The reign of Birgit Nilsson leaves many broadcasts orphan, especially 1959 and 1962 of the commercial releases and some like the two OperaDepot in Vienna 67 and Rome 72. The Vienna recording has Jess Thomas as Tristan and honestly he is the main interest of the recording. The disadvantage of this reign was that once I had listened to the 1957 Bayreuth premiere, with that voice, nothing could go better even if I hoped to.


[HR][/HR]
Now that the decade sum-up is done, let's dive into my top 10:

10th: Eugen Jochum, Bayreuth, 1953

This recording is not the best one can hope about these singers. The problem I have is essentially that it feels like an eternity. However, Andromeda deserves props for the remaster. The monaural sound helps Jochum. From 1952 we still have Malaniuk's Brangäne and Vinay's Tristan, who signs an excellent Act III. Unfortunately, Jochum doesn't add up anything, and Varnay has a much better performance two years later in the Metropolitan led by Rudolf Kempe.

9th: Herbert von Karajan, Teatro alla Scala, 1959

Because this was rejected for the better-recorded Bayreuth premieres, I felt pity for this broadcast. I would say that this sounds like Heavy Metal. I love when the loud parts burst the microphones and make everything explode. It reminds me of Furtwängler. It's like vintage, emotional, historical.
The singers are quite similar in quality to Sawallisch 57. I still do not see Hans Hotter at any role in this opera, not even King Marke. And Neidlinger and Windgassen boost up Act III and generally the performance. Never a first choice, but a pleasure to listen.


8th: Rudolf Kempe, Metropolitan Opera, 1955

Varnay as Isolde Part II, and the triumphant. Compared to other rivals it's not of my taste, but she delivers the best she can. Act I is lifted up by her unique voice. Almost no one else can do it. Svanholm's Tristan is suitable for the Isolde but generally under her shade, quite fine in Act II but whiny in Act III. Nice.

7th: Artur Bodanzky, Metropolitan Opera, 1937

Easily my pick for Flagstad-Melchior. Their most tender performance without boredom. The noise floor exists but it is bearable. This is a matinee Broadcast so the voices are clear, but the most shocking feature is Bodanzky's fast, intense, never rushed conducting that speeds up the love-making of Act II and creates passion. The secondary cast, Kerstin Thorborg (Brangäne), Julius Huehn (Kurwenal) and Ludwig Hofmann (Marke) have a spot with their great voices. A thrilling, mesmerizing recording from the 30s with fine sound for the age.

6th: Robert Heger, Berlin, 1943

I have mixed feelings. I agree with a TC member that Max Lorenz starts to sing it out like he would never perform again and his Tristan is in full suicide mode. It's beautifully scary. Probably the pitch is too high and the singers, especially Isolde, seem too histrionic. The orchestral sound is exceptional for 1943, with a thrilling Act III overture. Jaro Prohaska also creates a great Kurwenal. Margarete Klose is good as Brangäne, but Paula Buchner's Isolde seems a bit lost without Lorenz. Act I is generally quite good and Act II is spectacular in the love duet. Not to talk about mentioned suicidal-mode in a mind-blowing Act III. The duet and Tristan's act III are the highlights. Worth having and very few flaws.

Greatest recordings:

5th & 4th: Wolfgang Sawallisch, Bayreuth, 1957 & 1958 (I pick 57)

Two strikingly similar recordings despite their differences in the secondary cast. I would have thanked a different Kurwenal (Saedén) in 1958, but Hans Hotter strangely fit in the performance and did nicely. I could do without 1958 because Nilsson's Isolde is slightly more refined and less intense. With 1958 out, let's discuss the (second) performance of the 1957 premiere by Wolfgang Wagner.

The sound is not what I would expect in 1957. There is a lot less clarity than in the Andromeda Jochum 53. I needed to visit all the Nilsson-Windgassen performances between 1957 and 1967 to find out that this performance is unique, irreplaceable. Two young singers bringing freshness to two big roles. Remember when I said in the studio 1960 recording by Solti that Nilsson sung like in an atonal opera? This time it was slightly the same story. The first Isolde lines are usually annoying, but this young Nilsson magnifies the effect. Eek. Nilsson grows in the opera and from Act II Scene I she is faultless. Incredibly intense. Windgassen is very good as a young Tristan although it can seem that the role is too big for him then. The combination cannot be better and that energy is used by Windgassen in Act III. And Nilsson becomes herself in the Liebestod. Not my pick for the couple, considering mono and stereo competitors, but a worthy listen.


3rd: Herbert von Karajan, Bayreuth, 1952

I listened to this from Orfeo, and unfortunately the sound is not ideal. My complaint is that it wasn't as exciting as many had told. Failed expectations. Also… what is Hans Hotter doing as Kurwenal? I didn't like at all. However, the conducting and singing has top quality.
Except for Kurwenal, this recording is not only flawless. This one and Furtwängler are the only two ones that share a sense of art in the product. Vinay is really suitable for Tristan, London for a mourning King Marke, and Malaniuk for a silky and fearlul Brangäne. Mödl has a special quality, she is the star.


2nd: André Cluytens, Wiener Staatsoper, 1956

The biggest surprise of the challenge. Except for the decent Rudolf Lustig Tristan, this could not be better sung. The sound quality is beyond words. It sounds better than any recording here, saving Furtwängler in Studio. A lot of string weight, incredible cleanness, wow. This is the Isolde of the long name: Gertrud Grob-Prandl, so I could say GGP, who strangely had a similar voice with Milinkovič's Brangäne. They both sound like Gundula Janowitz. GGP is amazing and lifts Act I above anything imaginable except my two favourite stereo recordings. In comparison with her, it seems that Rudolf Lustig is saving energy, but Act III shows that it is just a shortcoming. He can only cope with the level in Act III when he is not competing with Isolde. They have a relaxed love duet in Act II and we are delighted with Kurt Böhme's Marke. All of this, remember, in pristine mono sound. Cluytens should be also congratulated for his conducting, especially during Act III's overture.

1st: Wilhelm Furtwängler, Philharmonia Orchestra, 1952

A recording that Sergiu Celibidache would sign. 4h15m. The concept of an extremely long recording is mesmerizing thanks to Furtwängler and the cast. But my complaint is that he seems more enthusiastic in tasting every note of the score than sharing emotions. It sometimes seems like an eternity, especially Act II.

The sound is way better than Karajan 52, and benefits the Brangäne solo in Act II. They share the uniqueness of the voices and conducting, in very different styles. Here, the cast cannot be beaten. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as a youthful heldenbariton Kurwenal is decisive (remember an elderly Hotter in the same year). He sings like a youthful and imposing, never a soulful Wolfram.

For the lovers: Flagstad sounds adult, but never matronly. Her voice is suited for Isolde and achieves an intensity that only Nilsson can equal. She is only a bit drowned in Act II and the liebestod is spectacular. And Suthaus leaves apart the Siegfried character and sings in Act III serenely, a term that Lauritz Melchior seemed to ignore in his vocabulary. Suthaus manages to forget boredom in Act III and delivers a contemplative Tristan, flowing with the slow pace. This has never been repeated.


[HR][/HR]
I think only Furtwängler can make me doubt if my favourite Tristan is Barenboim or Karajan 72. These three, plus Cluytens Vienna and Karajan 52 would be my other two purchases. Those complete my overall top five for this opera.

I advanced in HWR that I would move forward the Parsifal episode and leave Meistersinger and the Ring for later. I'm currently through my third Parsifal finishing Act I.
 
#49 · (Edited)
1st: Wilhelm Furtwängler, Philharmonia Orchestra, 1952

A recording that Sergiu Celibidache would sign. 4h15m. The concept of an extremely long recording is mesmerizing thanks to Furtwängler and the cast. But my complaint is that he seems more enthusiastic in tasting every note of the score than sharing emotions. It sometimes seems like an eternity, especially Act II.

The sound is way better than Karajan 52, and benefits the Brangäne solo in Act II. They share the uniqueness of the voices and conducting, in very different styles. Here, the cast cannot be beaten. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as a youthful heldenbariton Kurwenal is decisive (remember an elderly Hotter in the same year). He sings like a youthful and imposing, never a soulful Wolfram.
Did I read somewhere that you have a subscription currently for Pristine XR website, did you compare Pristine to the stock EMI/Warner release? Are you a fan of Pristine XR......

How many hours a day do you listen to music, that is insane amount of material to cover so fast......:eek:

BTW you have come to the correct conclusion, enter the mighty hall of fallen heroes my son
 
#50 ·
Did I read somewhere that you have a subscription currently for Pristine XR website, did you compare Pristine to the stock EMI/Warner release? Are you a fan of Pristine XR?
I don't have it yet. I've been posting several times my intention to pay for one month of Pristine Classical Streaming so I can review the Furtwängler and Krauss Rings, plus the Kempe and Jochum meistersingers. I would have done it in a week, but it happens that I will be more busy within these two weeks for an exhibition I'm organising at University. Because time flies, I cannot allow myself to waste days of a monthly subscritpion. That's why I moved forward Parsifal, because they have a lot of releases and when the exhibition is done I will probably be about to finish that episode too.

How many hours a day do you listen to music, that is insane amount of material to cover so fast.
An insane amount of time. It can be quite boring to listen to two TUIs every day while drawing on cardboard and cutting shapes. The Nilsson-Windgassen series was testing my patience.
 
#51 · (Edited)
There was always an interesting combative relationship between Karajan and Nilsson although they worked together int the theatre on Tristan and Isolde. Christa Ludwig once said that the actually sound Nilsson made ('not particularly rounded') was not Karajan's tipple. And she added: "And as she [Nilsson] had quite a mouth on her, it was never going to be a marriage made in heaven!" Unfortunately John Culshaw chose the (then) inexperienced Solti rather than Karajan to conduct the Decca Tristan with Nilsson.
 
#52 · (Edited)
O don't think the superb (to my ears) Vickers/Dernesch recording would have happened had Karajan been appointed to a Nilsson Isolde + random Tristan in Decca contract. Anyway, not only Fritz Uhl deserved criticism in that frustrated try.

That was a sweet vengeance by EMI on Decca. My three favourite Tristan und Isoldes interestingly belong to the Warner Classics catalogue (Furtwängler, Karajan and Barenboim).

In terms of my favourites of the giant rivals, Warner vs Universal, their catalogues are quite balanced:

DFH (Universal; not even Klemperer EMI)
Tannhäuser (Warner & Universal)
Lohengrin (Warner)
Tristan und Isolde (Warner; Böhm DG is nice enough)
Meistersinger (Warner + BR)
Der Ring (Universal; not even Barenboim Teldec; Furtwängler RAI still not rated)
Parsifal (Universal; I don't get Barenboim Teldec; EMI never really cared)
 
#54 ·
If Tristan was your key character in Tristan und Isolde, which would be your favourite interpretation of the character on CD? Would it be balanced with other great singers?

I recall plenty of great Isoldes on record, and the two ones I own (W. Meier and M Mödl) are near-definitive, but I sometimes doubt if their strength eclipses their male counterparts (I think 1952 was Vinay's neatest and most intense Tristan, but I missed a bit of energy in the studio with Jerusalem). Also, I sometimes find Vickers odd before Act III, and I don't remember Suthaus' voice at all. Melchior has two favourite recordings of mine: one with energy and very poor sound in 1937 and one with very nice sound and a lot of tireness by his part in 1941. I wish Windgassen ever performed the role with an Isolde different than Brünnilsson, but his 1958 Act III left a great mark on me...
 
#56 · (Edited)
If Tristan was your key character in Tristan und Isolde, which would be your favourite interpretation of the character on CD?
It'd probably be Melchior, in one of the live broadcasts with Flagstad.

I don't remember Suthaus' voice at all
.
He really wasn't at his best for the Furtwangler recording. He was seriously overworked after WW2 - I'm guessing that he might have been just about the only legitimate Wagnerian tenor not tainted by association with the Nazi party (according to Wikipedia, he refused to join), unlike, for example, Max Lorenz. Suthaus was in much better voice in a live broadcast (of a concert performance, I think) in Berlin under Furtwangler in 1947. Unfortunately, it's not complete (no Act 1 at all). He's also in pretty good shape on a 1950 recording conducted by Konwitschny, but the rest of the cast isn't particularly good (with the exception of Gottlob Frick's tremendous King Mark). That was the Tristan recording that I imprinted on in high school, since that's the only one that the local library had on the shelf.
 
#55 · (Edited)
Thanks to Granate's recommended top ten I've added the '37 Bodansky and the '56 Cluytens to my ever expanding list of Tristans. Thanks for that. See you in the madhouse!!:D

Btw, I love the idea of Brünnilsson!!
 
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