The cast is incredible and Solti pretty great too, but the most amazing thing is how great it SOUNDS after all these years. The engineers did a stellar job.
For this 2022 edition we have utilised a completely new set of high-definition 24bit/192kHz transfers of the original two-track stereo master tapes. Almost every tape box is marked “Edited & Passed: JC” where John Culshaw personally initialled each reel as passed for production. These transfers were made as part of Universal Music’s preservation project at the Arvato facility in Gütersloh, Germany. Overseen by Andrew Wedman, formerly of Emil Berliner Studios, the tapes were aligned and played on Studer A820 machines coupled with Weiss analogue to digital converters and a proprietary workstation to record the output. Working with 38 reels of original mastertapes -some up to 65 years old and spanning 7 years of recording-there were inevitably instances where some individual tapes needed edit repairs or suffered oxide shedding. Tapes in poor condition were baked for ten hours at 55°C to restore their integrity. The playback alignment was greatly helped by the fact that the first tape reel in each opera has an announcement from engineer James Brown or, in the case of Die Walküre Culshaw himself, with left/right identifiers and a series of tones to ensure the correct calibration of the tape head. Decca’s 1950s Ampex-designed AME noise reduction circuit -a precursor of the Dolby circuitry to reduce tape hiss -was not deployed such that we could use the very latest noise reduction software at the remastering stage. The result is a set of HD transfers which are like photographic RAW files with little or no processing to create as pure a starting point as possible before remastering. The Decca Ring has always been about the sound. Our endeavour with this new transfer of the original master tapes has been to do the best by Solti, by Culshaw and his chief engineer Gordon Parry, and ultimately by Wagner. “Here is the greatest achievement in gramophone history yet”, wrote Alec Robertson in Gramophone in 1965. Now it is time to deliver Solti’s Ring to the new generation of Wagnerians and introduce this remastered recording in a sumptuous series of definitive editions.
What about this comment by Alexander Van Ingen (executive Decca producer) what is in this 2012 limited edition? "While working on a transfer for a Japanese company in 2009, Decca's technical producer Philip Siney, along with mastering engineer Ben Turner spent much time working with the tapes, but sadly, though the masters had been preserved as best as possible the degradation had been significant, and it was deemed impossible to make superior audio transfers from them" (They had to use 1997 transfers by James Lock for the 2012 remaster.)
@@1984robert That was a 'BS' from Deccaback in 2012 - the engineer for this 2012 remastering was the same for this newest one; back them, they supposedly didn't have the technology available today. anyway, until the 2017 Japanese StereoSound release, all Solti Ring editions were based on the horrible 'CEDAR' 1997 remastering, and even on the Esoteric 2009 SACDs, all the problems of this 1997 remastering appeared, even perhaps were highlighted. The iso files rip from the Stereo Sound edition are severely compressed (It is simply impossible for this new Decca GTD remastering to have more than 10G of resolution. and the Japanese to have only slightly less than 7G -For me, The Stereo Soiund Edition tops all the others
Let me say how much I appreciate being part of this community. In my day job as a non-musician, I'm usually the smartest guy in the room when it comes to discussing musical things. Here, I'm clearly the dumbest, and humbled by the sheer knowledge and experience you bring to these discussions. Dave, we all think you have the best job on the planet.
Charles Mackerras’ Janacek opera recordings were groundbreaking for the time. Certainly an important recorded legacy. Also I’d recommend Artur Rubinstein’s 1960’s Chopin recordings.
For me I'd put a plug in for Zoltan Kocsis' complete Bartok solo piano music (originally on Philips now Decca) as one of the most significant recording projects undertaken. True, some of the pieces (in the Mikrokosmos, for example) may seem inconsequential but they all serve as a lexicon of Bartok's distinctive musical language and Kocsis remarkably shows all of them in the best possible light.
Producer John Culshaw cared about “sound” and he cared about good music, but above all he had good taste, and he wanted people to hear good music via the best musicians i.e. orchestras, conductors and soloists. He made a great team for Decca along with recording engineers Gordon Parry and Jimmy Brown, who were pioneers in themselves. They made some fantastic recordings together and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that ‘The Ring’ is perhaps the holy grail of them all.
I think the Dorati Haydn symphonies , Schnabel beethoven sonatas, karajan 1963 beethoven symphonies, and the budapest Columbia beethoven quartet cycle from the 50s are my choices...along with solti ring cycle.
Super idea for a series, Dave, and great first choice! When I first started collecting back in the mid-70's, the Solti Ring had already attained a near-mythical status that intimidated me as a 'newbie' collector. I've since acquired - and cherish - it, and your perspective is a cogent reminder of why it's still a historic set. Really looking forward to subsequent selections, thanks!
I was getting ready to do yard work when I logged in to spotify to find something to listen to. Probably The Who. I guess because I has listened to a few classical titles, The Ring popped up on my recommendation list. I had never listten to opera before so I thought what the hell. I remember telling my wife "I don't know what this guy is singing about. But he sounds pissed." I bought the smaller verison of that box a few months later. Great video.
A great idea for what will undoubtedly be a fascinating series. I already have some obvious nominations: Dorati's Haydn Symphonies (preceded by Märzendorfer, whose Haydn I have lately been selectively enjoying, but Dorati's project is the one to honor(; Dorati's Haydn Opera series; Mackerras's Janacek Opera series; the Harnoncourt/Leonhardt Bach Cantata cycle (not the first to be completed, but the first on period instruments); Schnabel's Beethoven Sonata cycle (the first and still enjoyed by Beethovenians); the Phillips Complete Mozart Edition (many artists involved, but the first of its kind); Scott Ross's Complete Scarlatti Sonatas. Phew! Enough to get started, no?
Excellent idea here. Read all the comments and some excellent suggestions for developing the theme. But nobody mentioned the Hyperion Schubert edition, astonishing project, so thought I’d put it out there…
@@DavesClassicalGuide yes I see someone else has mentioned. Hyperion at least was particularly committed to these huge projects. Maybe best to consider them in one video? (The Liszt, the various concerto series, the Schubert and other song series, Purcell, Vivaldi sacred stuff, just a lot to consider separately from one label!)
Thanks so much, Dave. Listening to the Solti Rheingold from the local library at the age of 13 changed my life forever. I still define my love of music, opera, Wagner and Solti to that one single event. And yes, even I will have to admit that the Walkure in the Solti cycle lets the side down a little bit. Wesley
One day I was in Tower Records in Cambridge, MA approaching the counter with a couple of items, and saw this HUGE display of the Solti Ring cycle on CD at a very reasonable price that had just been released. I snapped it up without hesitation - without blinking in fact. I knew of its' reputation, and the affordable price made it a no-brainer. To this day it's one of the prized recordings in my collection. I already had the Karajan cycle on LP, but I prefer the Solti overall thanks, honestly, to Culshaw. He got criticized by some for using sound effects in certain places, but that stuff doesn't faze me at all - I think because my musical background was geared more to rock and pop stuff first - classical was a new branch for me. To my ears, it added some theatrical atmosphere and didn't overwhelm the music at all. This is a great idea for a series! I'm looking forward to hearing what your choices are.
They made such a great effort for a dream cast. It is too bad Flagstad passed before she could reprise Fricka in DIE WALKURE. The very idea of Flagstad and Nilsson in the same opera would almost be musical sensory overload!
I nominate Helmut Walcha's complete sets of Bachs organ works for Archiv, the first one in mono, recorded around 1950, the second in stereo in the 1960s. Outstanding and groundbreaking (and complete except for some of the minor chorale preludes and other incidental pieces). Also, a personal favourite of mine is Wilhelm Kempff's 1978 boxed set of Schubert's piano sonatas; he plays not just the finished ones but also all completed movements of the many unfinished ones from Schubert's formative years (most often it's the finale that's missing). This elegant 9-LP box was issued to celebrate both the 150-years anniversary of the death of the composer and Kempff's fifty years or recording for DG; it is both an absorbing journey through Schubert's too short creative life, his experiments and growth to master a genre - and a testament to Kempff's careful, poetic, varied and incisive playing, often at a quiet volume and beautifully captured by the recording engineers. Kempff had a lifetime of knowledge of this body of work, and he had been an early champion of it at a time when mostly only the very latest of them were played in concert. I have two copies of the original edition of this beautiful set .- one bought in Stockholm in January 1979, shortly after it hit the market, and one found at a thrift shop in 2021, still in its plastic wrapping and untouched after foirty years (someone was given it as a present but never actually played it?). And I know the second one is *also* the original edition, not a later repressing - because it includes the two booklets, one about the music and one about Kempff and his career (they are unique to the original release). Yeah, it was amazing to find that second one! (together with Karajan's 1966 recording of Die Walkúre with Régine Crespin, Thomas Stewart and Jon Vickers) 😁 They cost the equal of around 5$ each!😀
Yes! Great idea for a series. And naturally I second your first choice. Other candidates could be Suzuki's survey of Bach's choral music, which is done with so much love and care and recorded so beautifully. And perhaps this one doesn't fit your series, but Hyperion's ongoing The Romantic Piano Concerto series is wonderful and so enjoyable!
Hyperion alone could fill a year’s worth of this new series. Just the Complete Liszt by Leslie Howard and the Complete Schubert Lieder by Graham Johnson are Testaments of western art music, recording, artistry, research, and liner notes. But there’s so much more that label gave us
Great idea, Dave! Let me give a shout-out to Rachmaninov's concertos by himself, to Stravinsky by himself on Columbia and to the Ligeti Edition/Project split between Sony and Teldec. Also to the first Mahler cycles, I don't know how I would be who I am without getting to know and love Kubelik's.
Good choices! I have Rachmaninov's concertos played by the great Ashkenazy, and his symphonies conducted by the same man. :) When I was around twelve years old, I once had the opportunity of watching Ashkenazy playing Beethoven sonatas (including Moonshine and Appassionata), at a distance of around 3-4 meters and with a straight, unimpeded view of the keyboard - I still remember the excitement of watching him in action. :) (the conductor of our local city orchestra was a friend of his, which explains how he could get him booked).
Bought this in a subscription from Time-Life. Opulently packaged with booklets for each box and included "The Ring Resounding" along with Shaw's "The Perfect Wagnerite" in lavish hardcover books with gilt edges and beautiful color plates including the Arthur Rackham illustrations. I now have the same Ring on CD but kept the LPs because of their impressive packaging.
Thanks Dave. I love this idea for a series. I look forward to the talks coming. You’ve mentioned the performance legacy of the Paris Conservatory and it’s connection all the way back to Beethoven. I wonder if you’d consider Schuricht’s Beethoven cycle as one of the great recording projects (I know it’s one of your best cycles). I know nothing of the story and I’d love to hear more about Schuricht and the PC in general. Thanks!
This series sounds awesome! I didn't know they quit issuing "Ring Resounding" with the Solti recordings! It was one of my favorite parts of the LP box set
This premise for a series is exciting, David. I'm looking forward to future installments. You began, today, with a bang. I have several others in mind and shall remain at the edge of my seat wondering and waiting. As for the Ring, I, too, hold this one and the Böhm as my two choices. Hate to say it, but every Ring recorded after these two fails in one way or many ways, including my personal memento, the late 1980's Barenboim/Kupfer video (I attended Bayreuth in 1988, where the unspeakable arises*: the recorded experience of the orchestra is more fulfilling than it was live - we were all disappointed at Barenboim's big lid on the dynamics; other Festival performances/other conductors, Meistersinger, for example, had full-throated orchestral playing). Whichever of those two favorites I reach for on a given day is dependent upon factors that I'm unable to fully define (not an unhappy circumstance). Except... When I plan to focus on Sieglinde's story of her forced marriage with a one-eyed fatherly being crashing the party plunging a sword, it must be the Böhm (which is sad, in a way, as Regine Crespin is marvelous in the Solti, who whips up such fabulous string playing in support; Rysanek, suspect intonation notwithstanding, is the supreme goddess in this role). * I know... You feel discussion of live performance experiences here is [OT]; I just couldn't resist.
Both of those Rings were included as part of the massive Birgit Nilsson boxed set, an item I aspire to add to my collection one day (I first heard her in the Bayreuth/Böhm recordings of Siegfried and Tristan when I was around ten years old - those two highlights albums were my first introduction to both Nilsson and Wagner). :)
I look forward to further episodes for important recording projects. I have studied jazz and have a fair idea of the influential records in that music space, and although I know a lot of classical music and own lots of albums, I don't have as good of an idea of what had been actually influential to the classical music recording industry.
“Originally four sets of LPs, then four sets of CDs…“ Let’s not forget the audio cassettes! It came in a nice box with a separate section for the wonderful and gossipy “Ring Resounding“ book (which Solti autographed for me following a live performance of Rheingold in the 80s). It came with notes, texts, and translations.
This is surely going to be a series that has legs! Ideal entries, I hope, would have a certain amount of commercial risk involved, cover (at least partly) repertoire that is not already extensively available elsewhere, be performed to a very high standard and produced with love by all involved. I'm not into either opera or Wagner, but I understand why the Ring's a worthy starter. People are pushing their own favourites, so I'll just join them: - Another shout out for the Hyperion Schubert Song Edition - More Schubert: the complete music for piano 4-hands and piano duo (Tal & Groethuysen) - Roger Norrington: his best intermissions (on Tinnitus Classics if I'm not mistaken) - Colin Davis's Berlioz - Mozart's String Quartets (Quartetto Italiano) - Bruch complete works for violin and Orchestra (Accardo) - Röntgen: symphonies (Porcelijn) - Das Deutsche Lied - several LP boxes of the German art song through the ages, by Hermann Prey. Never reissued!
I started listening to "serious" opera and classical music just as this project was finished. I went from the Savoy operas which I'd known for years right into Wagner. If I'd been older and done it a decade before I couldn't have done it! The Ring Project also had Deryck Cooke's magnificent 3 lp discussion of the Ring which included a book with his complete text and the musical examples. I love this idea for a series. Philips/Davis Berlioz culminating in Les Troyens. Dorati/Philharmonia Hungaria complete Haydn Symphonies sold at midprice no less with Robbins-Landon's copious notes. The same label and conductor in Haydn's operas; Decca and the Aeolian Quartet complete Haydn quartets. So much of this involves Haydn. Butvthen there's the Telefunken complete Bach cantatas with Harnoncourt and Leonhardt issued with scores. Hyperion with Graham Johnson, complete Schubert lieder and subsequently almost everybody else.
The recording in 24bit 48Hz release is my favorite, not into opera so I just skip to all the overtures and wow the sonics are amazing. I do tend to now and then listen to other Artists such as Cluytens, Klemperer, and Stokowski for individual pieces but as a whole, you cannot go wrong with Solti Ring, what a marvelous achievement!
This will be a great series. If it’s Ever, Dave, consider including in this series selected earlier landmarks - some of which had remarkable sound. And available on CD. I’m thinking for example the Karl Muck Bayreuth electric recordings of ca 1928; Parsifal. This would normally be outside your stated criteria.
This will be a great series! I have this in the Time-Life LP sets and on CD - the budget edition which is fine since I have the libretto from the LP sets.
I hope you're going to do one on the Hyperion Schubert Edition (personally, much as I admire the Fischer-Dieskau series, I feel it's Graham Johnson's project on Hyperion that ultimately deserves to be celebrated as the Great Schubert Lieder Project, for quite a few reasons)
This Ring crossed over to the broader public and sold in unprecedented numbers as a demonstration of the possibilities of home stereo sound. It was ideally timed, and ideally conceived for that, as it acknowledged the medium as something that would be liberated if DIDN'T attempt to recreate the theatrical experience.
There are film reproductions on TH-cam showing the recording of the Ring with Solti that are very interesting both historically and sonically. One of the first stereo recordings.
Dave, I believe this new serie is a really great idea! :-D I guess we will see Bach Cantatas project by Harnoncourt/Leonhardt, the first Haydn complete keyboard sonatas, etc
Great talk, as ever, Dave. I wonder if there's any interest in taking about the recording svengalis themselves: the Culshaws and Legges (and even Karajan - from the POV of him as a recording producer)?
@@HerewardTheW hmmm .. the worst treble singing/screaming comes from Harnoncourt I'm sorry to say. I wish Leonhardt recorded more cantatas because his choir sounded wonderful.
I think it sounds marvellous in every CD incarnation. I have the original 80's release, the 1997 remaster and this 2012 limited box also but I am not going to buy another one. I think differences are minor if ever. Largest difference is that 2012 remaster mastered at higher level than earlier releases so it sounds "bigger". And Philip Siney removed most of the background and stage noises.
I think that Solti's reputation was not just enhanced by the Ring recording, but by his tenure at the time as Music Director at Covent Garden -1961-1971 where he brought stability to a previously unstable company, and is said to have established Covent Garden as a truly international opera house. As for that Ring, I don't find the Rheingold and Walkure as good as Siegfried and Gotterdammerung.
The Karajan Beethoven symphony set issued in the 60’s was the first to be conceived as an integral set. Whatever one thinks of its musical merits it had a huge effect in the industry. It led to the idea that if you did one you might as well do all of them - whether or not a conductor had an affinity for some and not others
I have this goat 'Ring' first on vinyl with the Decca-London label. Issued by Time-Life. They also published DG 1970 Bicentennial Beethoven Edition, along with a crazy good accompanying book. The Time-Life Ring edition also came with a very informative book on Wagner and the Ring's conception. The book is full of production pictures, both of the studio recordings, and the first productions at Bayreuth. Fun facts: they actually used real anvils, along with 16 players, screaming children, as the terrified Nibelung, along with other real (sounds) effects. Notably in Rheingold. I have several other Ring performances on CD. This is still by far my favorite Ring, recorded years before I was born. I've never been a fan of complete old opera recordings, due to the obvious fidelity issues. It is worth noting, back in the day, with this recording and others, companies used to issue mono and stereo versions of the same recording. Especially the Angel and London labels. I'm excited that this is being re-released, in what is being described as a definitive restored version. I can't wait to hear it. Again.
Suffice it to be said the Solti Ring has not, never will be forgotten and clearly not by the folks at Decca who are in the process of issuing, for the first time, the entire ring on SACDs. The comment from Andrevital8920 explains the new SACD version better than I can so read below. For those who do not know: SACDs are generally "hybrids" that play on SACD and CD players alike but for those of you who do not have an SACD player or very good equipment and great speakers buying this new set will not improve you life. That said I do have the first 3 installments and the sound is markedly better. Let's face it this always had great sound but in this version the harsh CD sound is gone and the sound stage seems more open, clear and the word I might use is natural. At their best SACDs are worth it but only with the right equipment.
Would strongly recommend chailly’s complete varése compilation. Big props to him for out-Boulezing Boulez, and some of those world premiere recordings (esp. “Tuning up”) are really thrilling. Also pls bring back the top 10 insider’s lists, miss them so much 😢
@@DavesClassicalGuide your channel has been a true source of comfort and stability over the last many months. Thank you for what u do and for being who u are.
I think that the film Fantasia can arguably be considered a milestone recording of classical music. Disney had great commercial success in creating what is essentially the first music video collage. Also maybe an example of a company making a product too "elite", the way Disney has restricted releases of this over the years.
I wonder if this means Davis's Les Troyens recording might be a candidate for this series or Karajan's 1956 Der Rosenkavalier or certain recordings in RCA's Living Stereo lineup or Gould's Goldberg Variations or Dorati's recordings of Tchaikovsky's ballet scores or Stokowski's Fantasia soundtrack (and the movie as a whole with its wonderful animation). OK, I should stop now.
Always been my Hallmark as the crowning LP accomplishment when you consider the cast, the orchestra ,the conductor, the effort to record sonics and special effects. The one black mark I've never been able to get around is Windgassen. Eek, his voice. In Culshaw's book he says that he was a replacement for the original singer who was fired. Wonder who that was.
I’m really surprised that you didn’t start with the Dorati Haydn. And even more surprised that it wasn’t number two. I assume it will be coming along rather soon.
As I write these lines I am listening to the new GTD Remastering...! Amazing - apart from the "Digital"-like spaciousness, Solti unfriendliness to woodwinds seems to have vanished!
Your talks are so stimulating. Many thanks. Could you explain the concept of “licensing,” since you talk about it frequently. The current tipsy-turvy-dom of which label owns what is impossible to follow. It seems like licensing is a common bugaboo? Is it?
My idea would be to analyze RCA's various attempts at recording Toscanini and the NY Philharmonic, leading to the successful series made in April 1936.
I reckon, the biggest question for us bloody beginners is if there are differences in sound quality from release to every other incarnation of the recording. Like, do I have to get rid of my EMI Maria Callas box, for the current remastered box?
You don't have to get rid of the old boxes, but some remastered versions do improve the sound, including the newest (2022) release of the Solti Ring cycle.
. . . and now we have a new double reissue of the Ring on LPs and SACDs as separate entities. Do I notice a resurgence in SACD? Seems like the majors and giving up on Blu-ray audio. At any rate how exciting the period was for record collectors. I remember buying Götterdämmerung at Tower Records in San Francisco in their classical room. Were they European pressings? I wonder if the current trend in re-issuing material at 24/96 and even SACD will usher in another fantastic period or is this wishing for the right thing for the wrong reasons? I’m glad this series will continue on Classics Today.
Wagner is my favorite composer and "Der Ring des Nibelungen" is him at the height of his game. I grew up with the Solti "Ring," and while it's a cultural tragedy in one respect that the "Ring" wasn't (and couldn't have been) recorded between the two world wars when we could have had Melchior as Siegmund and Siegfried, Flagstad as Brünnhilde, Lehmann as Sieglinde and Schorr as Wotan, it's great that we have these incredible performances that combine expert musicianship and state-of-the-art (for the time) sound. My one quarrel was your assertion that Solti was the first artist built into a star career by a record company; does the name "Caruso" mean anything to you? And if you're looking for a second topic for "The Most Important Recording Projects Ever," I'd suggest Artur Schnabel's complete Beethoven piano sonatas.
Bruno Walter's 1951 recording of Das Lied von der Erde with Kathleen Ferrier (who knew at the time that she was gravely ill and not likely to live more than a year or two) and the Vienna Philharmonic is one of my nominees for the series - a bonafide reference recording, a powerful joint artistic statement and a take-off moment for the postwar Mahler revival.
The newest one (just released) is better than its predecessors. The producers reportedly fixed the deteriorating master tapes and used them as the bases for this remaster.
‚King Records‘ of Tokyio had 1=1 copies from the original Master tapes, and the Japanese Firm „Stereo Sound‘ released its Single -Layer SACD Version using this Material - Contrary to the Western approach, this vesion has no compression/editing/filtering whatsoever; more so, these master tapes were in almost pristine condition - Grab it!
@@andrevital8920 I had a rip of Rheingold from this set. It was better than any of the Decca reissues at that time, but the newest remaster is better than King's.
The Only problem I have with the Solti and Karajan Ring Cycle recordings is that Decca and DGG alway had them issued at full price. It is only recently that Decca decided to issue the downloads of their "Ring" at reasonable prices. I wonder how David feels about the newest remastering of the Solti Ring?
@@DavesClassicalGuide Whoa!! That's quite an investment there, I thought you got the samples, I'm very surprised that you don't! There's a dancer in my building that has a page here, and he gets clothes from designers from all over the world, more than he can handle and I thought that legitimate professionals as well as so-called influencers got all the stuff for free. Sorry, if I offended you, I love and respect what you do!
I will always regret not buying the original Decca complete ring in its original box. The one reservation I have is the Walkure, which I personally feel is the weakest part of this cycle.
Would also consider Alexander Sveshnikov's recording of Rachmaninov's "All-Night Vigil" (Vespers) with the USSR State Russian Choir. The first and still most important recording of this astounding work, and the story of its creation is equally amazing.
John Culshaw explains why in his brilliant book Ring Resounding He comes across as such a thoughtful deeply sincere person With a Dream ! The Svengali of this fantastic recording
As Leonard Bernstein once probably said, "I hate Wagner, but I hate him on my knees." For a long time, I avoided the Ring like the plague because of my personal feelings toward Wagner the man. But recently, I started to think that avoiding the Solti Ring would be a huge discredit to every one who worked hard to make those recordings possible. So, I got it, plus I supplemented it with John Culshaw's book and the Golden Ring film as well.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Don't get me wrong. I love the music. It's just that, recently, I had been debating in my head whether it's okay to hate the man and still love his art. And the Solti Ring has made me decide the answer: Yes.
Rather than another largely pointless remastering of Solti (not an improvement), it's a shame the engineers last year didn't instead let loose the AI sonic wizards on the Keilberth stereo recording Decca made just before.
The cast is incredible and Solti pretty great too, but the most amazing thing is how great it SOUNDS after all these years. The engineers did a stellar job.
At least two of them would go into any reasonable top ten complete opera recordings of all time. Götterdämmerung certainly.
For this 2022 edition we have utilised a completely new set of high-definition 24bit/192kHz transfers of the original two-track stereo master tapes. Almost every tape box is marked “Edited & Passed: JC” where John Culshaw personally initialled each reel as passed for production. These transfers were made as part of Universal Music’s preservation project at the Arvato facility in Gütersloh, Germany. Overseen by Andrew Wedman, formerly of Emil Berliner Studios, the tapes were aligned and played on Studer A820 machines coupled with Weiss analogue to digital converters and a proprietary workstation to record the output.
Working with 38 reels of original mastertapes -some up to 65 years old and spanning 7 years of recording-there were inevitably instances where some individual tapes needed edit repairs or suffered oxide shedding. Tapes in poor condition were baked for ten hours at 55°C to restore their integrity. The playback alignment was greatly helped by the fact that the first tape reel in each opera has an announcement from engineer James Brown or, in the case of Die Walküre Culshaw himself, with left/right identifiers and a series of tones to ensure the correct calibration of the tape head. Decca’s 1950s Ampex-designed AME noise reduction circuit -a precursor of the Dolby circuitry to reduce tape hiss -was not deployed such that we could use the very latest noise reduction software at the remastering stage.
The result is a set of HD transfers which are like photographic RAW files with little or no processing to create as pure a starting point as possible before remastering.
The Decca Ring has always been about the sound. Our endeavour with this new transfer of the original master tapes has been to do the best by Solti, by Culshaw and his chief engineer Gordon Parry, and ultimately by Wagner. “Here is the greatest achievement in gramophone history yet”, wrote Alec Robertson in Gramophone in 1965.
Now it is time to deliver Solti’s Ring to the new generation of Wagnerians and introduce this remastered recording in a sumptuous series of definitive editions.
😊
Weird, I much prefer the 24-bit 48 Hz transfer.
What about this comment by Alexander Van Ingen (executive Decca producer) what is in this 2012 limited edition?
"While working on a transfer for a Japanese company in 2009, Decca's technical producer Philip Siney, along with mastering engineer Ben Turner spent much time working with the tapes, but sadly, though the masters had been preserved as best as possible the degradation had been significant, and it was deemed impossible to make superior audio transfers from them" (They had to use 1997 transfers by James Lock for the 2012 remaster.)
@@1984robert That was a 'BS' from Deccaback in 2012 - the engineer for this 2012 remastering was the same for this newest one; back them, they supposedly didn't have the technology available today. anyway, until the 2017 Japanese StereoSound release, all Solti Ring editions were based on the horrible 'CEDAR' 1997 remastering, and even on the Esoteric 2009 SACDs, all the problems of this 1997 remastering appeared, even perhaps were highlighted.
The iso files rip from the Stereo Sound edition are severely compressed (It is simply impossible for this new Decca GTD remastering to have more than 10G of resolution. and the Japanese to have only slightly less than 7G -For me, The Stereo Soiund Edition tops all the others
I have all the past CD versions of the Solti Ring but IMHO the 2022 sacd reissue is the best amongst all of them. A must-buy for the Ring fans!
Dorati Haydn complete symphonies and operas......BOTH milestones.
Indeed!
I have a feeling the former will come up in the series.
Let me say how much I appreciate being part of this community. In my day job as a non-musician, I'm usually the smartest guy in the room when it comes to discussing musical things. Here, I'm clearly the dumbest, and humbled by the sheer knowledge and experience you bring to these discussions. Dave, we all think you have the best job on the planet.
We're happy to have you, and you're not "dumb!" Perhaps less experienced, and that's no crime.
Thank you very much for making this series, Mr Hurwitz. I'm looking forward enormously to every single episode.😍👏👍🏅🎉
Charles Mackerras’ Janacek opera recordings were groundbreaking for the time. Certainly an important recorded legacy. Also I’d recommend Artur Rubinstein’s 1960’s Chopin recordings.
For me I'd put a plug in for Zoltan Kocsis' complete Bartok solo piano music (originally on Philips now Decca) as one of the most significant recording projects undertaken. True, some of the pieces (in the Mikrokosmos, for example) may seem inconsequential but they all serve as a lexicon of Bartok's distinctive musical language and Kocsis remarkably shows all of them in the best possible light.
Producer John Culshaw cared about “sound” and he cared about good music, but above all he had good taste, and he wanted people to hear good music via the best musicians i.e. orchestras, conductors and soloists. He made a great team for Decca along with recording engineers Gordon Parry and Jimmy Brown, who were pioneers in themselves. They made some fantastic recordings together and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that ‘The Ring’ is perhaps the holy grail of them all.
Even though the Holy Grail appears elsewhere in Wagner's output...but your point is absolutely spot-on; Culshaw was an amazing guy. LR
Add to this.... Solti is a great choral conductor.
The original LP package was the best Christmas present I ever received.
Great start!
Columbia's Bernstein-Mahler cycle recorded with the NY Philharmonic in the 1960s is another example.
I think the Dorati Haydn symphonies , Schnabel beethoven sonatas, karajan 1963 beethoven symphonies, and the budapest Columbia beethoven quartet cycle from the 50s are my choices...along with solti ring cycle.
This was my Christmas gift from my paternal grandmother. Thank you Babchi. My pick is the Sony Bernstein Mahler Cycle.
Super idea for a series, Dave, and great first choice! When I first started collecting back in the mid-70's, the Solti Ring had already attained a near-mythical status that intimidated me as a 'newbie' collector. I've since acquired - and cherish - it, and your perspective is a cogent reminder of why it's still a historic set. Really looking forward to subsequent selections, thanks!
I was getting ready to do yard work when I logged in to spotify to find something to listen to. Probably The Who. I guess because I has listened to a few classical titles, The Ring popped up on my recommendation list. I had never listten to opera before so I thought what the hell. I remember telling my wife "I don't know what this guy is singing about. But he sounds pissed." I bought the smaller verison of that box a few months later. Great video.
A great idea for what will undoubtedly be a fascinating series. I already have some obvious nominations: Dorati's Haydn Symphonies (preceded by Märzendorfer, whose Haydn I have lately been selectively enjoying, but Dorati's project is the one to honor(; Dorati's Haydn Opera series; Mackerras's Janacek Opera series; the Harnoncourt/Leonhardt Bach Cantata cycle (not the first to be completed, but the first on period instruments); Schnabel's Beethoven Sonata cycle (the first and still enjoyed by Beethovenians); the Phillips Complete Mozart Edition (many artists involved, but the first of its kind); Scott Ross's Complete Scarlatti Sonatas. Phew! Enough to get started, no?
Excellent idea here. Read all the comments and some excellent suggestions for developing the theme. But nobody mentioned the Hyperion Schubert edition, astonishing project, so thought I’d put it out there…
Yes, one of my favorites collections, a mayor project to be looked into, bought them singly and the boxed set. Thanks for its mention!
Yes, it was indeed mentioned.
@@DavesClassicalGuide yes I see someone else has mentioned. Hyperion at least was particularly committed to these huge projects. Maybe best to consider them in one video? (The Liszt, the various concerto series, the Schubert and other song series, Purcell, Vivaldi sacred stuff, just a lot to consider separately from one label!)
Thanks so much, Dave. Listening to the Solti Rheingold from the local library at the age of 13 changed my life forever. I still define my love of music, opera, Wagner and Solti to that one single event. And yes, even I will have to admit that the Walkure in the Solti cycle lets the side down a little bit. Wesley
Excellent new series! Great first choice, no question.
One day I was in Tower Records in Cambridge, MA approaching the counter with a couple of items, and saw this HUGE display of the Solti Ring cycle on CD at a very reasonable price that had just been released. I snapped it up without hesitation - without blinking in fact. I knew of its' reputation, and the affordable price made it a no-brainer. To this day it's one of the prized recordings in my collection. I already had the Karajan cycle on LP, but I prefer the Solti overall thanks, honestly, to Culshaw. He got criticized by some for using sound effects in certain places, but that stuff doesn't faze me at all - I think because my musical background was geared more to rock and pop stuff first - classical was a new branch for me. To my ears, it added some theatrical atmosphere and didn't overwhelm the music at all. This is a great idea for a series! I'm looking forward to hearing what your choices are.
Genius series idea, thank you.
They made such a great effort for a dream cast. It is too bad Flagstad passed before she could reprise Fricka in DIE WALKURE. The very idea of Flagstad and Nilsson in the same opera would almost be musical sensory overload!
I had both the Solti and Karajan Rings on LP. Those were the days!!!
I nominate Helmut Walcha's complete sets of Bachs organ works for Archiv, the first one in mono, recorded around 1950, the second in stereo in the 1960s. Outstanding and groundbreaking (and complete except for some of the minor chorale preludes and other incidental pieces).
Also, a personal favourite of mine is Wilhelm Kempff's 1978 boxed set of Schubert's piano sonatas; he plays not just the finished ones but also all completed movements of the many unfinished ones from Schubert's formative years (most often it's the finale that's missing). This elegant 9-LP box was issued to celebrate both the 150-years anniversary of the death of the composer and Kempff's fifty years or recording for DG; it is both an absorbing journey through Schubert's too short creative life, his experiments and growth to master a genre - and a testament to Kempff's careful, poetic, varied and incisive playing, often at a quiet volume and beautifully captured by the recording engineers. Kempff had a lifetime of knowledge of this body of work, and he had been an early champion of it at a time when mostly only the very latest of them were played in concert.
I have two copies of the original edition of this beautiful set .- one bought in Stockholm in January 1979, shortly after it hit the market, and one found at a thrift shop in 2021, still in its plastic wrapping and untouched after foirty years (someone was given it as a present but never actually played it?). And I know the second one is *also* the original edition, not a later repressing - because it includes the two booklets, one about the music and one about Kempff and his career (they are unique to the original release).
Yeah, it was amazing to find that second one! (together with Karajan's 1966 recording of Die Walkúre with Régine Crespin, Thomas Stewart and Jon Vickers) 😁 They cost the equal of around 5$ each!😀
Yes! Great idea for a series. And naturally I second your first choice. Other candidates could be Suzuki's survey of Bach's choral music, which is done with so much love and care and recorded so beautifully. And perhaps this one doesn't fit your series, but Hyperion's ongoing The Romantic Piano Concerto series is wonderful and so enjoyable!
Hyperion alone could fill a year’s worth of this new series. Just the Complete Liszt by Leslie Howard and the Complete Schubert Lieder by Graham Johnson are Testaments of western art music, recording, artistry, research, and liner notes. But there’s so much more that label gave us
@@pauldavidartistclub6723 Seconded! Liszt/Howard was one I thought of too.
Never felt anything from Suzuki's Bach.
“Re-Deluxified”! I L❤VE IT! You’re absolutely right- this truly IS a Landmark set! Should be in any Classical lover’s collection.
So.... I'm excited as hell about this new video series...
its my fave too, the sound and performances are spot on
Excellent concept for a new series. I have no suggestions for it...just lead on! LR
Great idea, Dave! Let me give a shout-out to Rachmaninov's concertos by himself, to Stravinsky by himself on Columbia and to the Ligeti Edition/Project split between Sony and Teldec. Also to the first Mahler cycles, I don't know how I would be who I am without getting to know and love Kubelik's.
Good choices! I have Rachmaninov's concertos played by the great Ashkenazy, and his symphonies conducted by the same man. :) When I was around twelve years old, I once had the opportunity of watching Ashkenazy playing Beethoven sonatas (including Moonshine and Appassionata), at a distance of around 3-4 meters and with a straight, unimpeded view of the keyboard - I still remember the excitement of watching him in action. :) (the conductor of our local city orchestra was a friend of his, which explains how he could get him booked).
Bought this in a subscription from Time-Life. Opulently packaged with booklets for each box and included "The Ring Resounding" along with Shaw's "The Perfect Wagnerite" in lavish hardcover books with gilt edges and beautiful color plates including the Arthur Rackham illustrations. I now have the same Ring on CD but kept the LPs because of their impressive packaging.
Thanks Dave. I love this idea for a series. I look forward to the talks coming. You’ve mentioned the performance legacy of the Paris Conservatory and it’s connection all the way back to Beethoven. I wonder if you’d consider Schuricht’s Beethoven cycle as one of the great recording projects (I know it’s one of your best cycles). I know nothing of the story and I’d love to hear more about Schuricht and the PC in general. Thanks!
This series sounds awesome! I didn't know they quit issuing "Ring Resounding" with the Solti recordings! It was one of my favorite parts of the LP box set
Fine stuff!! I must my activate my time machine and go sit it on the recordings live !!
This premise for a series is exciting, David. I'm looking forward to future installments. You began, today, with a bang. I have several others in mind and shall remain at the edge of my seat wondering and waiting.
As for the Ring, I, too, hold this one and the Böhm as my two choices. Hate to say it, but every Ring recorded after these two fails in one way or many ways, including my personal memento, the late 1980's Barenboim/Kupfer video (I attended Bayreuth in 1988, where the unspeakable arises*: the recorded experience of the orchestra is more fulfilling than it was live - we were all disappointed at Barenboim's big lid on the dynamics; other Festival performances/other conductors, Meistersinger, for example, had full-throated orchestral playing).
Whichever of those two favorites I reach for on a given day is dependent upon factors that I'm unable to fully define (not an unhappy circumstance). Except... When I plan to focus on Sieglinde's story of her forced marriage with a one-eyed fatherly being crashing the party plunging a sword, it must be the Böhm (which is sad, in a way, as Regine Crespin is marvelous in the Solti, who whips up such fabulous string playing in support; Rysanek, suspect intonation notwithstanding, is the supreme goddess in this role).
* I know... You feel discussion of live performance experiences here is [OT]; I just couldn't resist.
Both of those Rings were included as part of the massive Birgit Nilsson boxed set, an item I aspire to add to my collection one day (I first heard her in the Bayreuth/Böhm recordings of Siegfried and Tristan when I was around ten years old - those two highlights albums were my first introduction to both Nilsson and Wagner). :)
I look forward to further episodes for important recording projects. I have studied jazz and have a fair idea of the influential records in that music space, and although I know a lot of classical music and own lots of albums, I don't have as good of an idea of what had been actually influential to the classical music recording industry.
“Originally four sets of LPs, then four sets of CDs…“
Let’s not forget the audio cassettes! It came in a nice box with a separate section for the wonderful and gossipy “Ring Resounding“ book (which Solti autographed for me following a live performance of Rheingold in the 80s). It came with notes, texts, and translations.
This is surely going to be a series that has legs!
Ideal entries, I hope, would have a certain amount of commercial risk involved, cover (at least partly) repertoire that is not already extensively available elsewhere, be performed to a very high standard and produced with love by all involved.
I'm not into either opera or Wagner, but I understand why the Ring's a worthy starter. People are pushing their own favourites, so I'll just join them:
- Another shout out for the Hyperion Schubert Song Edition
- More Schubert: the complete music for piano 4-hands and piano duo (Tal & Groethuysen)
- Roger Norrington: his best intermissions (on Tinnitus Classics if I'm not mistaken)
- Colin Davis's Berlioz
- Mozart's String Quartets (Quartetto Italiano)
- Bruch complete works for violin and Orchestra (Accardo)
- Röntgen: symphonies (Porcelijn)
- Das Deutsche Lied - several LP boxes of the German art song through the ages, by Hermann Prey. Never reissued!
Tinnitus Classics 😂
I started listening to "serious" opera and classical music just as this project was finished. I went from the Savoy operas which I'd known for years right into Wagner. If I'd been older and done it a decade before I couldn't have done it!
The Ring Project also had Deryck Cooke's magnificent 3 lp discussion of the Ring which included a book with his complete text and the musical examples.
I love this idea for a series. Philips/Davis Berlioz culminating in Les Troyens. Dorati/Philharmonia Hungaria complete Haydn Symphonies sold at midprice no less with Robbins-Landon's copious notes. The same label and conductor in Haydn's operas; Decca and the Aeolian Quartet complete Haydn quartets. So much of this involves Haydn. Butvthen there's the Telefunken complete Bach cantatas with Harnoncourt and Leonhardt issued with scores. Hyperion with Graham Johnson, complete Schubert lieder and subsequently almost everybody else.
The recording in 24bit 48Hz release is my favorite, not into opera so I just skip to all the overtures and wow the sonics are amazing. I do tend to now and then listen to other Artists such as Cluytens, Klemperer, and Stokowski for individual pieces but as a whole, you cannot go wrong with Solti Ring, what a marvelous achievement!
Great idea for a series . In addition to some of those mentioned I’d go for Scarlatti Complete Somatas / Scott Ross.
If only Hotter's Wotan for Knappertsbusch could have been transported forward in time for Solti.
This will be a great series. If it’s Ever, Dave, consider including in this series selected earlier landmarks - some of which had remarkable sound. And available on CD. I’m thinking for example the Karl Muck Bayreuth electric recordings of ca 1928; Parsifal. This would normally be outside your stated criteria.
This will be a great series! I have this in the Time-Life LP sets and on CD - the budget edition which is fine since I have the libretto from the LP sets.
I hope you're going to do one on the Hyperion Schubert Edition (personally, much as I admire the Fischer-Dieskau series, I feel it's Graham Johnson's project on Hyperion that ultimately deserves to be celebrated as the Great Schubert Lieder Project, for quite a few reasons)
This Ring crossed over to the broader public and sold in unprecedented numbers as a demonstration of the possibilities of home stereo sound. It was ideally timed, and ideally conceived for that, as it acknowledged the medium as something that would be liberated if DIDN'T attempt to recreate the theatrical experience.
There are film reproductions on TH-cam showing the recording of the Ring with Solti that are very interesting both historically and sonically. One of the first stereo recordings.
Dave, I believe this new serie is a really great idea! :-D I guess we will see Bach Cantatas project by Harnoncourt/Leonhardt, the first Haydn complete keyboard sonatas, etc
Yes, etc!
Mackerras' Janacek for me. I agree with your point regarding 'artists' in general.
We wouldn't recognize you if you weren't a teensy bit snarky now and then. Great idea for a series.
Great talk, as ever, Dave. I wonder if there's any interest in taking about the recording svengalis themselves: the Culshaws and Legges (and even Karajan - from the POV of him as a recording producer)?
Esa grabación aparte de que es muy buena. Muy buena.
Completamenta de acuerdo, una de las joyas de la musica classica grabada!!
Hanoncourt etc complete Bach cantatas...
Now that was a milestone if ever there was one! Harnoncourt and Leonhardt complemented one another perfectly
@@HerewardTheW hmmm .. the worst treble singing/screaming comes from Harnoncourt I'm sorry to say. I wish Leonhardt recorded more cantatas because his choir sounded wonderful.
I think it sounds marvellous in every CD incarnation. I have the original 80's release, the 1997 remaster and this 2012 limited box also but I am not going to buy another one. I think differences are minor if ever. Largest difference is that 2012 remaster mastered at higher level than earlier releases so it sounds "bigger". And Philip Siney removed most of the background and stage noises.
I think that Solti's reputation was not just enhanced by the Ring recording, but by his tenure at the time as Music Director at Covent Garden -1961-1971 where he brought stability to a previously unstable company, and is said to have established Covent Garden as a truly international opera house. As for that Ring, I don't find the Rheingold and Walkure as good as Siegfried and Gotterdammerung.
The Karajan Beethoven symphony set issued in the 60’s was the first to be conceived as an integral set. Whatever one thinks of its musical merits it had a huge effect in the industry. It led to the idea that if you did one you might as well do all of them - whether or not a conductor had an affinity for some and not others
Krips' London Symphony cycle on Everest deserves a nod. The two cycles competed at the same time, although it's clear who won.
That doesn't convince me of its musical importance. There was tons of great Beethoven before Karajan.
We shall always be grateful to Decca, also for its Entartete Musik series, of music banned and suppressed by the Third Reich.
Except that they've banned it themselves.
@@DavesClassicalGuide That's truly terrible! I was hoping for a box-set or two from it!
Congrats Dave on 26k subscribers----I thank you for all your recommendations but my bank account wont.!! Best wishes Charles
Thanks a million!
I have this goat 'Ring' first on vinyl with the Decca-London label. Issued by Time-Life. They also published DG 1970 Bicentennial Beethoven Edition, along with a crazy good accompanying book. The Time-Life Ring edition also came with a very informative book on Wagner and the Ring's conception. The book is full of production pictures, both of the studio recordings, and the first productions at Bayreuth. Fun facts: they actually used real anvils, along with 16 players, screaming children, as the terrified Nibelung, along with other real (sounds) effects. Notably in Rheingold. I have several other Ring performances on CD. This is still by far my favorite Ring, recorded years before I was born. I've never been a fan of complete old opera recordings, due to the obvious fidelity issues. It is worth noting, back in the day, with this recording and others, companies used to issue mono and stereo versions of the same recording. Especially the Angel and London labels. I'm excited that this is being re-released, in what is being described as a definitive restored version. I can't wait to hear it. Again.
Until the next definitive restored edition comes out...
Suffice it to be said the Solti Ring has not, never will be forgotten and clearly not by the folks at Decca who are in the process of issuing, for the first time, the entire ring on SACDs. The comment from Andrevital8920 explains the new SACD version better than I can so read below.
For those who do not know: SACDs are generally "hybrids" that play on SACD and CD players alike but for those of you who do not have an SACD player or very good equipment and great speakers buying this new set will not improve you life. That said I do have the first 3 installments and the sound is markedly better. Let's face it this always had great sound but in this version the harsh CD sound is gone and the sound stage seems more open, clear and the word I might use is natural.
At their best SACDs are worth it but only with the right equipment.
I have found that the Red-Book layer of an SACD often benefits from the remastering and is much better than previous CDs .
Would strongly recommend chailly’s complete varése compilation. Big props to him for out-Boulezing Boulez, and some of those world premiere recordings (esp. “Tuning up”) are really thrilling. Also pls bring back the top 10 insider’s lists, miss them so much 😢
Top 10s are coming.
@@DavesClassicalGuide your channel has been a true source of comfort and stability over the last many months. Thank you for what u do and for being who u are.
I think that the film Fantasia can arguably be considered a milestone recording of classical music. Disney had great commercial success in creating what is essentially the first music video collage. Also maybe an example of a company making a product too "elite", the way Disney has restricted releases of this over the years.
I wonder if this means Davis's Les Troyens recording might be a candidate for this series or Karajan's 1956 Der Rosenkavalier or certain recordings in RCA's Living Stereo lineup or Gould's Goldberg Variations or Dorati's recordings of Tchaikovsky's ballet scores or Stokowski's Fantasia soundtrack (and the movie as a whole with its wonderful animation). OK, I should stop now.
Always been my Hallmark as the crowning LP accomplishment when you consider the cast, the orchestra ,the conductor, the effort to record sonics and special effects. The one black mark I've never been able to get around is Windgassen. Eek, his voice. In Culshaw's book he says that he was a replacement for the original singer who was fired. Wonder who that was.
Ernst Kozub
I’m really surprised that you didn’t start with the Dorati Haydn. And even more surprised that it wasn’t number two. I assume it will be coming along rather soon.
The film of the rehearsals is very interesting - Solti being even more "mannic" than on the concert hall stage.
Hyperion's Graham Johnson complete Schubert songs with sixty soloists and Naive's Vivaldi opera edition are more recent examples.
Enjoyable to hear about this Ring! I hope you hit the 63 Karajan /BPO Beethoven cycle in this series.
Sorry, not a chance of that one. It was hardly a historically important undertaking.
As I write these lines I am listening to the new GTD Remastering...! Amazing - apart from the "Digital"-like spaciousness, Solti unfriendliness to woodwinds seems to have vanished!
Your talks are so stimulating. Many thanks. Could you explain the concept of “licensing,” since you talk about it frequently. The current tipsy-turvy-dom of which label owns what is impossible to follow. It seems like licensing is a common bugaboo? Is it?
Schnabel Beethoven sonatas....
I second your choice with a fine schnapps!
I would add Debussy's piano works with Walter Gieseking along with an excellent cognac.
My idea would be to analyze RCA's various attempts at recording Toscanini and the NY Philharmonic, leading to the successful series made in April 1936.
I reckon, the biggest question for us bloody beginners is if there are differences in sound quality from release to every other incarnation of the recording. Like, do I have to get rid of my EMI Maria Callas box, for the current remastered box?
You don't have to get rid of the old boxes, but some remastered versions do improve the sound, including the newest (2022) release of the Solti Ring cycle.
. . . and now we have a new double reissue of the Ring on LPs and SACDs as separate entities. Do I notice a resurgence in SACD? Seems like the majors and giving up on Blu-ray audio. At any rate how exciting the period was for record collectors. I remember buying Götterdämmerung at Tower Records in San Francisco in their classical room. Were they European pressings? I wonder if the current trend in re-issuing material at 24/96 and even SACD will usher in another fantastic period or is this wishing for the right thing for the wrong reasons? I’m glad this series will continue on Classics Today.
Who did Szell want for the project???? I can't imagine a better cast.
Wagner is my favorite composer and "Der Ring des Nibelungen" is him at the height of his game. I grew up with the Solti "Ring," and while it's a cultural tragedy in one respect that the "Ring" wasn't (and couldn't have been) recorded between the two world wars when we could have had Melchior as Siegmund and Siegfried, Flagstad as Brünnhilde, Lehmann as Sieglinde and Schorr as Wotan, it's great that we have these incredible performances that combine expert musicianship and state-of-the-art (for the time) sound. My one quarrel was your assertion that Solti was the first artist built into a star career by a record company; does the name "Caruso" mean anything to you? And if you're looking for a second topic for "The Most Important Recording Projects Ever," I'd suggest Artur Schnabel's complete Beethoven piano sonatas.
Caruso's career was not made by a record company, but it sure didn't hurt.
Those Society projects of the 1930s were immensely important.
Bruno Walter's 1951 recording of Das Lied von der Erde with Kathleen Ferrier (who knew at the time that she was gravely ill and not likely to live more than a year or two) and the Vienna Philharmonic is one of my nominees for the series - a bonafide reference recording, a powerful joint artistic statement and a take-off moment for the postwar Mahler revival.
@@louise_rose None of the above. An overrated and underwhelming performance with two over-the-hill singers captured in scruffy sound.
With so many editions of the Solti Ring available, which re-mastering sounds the best?
The newest one (just released) is better than its predecessors. The producers reportedly fixed the deteriorating master tapes and used them as the bases for this remaster.
‚King Records‘ of Tokyio had 1=1 copies from the original Master tapes, and the Japanese Firm „Stereo Sound‘ released its Single -Layer SACD Version using this Material - Contrary to the Western approach, this vesion has no compression/editing/filtering whatsoever; more so, these master tapes were in almost pristine condition - Grab it!
@@andrevital8920 I had a rip of Rheingold from this set. It was better than any of the Decca reissues at that time, but the newest remaster is better than King's.
Yes the latest remaster of the Solti Ring is absolutely the best. There is a sampler cd available
The Only problem I have with the Solti and Karajan Ring Cycle recordings is that Decca and DGG alway had them issued at full price. It is only recently that Decca decided to issue the downloads of their "Ring" at reasonable prices. I wonder how David feels about the newest remastering of the Solti Ring?
I think the prices were always "reasonable." What would it have cost you to see the performances live in Vienna?
That's so easy for you to say, since, you probably get them all for free!!😅
@@hectormanuel9793 In fact, I don't. I buy them just like you do.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Whoa!! That's quite an investment there, I thought you got the samples, I'm very surprised that you don't! There's a dancer in my building that has a page here, and he gets clothes from designers from all over the world, more than he can handle and I thought that legitimate professionals as well as so-called influencers got all the stuff for free. Sorry, if I offended you, I love and respect what you do!
I will always regret not buying the original Decca complete ring in its original box. The one reservation I have is the Walkure, which I personally feel is the weakest part of this cycle.
Would also consider Alexander Sveshnikov's recording of Rachmaninov's "All-Night Vigil" (Vespers) with the USSR State Russian Choir. The first and still most important recording of this astounding work, and the story of its creation is equally amazing.
A wonderful disc, for sure.
A peaty that Decca souldn't take Hans Knappertsbush for that project.
John Culshaw explains why in his brilliant book
Ring Resounding
He comes across as such a thoughtful deeply sincere person
With a Dream !
The Svengali of this fantastic recording
Finster??? As in Chucky from Rugrats??😂❤
As in the baby-faced bank robber from Bugs Bunny.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Oh!
Angela Hewitt’s Bach Keyboard works and Peter Hurford’s Bach Organ works
+ Plus + Plus + 5 Five *'s 😎
As Leonard Bernstein once probably said, "I hate Wagner, but I hate him on my knees." For a long time, I avoided the Ring like the plague because of my personal feelings toward Wagner the man. But recently, I started to think that avoiding the Solti Ring would be a huge discredit to every one who worked hard to make those recordings possible. So, I got it, plus I supplemented it with John Culshaw's book and the Golden Ring film as well.
I only care about the music.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Don't get me wrong. I love the music. It's just that, recently, I had been debating in my head whether it's okay to hate the man and still love his art. And the Solti Ring has made me decide the answer: Yes.
Rather than another largely pointless remastering of Solti (not an improvement), it's a shame the engineers last year didn't instead let loose the AI sonic wizards on the Keilberth stereo recording Decca made just before.