Bottlehead Forum
General Category => Music => Topic started by: johnsonad on May 31, 2021, 11:34:48 AM
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For the classical fans out there, what is your favorite recorded Ring Cycle? For me it's the Karajan. The sound production is fantastic and it's a joy to listen to. I have favorite singers in other cycles but as a whole, this one sounds fantastic.
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Not a huge Wagner fan, but Karajan is pretty great. Furtwängler‘s Tristan from 1952 is amazing. Not the Ring, I know.
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I've been listening to the Solti classic for many decades. That and Bernstein's Mahler cycle are two that I keep coming back to. I'll keep an eye open for the Karajan!
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I appreciate the recommendation, and I was able to locate this Ring recording on Spotify last night. I have always been intimidated by the length of the Ring Cycle so I have never given it a listen.
Do you have any tracks that you would recommend?
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I have only von Karajan Die Walkure on tape. But I just realized I also have the London Solti/Vienna Die Walkure, Siegfried and Gotterdamerung on tape and Das Rheingold on LP. Serendipity!
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PJ, the Solti is the only complete cycle I have on LP and it's a great recording. I read somewhere it took Decca 40 years to recoup the cost from that production. On CD I picked up the Janowski/Dresden cycle though I listen to it infrequently.
Die Walkure is my favorite act of the cycle and if you're not into 14 hours of listening, it offers excitement and beautiful music.
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Thanks! I now see that the tracks are divided up into Cycles. I found the Die Walkure Cycle, and I’ll definitely give that a listen.
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Ross, all of the cycles are good, but some are slow. Wanger did a brilliant job of building the cycles. If you have a favorite opera singer(s), find a cycle they were part of.
On another note, i picked up the complete Karajan on LP today for $50. Looking forward to playing it all the way through on LP.