No piece of music, no sunset, no love has ever taken me higher than this piece of Wagner composition. I've belonged to it since I first heard it. No.... heard is the wrong word.....I very much felt it etherically and still do.
I've been hesitating about my new love. We are both in trouble and I doubt it's hardness. And, today, I listened to this Flagstad's song. In the lyrics of Isolde's extremely beautiful song, I could find the answer. She followed Tristan cause there was nothing but love.
For more than 50 years, she has been my all-time favorite Wagnerian soprano, and he has been my all-time favorite conductor. This is my favorite "aria"(?) from my favorite Wagner opera. This as good as it gets for me. And it's really hard for me to type this through my tears. Thank you so much for this.
Unbelievably beautiful - I have loved this ever since I first heard it on the radio when I was about 7 years old. It is impossible to convey with mere words just how incredible this piece is - how powerfully it stirs the deepest emotions and sets the soul to flight - and you literally SOAR above reality with the glorious golden voice of Flagstad. What a privilege to listen this recording, it is nothing short of pure genius.
+Toni Hazle You speak the Truth Toni, and expressed so well. "it stirs the deepest emotions and sets the soul to flight" -- that's what great Opera does!
Isn't it sad that so relatively few people appreciate opera? So much adulation goes on shallow, flimsy pop. If only they knew the far deeper joy you get from the real thing! I was brought up in a family of musical Philistines but was lucky enough to mix in a group of friends who appreciated real music - after a year or two of exposure to it, i came to see and feel the real value of Classical. I remain ignorant of all the technicalities - but that has not detracted from the deep abiding joy music has brought me, sustaining me unfailingly through all the vicissitudes of life.
I have never cried so much in my entire life. its BEAUTIFUL!! I forgot it was a crappy medium for about 6 minutes and just let the true sadness of lose of a loved one wash over me. Wagner gets me every time...
Entzueckend! Such purity and power - it has been said she is like a Rolls-Royce. I agree that Nilsson was fabulous in this also but Flagstad is the standard for certain. Another wonderful interpretation is Callas doing it in Italian "Dolce e Calmo" from 1949.
This is the best partnership in the History of Music! Best singer and best conductor in this wonderful piece...Instead of Tristan und Isolde, this is Furtwängler und Flagstad!
The best version of Liebestod I heard, because: 1. The orchestra is not dominated by the singer. With Wagner the orchestra is n o t accompanying the singer, but isitself the center main point. 2. The vibrato in Flagstad is not too fast.
It cannot be better, indeed. Flagstad and Furtwängler are even better than in the studio recording. This is just a pitty that somebody put a microphone so close to the drum.
I think Kirsten is still the best Isolda. She sounds feminine, delicate, but she's a wagnerian singer - but a girl in Wagner! Love the feel of her voice.
@zipper179 then a late happy birthday to you again. what a beautiful story for us who sing this to remember how beautiful this music is for anyone at any age..I remember the first time I heard it, I couldn't move in another world where only my heart spoke but someone else was speaking for her--and never dreamed then I would sing it one day... Thank you again for this gift of your own experience. Did you become a singer or musician eventually, or "just" a lover., who makes it all worth it to do?
It's you. :-)) This opera was written in chromatic tones, that is to say not melodic. Not a tune you could whistle to. It is expressive of angst and struggle, yearning. Do you notice how it rises, then falls back, goes a bit higher, then falls back again and again? Later though, after it builds once again, Wagner allows her to finally continue up the scale and ascend to a very majestic climax. it's all done for a purpose. Listen again....at about 3:49 it really gets going.
@enikkan Yes it did, and I have just remembered that Flagstad was born on July 12, 1895 in the small town of Hamar in Norway. Spending the "remainder of the day" to remember her and her great legacy to all of us who love music.
Both majestic and sublime in its superiority over all the other renditions I've heard. Quintessence itself. THANK YOU for affording me the pleasure of hearing it.
Voice and technique are at their pinnacle in this performance. Later recordings and the voice deteriorates & is swamped by technique. Earlier and technique is flawed but the voice youthful.
+VivaRenata +larry cox +violintheif I'm sure part of the issue was that it was a live performance and that the microphone placement was less than optimal.
BEAUTIFUL tone, but she sounds do PLACID above the swirling intensity of the orchestral counterpoint. Shouldn't it feel more as though she is about to boil over and be swept away in the current? She had, however, the loveliest voice ever to sing the great wagner soprano roles.
Actually I agree...Nilsson has better top notes but overall Flagstad is the better singer as her register is so golden...but Nilssons temperament seems better suited to this or am I wrong? Perhaps Flagstad has sung beter versions, someons spoke of Buenos Airies, but I cannot find it. That said this is a voice of the kind we will never ever hear again....;-)
It's likely heresy to not love Kirsten Flagstad In fact I DO love her a lot, and this is a wonderful performance, but I believe Birgit Nilsson, a contemporary, outshone her. As for today's superstars singing the role I believe Waltraud Meier stands out from the crowd. th-cam.com/video/wu02skyFCyI/w-d-xo.html
No piece of music, no sunset, no love has ever taken me higher than this piece of Wagner composition. I've belonged to it since I first heard it. No.... heard is the wrong word.....I very much felt it etherically and still do.
the best version ever!!! perfect cooperation between orchestra and singer! Bravi, Furtwängler and Flagstad!!!
I've been hesitating about my new love. We are both in trouble and I doubt it's hardness. And, today, I listened to this Flagstad's song. In the lyrics of Isolde's extremely beautiful song, I could find the answer. She followed Tristan cause there was nothing but love.
This is the most beautiful partnership in the history of Music. Furtwängler is the ideal conductor and Flagstad the best singer ever!
She is from my hometown, Hamar, Norway. And I'm very proud of it. It's just amazing!
This Liebstod musically and vocally is sheer perfection
to be alive and be allowed to listen to an angel singing such ethereal music -
danke!
Her tones were a gift of the gods!
La Divina! The best singer ever singing Wagner...
Francesco Tamagnini The greatest Wagnerian soprano of all time!
For more than 50 years, she has been my all-time favorite Wagnerian soprano, and he has been my all-time favorite conductor. This is my favorite "aria"(?) from my favorite Wagner opera.
This as good as it gets for me.
And it's really hard for me to type this through my tears.
Thank you so much for this.
I love this aria so very much that I do not even care if it is Flagstad or Nilsson who sings it ! Just sublime ...
Unbelievably beautiful - I have loved this ever since I first heard it on the radio when I was about 7 years old. It is impossible to convey with mere words just how incredible this piece is - how powerfully it stirs the deepest emotions and sets the soul to flight - and you literally SOAR above reality with the glorious golden voice of Flagstad. What a privilege to listen this recording, it is nothing short of pure genius.
+Toni Hazle You speak the Truth Toni, and expressed so well. "it stirs the deepest emotions and sets the soul to flight" -- that's what great Opera does!
Perfectly expressed.
Isn't it sad that so relatively few people appreciate opera? So much adulation goes on shallow, flimsy pop. If only they knew the far deeper joy you get from the real thing! I was brought up in a family of musical Philistines but was lucky enough to mix in a group of friends who appreciated real music - after a year or two of exposure to it, i came to see and feel the real value of Classical. I remain ignorant of all the technicalities - but that has not detracted from the deep abiding joy music has brought me, sustaining me unfailingly through all the vicissitudes of life.
This is a memorial, an electronic monument to one of the great singers of all time ! I love this voice ! What a beauty !
I have never cried so much in my entire life. its BEAUTIFUL!!
I forgot it was a crappy medium for about 6 minutes and just let the true sadness of lose of a loved one wash over me. Wagner gets me every time...
Entzueckend! Such purity and power - it has been said she is like a Rolls-Royce. I agree that Nilsson was fabulous in this also but Flagstad is the standard for certain. Another wonderful interpretation is Callas doing it in Italian "Dolce e Calmo" from 1949.
there is not word to describe it, it came from heaven,,,,,,,,,,,
This is the best partnership in the History of Music!
Best singer and best conductor in this wonderful piece...Instead of Tristan und Isolde, this is Furtwängler und Flagstad!
Chills up my spine.
Absolutely sublime!!!
Just sublime.
The best version of Liebestod I heard, because:
1. The orchestra is not dominated by the singer. With Wagner the orchestra is n o t accompanying the singer, but isitself the center main point.
2. The vibrato in Flagstad is not too fast.
that is opera so beautiful
This is really touching !
Flagstad e Behrens due stelle di enorme splendore...assolutamente insuperabili
It cannot be better, indeed. Flagstad and Furtwängler are even better than in the studio recording. This is just a pitty that somebody put a microphone so close to the drum.
Thank you. Any Flagstad is wonderful, and this is live!!
Hearing this captivating music is like opening a sensual dream box to another life were a blissful balm is applied by voices of angels.
The LIEBESTOD, Wagner's chromatic work, is considered to be the greatest music of love.
Wow! Wonderful! Thank you for posting!
STILL THE BEST Kirsten for ever
the greatest voice ever
I think Kirsten is still the best Isolda. She sounds feminine, delicate, but she's a wagnerian singer - but a girl in Wagner! Love the feel of her voice.
@zipper179 then a late happy birthday to you again. what a beautiful story for us who sing this to remember how beautiful this music is for anyone at any age..I remember the first time I heard it, I couldn't move in another world where only my heart spoke but someone else was speaking for her--and never dreamed then I would sing it one day... Thank you again for this gift of your own experience. Did you become a singer or musician eventually, or "just" a lover., who makes it all worth it to do?
Really enjoy the Liebestod, and Flagstad does a great job here. Thanks!
What a voice!!!!
The Queen of Wagner's sopranos with the Aristocrat of Conductors.
Ma che meraviglia!!!! Kirsten e Willelm!!!!!! Grazie infinite..
danke für die Sendung!
She was simply the best!!!
It's you. :-)) This opera was written in chromatic tones, that is to say not melodic. Not a tune you could whistle to. It is expressive of angst and struggle, yearning. Do you notice how it rises, then falls back, goes a bit higher, then falls back again and again? Later though, after it builds once again, Wagner allows her to finally continue up the scale and ascend to a very majestic climax. it's all done for a purpose. Listen again....at about 3:49 it really gets going.
beautiful. magnificent.
Such delicacy!
This is the BEST version of Tristan! AMAZING
La amo! la mejor voz wagneriana femenina, nadie como ella, nacio para cantar Wagner!, bravisiimaaaaaa!.
Simply wonderful
@enikkan Yes it did, and I have just remembered that Flagstad was born on July 12, 1895 in the small town of Hamar in Norway. Spending the "remainder of the day" to remember her and her great legacy to all of us who love music.
I absolutely love this, thanks for posting.
Thank you for posting this!!!!! Grazie mille!!!!
divina
Amazing performance. I envy dorjenne for hearing her live...
grazie ancora
It's true that the commercial recording was made rather late in Flagstad's career.
questa e' storia e leggenda.Forse nei secoli a venire ancora cantera' una Flagstad e ancora dirigera' un Furtwangler.Chissa'!
desolador y hermoso
It is the best version; indeed. It is just a pity that a guy put a microphone so close to the big drum!!
Both majestic and sublime in its superiority over all the other renditions I've heard.
Quintessence itself. THANK YOU for affording me the pleasure of hearing it.
Genial
😍
Voice and technique are at their pinnacle in this performance. Later recordings and the voice deteriorates & is swamped by technique. Earlier and technique is flawed but the voice youthful.
grazie
I find the use of the timpani actually add to the performance...
Thank you so much for sharing. Can you tell me the year of the recording, please?
Господа, с Рождеством Христовым и Крещением!
Where and when was this performance? Yes I agree - impossible as it may seem, in my opinion it does surpass the studio version. (E grazie, friulano!)
@zipper179 : Beautiful comment... Bless you, friend, and happy (belated) birthday.
i absolutly agree with you! I have this record!! and i will upload it
grazie.
Does anyone know the year of this recording?
Великая певица! Жаль, что нет ни одной ноты, запечатленной в кинохронике
What was with the drum beats? This is not the Surprise Symphony. Was King Mark's ship firing guns in honor of Tristan. It ruins the whole aria.
Larry, I'm surprised to see such an ignorant comment on this recording of Wagner's Timpani Concerto. The soloist was magnificent!
violinthief This was Furtwängler after all!
+VivaRenata +larry cox +violintheif I'm sure part of the issue was that it was a live performance and that the microphone placement was less than optimal.
+larry cox, I agree with you. Not that the whole aria was ruined (Flagstad was flawless), but the timpanist was over the top.
... This are the waves of brave, furious sea. She doesn´t know if drinking or drawning. Magnificient.
Date of this recording?
Wonderful but her Buenos Aires Isolde (and Liebestod) is better from 1948.
when was record this treasure?
@Johnny1206
word!!!!
i might just remaster this.... like i did with muck Wagner...just great... but i think i can get this performance into real shape
+mikael kenner Please do, and share! (it's amazingly gorgeous as it is)
b
BEAUTIFUL tone, but she sounds do PLACID above the swirling intensity of the orchestral counterpoint. Shouldn't it feel more as though she is about to boil over and be swept away in the current? She had, however, the loveliest voice ever to sing the great wagner soprano roles.
Actually I agree...Nilsson has better top notes but overall Flagstad is the better singer as her register is so golden...but Nilssons temperament seems better suited to this or am I wrong? Perhaps Flagstad has sung beter versions, someons spoke of Buenos Airies, but I cannot find it. That said this is a voice of the kind we will never ever hear again....;-)
***** Флагстад и Нильссон - обе великие!
They most certainly are, small wonder that the opera world loved them so much.
@friulano ME LO CHIEDO ANCH'IO.
Pity that I never heard her live. I do find the top of the voice heavy which leads to the pitch being doubtful
really ???
Manchmal ist es besser, man versteht kein Wort. Die Texte sind zu schmalzig, um sie zu ertragen.
i feel sorry for you
うまいとか下手とか言っている次元ではない二人です。実際、技術的にFlagstadは一流といえるのでしょうか。でも、黄金の声は何にもかえられません。Furtwanglerも聞かせる魔術みたいなものを心得た音楽家です。ペテン師よばわりする人もいますけど....
わたしはこういうペテンなら喜んで引っかかります。
The tympani at around 3.50 is absurdly exaggerated.This is musical miscalculation.
The rest, however, is,of course,. wonderful.
Not sure I'd rate it above the 1952 recording.
man versteht kein Wort - muß trotzdem weinen ---- Text wird einfach überbewertet.....
It's likely heresy to not love Kirsten Flagstad In fact I DO love her a lot, and this is a wonderful performance, but I believe Birgit Nilsson, a contemporary, outshone her.
As for today's superstars singing the role I believe Waltraud Meier stands out from the crowd.
th-cam.com/video/wu02skyFCyI/w-d-xo.html
is it me or doesn't this song have any tune? it's like just a bunch of notes all over the place