Wagner: GA¶tterdA¤mmerung/Siegfried [Excerpts]

One of the Greatest CDs I've ever heard!

These recordings of Götterdämmerung are by far the best performances of Wagner I've ever heard. The only thing that bothers me is the trumpet overbalances at times (probably due to the recording equipment) and plays with too wide a vibrato for my taste. The singers are excellent! But the musical stylings of Toscanini really make this CD special. April 24, 2008

Treasure indeed!

Toscanini made too few Wagner recordings, despite his supposed conviction that Wagner was perhaps the greatest composer of all, superior even to his beloved Verdi - but this disc of extended excerpts avoids too much of the "bleeding chunks" accusation by concentrating mainly on "Goetterdaemmerung", the delightful 1951 performance of the "Forest Murmurs" from "Siegfried" being thrown in to open the concert. In the latter, Toscanini coaxes warm string tone from the NBC in an affectionate and detailed peformance; the sound here is the best on the disc being recorded later than the rest of the programme, but the other items have been very effectively remastered to provide clear, immediate sound with minimal hiss.

How can you go wrong with a combination like this? Toscanini - probably the finest conductor of his era (which was a very long one - most of the first half of the twentieth century!); a very fine orchestra assembled especially for him; unequivocally the finest Heldentenor of all time in Lauritz Melchior, at the top of his form; finally, the great Helen Traubel, possibly eclipsed as a Wagnerian soprano only by Frieda Leider and Flagstad - all performing, for our pleasure some of the grandest music ever composed.

Traubel's lower register, in particular, is refulgent, the middle of the voice warm and expressive, her top gleaming. OK; she goes a leetle flat on the final "Heil" before the Rhine Journey; there's a fluff from the horn just after that; there's a vulgar concert ending of plonked chords to the Rhine Journey; you can hear the old Maestro grunting and groaning towards the end of the Immolation - but these were live, broadcast performances before a studio audience and hence the odd imperfection must be indulged. Just revel in the energy, passion, lyricism and electricity of the music-making here. March 30, 2008

Wagnerian Treasures

This compilation of recordings of the music of Richard Wagner (1813-1883) is ample testimony of why the Wagner family invited Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) to be the first non-German conductor to conduct at the legendary Bayreuth Festival in 1930. Siegfried Wagner, the composer's son, was particularly impressed with the work of Toscanini up to that point. Toscanini had already been conducting Wagner's music, including complete performances of Wagner's operas, in Italy, with great results.

Toscanini himself greatly admired the musical genius of Richard Wagner, even if strongly disagreed with Wagner's political views (as much as he detested Mussolini and Hitler). When Hitler became chancellor of Germany, Toscanini refused to return to Germany as long as the Nazis remained in power, despite personal appeals from Hitler himself.

Toscanini said that Wagner might be the greatest of all composers. It shocked some Italians that Toscanini actually placed Wagner above Verdi, the other great operatic composer who was born in 1813. Verdi himself, however, had expressed his admiration for Wagner and tried to meet the German composer when Wagner made one of his periodic visits to Italy. Toscanini certainly recognized the great genius of Wagner, who was among the most innovative and inspired composers of all time. Wagner's use of recurring musical themes or motifs was especially remarkable and often helps to identify a particular character, setting, or idea in many of his operas.

The "Forest Murmurs" from "Siegfried" is one of the most exquisite pieces of music that Wagner ever composed. Taken from a 1952 recording session in Carnegie Hall, this performance was particularly wonderful. The NBC strings shone especially in this recording. It was also given a fairly good performance in one of Toscanini's rare stereo recordings, during the troubled final broadcast concert of April 4, 1954. The best thing about the final concert performance was the sound; however the 1952 performance was recorded with exceptionally good sound, even if it was made in conventional high fidelity.

The excerpts from "Die Gotterdammerung" ("The Twilight of the Gods") are from a memorable broadcast concert in Carnegie Hall in February 1941. RCA Victor had the vision to record the broadcast for commercial release; unfortunately, the original discs were not up to RCA's usual high standards. The situation was remedied in the late 1960s when the same recordings were reissued on the RCA Victrola label. Digital remastering has further improved the sound of the performances.

American soprano Helen Traubel, who had an all-too-short career on the operatic stage, and Danish tenor Lauritz Melchior seldom sang as well together as they did for the Maestro. These are performances to treasure. The NBC Symphony played with great precision and excitement; indeed, the musicians played with their hearts, responding well to the strong leadership of Toscanini. I've seldom heard more exciting performances of this music than in these 1941 recordings, particularly in the extended "Siegfried's Rhine Journey." These are absolutely wonderful performances with spectacular playing by the NBC musicians.
February 1, 2006

"Bleeding Chunks" of Wagner From a Great Conductor

It's a shame that Arturo Toscanini was never able to record a complete Ring Cycle, but this CD provides us with generous snippets (what they call in the trade "bleeding chunks") of two of the Ring operas, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung.

Helen Traubel and Lauritz Melchior are two of the greatest Wagnerian singers (only Freida Leider and Kirsten Flagstad can compare to Traubel in this era, and Melchior has always been in a class by himself), and they cause sparks to fly in their duet from Siegfried (from a 1941 NBC broadcast). The NBC Orchestra (created by David Sarnoff especially for Toscanini in 1937 -- can you imagine the head of a broadcast network doing something similar today?), gives impressive performances of the Forest Murmurs from Siegfried and Siegfried's Death and Funeral March from Gotterdammerung.

Traubel is electric in the final Immolation Scene from Gotterdammerung, and Toscanini conducts throughout both with his trademark intensity and with a lyricism that you seldom find in Wagner conductors.

As I've said, it's a real shame that we don't have a complete Toscanini Ring Cycle, but this is as close as we're going to get, so this CD is highly recommended. As a Wagner/Ring Cycle starter kit, this is surpassed only by the Bruno Walter Act I of Die Walkure, also featuring Melchior. I would grab this CD. January 28, 2002

Great recordings, well restored

I am very familiar with these recordings, from their earlier LP and CD issues. This issue is the best sounding of all. The interpretations are without parallel in their sheer dynamism and unanimity and the voices of Traubel and Melchior are heard at their best. I am particularly pleased with the quality of the release of the Immolation Scene recording, plagued by various defects in earlier issues, as described by the producer of these records, Charles O'Connell, in his book, "The Other Side of the Record". Here it seems we have for the first time the original masters, without the subsequent doctoring and re-recording which plagued the earlier issues of this recording. As a result the recording lives up to its reputation at last, sounding truly impressive in spite of its 1940 vintage, using the primiitive portable recording machines of the time. Here the voice of Helen Traubel, one of the great vocal instruments of the 20th Century, is heard to full advantage, and the sound of the NBC Symphony in Carnegie Hall is more realistic than it ever sounded in later records. February 24, 2001

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