Friday, March 29, 2013

Good Friday Listening

Parsifal excerpts, of course.

 Act I Transformation music, Kna, Bayreuth 1964:

 

Toscanini, Prelude & Good Friday music (uh...yeah, it's a little stiff compared to Kna's miraculous flow):


Furtwangler, Good Friday Music:


4 comments:

Patrick J. Vaz said...

Actually, I was expecting the St Matthew Passion.

Lisa Hirsch said...

I am pleased to have surprised you.

Joe Barron said...

But the sound isn't any good. And if the sound is good, the singers are bad, and if the singers are good, the orchestra is less than perfect, and it the orchestra is accetable, the conducting isn't all it should be ....

Lisa Hirsch said...

Joe, I published this comment, but I will not publish further comments from you along those lines.

Here's my final word on the subject. I started <a href="http://irontongue.blogspot.com/2011/06/ring-recordings-part-i.html'>my Ring recordings discussion</a> by saying "Herein I get chatty about the Ring recordings I know, because there are tradeoffs of one kind or another with most sets. Surprise - none are perfect, and if you're only going to buy one or two of these sets, you need to figure out what is important to you."

I meant every word of that; I have no idea why, given the quotation above, you thought I would recommend the one Ring that everyone should buy. There is no such recording.

The two best compromises are the expensive 1955 Keilberth and the cheap Janowski. Both stereo, both in great sound with authoritative playing. The singing is better on the Keilberth. And that's all, folks.