The Best Of Wagner

Richard [Classical] Wagner (Composer), Eugene Ormandy (Conductor), Robert Shaw (Conductor), Philadelphia Orchestra (Orchestra), RCA Victor Orchestra (Orchestra), RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Philadelphia Orchestra, RCA Victor Orchestra, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Eugene Ormandy, Robert Shaw
• Composer: Richard [Classical] Wagner
• Audio CD (June 6, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003F4J
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,084 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, opera, WWV 96: Prelude

2. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b: Ride of the Valkyries

3. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Bridal Chorus

4. Siegfried, opera, WWV 86c: Forest Murmurs

5. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey

6. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b: Magic Fire Music

7. Tristan und Isolde, opera, WWV 90: Liebestod

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hidden diamond, October 3, 2001

By 

"davidissimo" (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Of Wagner (Audio CD)

This unassuming budget classic reissue is among the finest of its genre: The Wagner orchestral highlight album, and features the contents of 1973 LP recital the farthest thing from run-of-the-mill, spaciously recorded with the palpable feeling of the presence of the musicians, not merely an amorphously gorgeous orchestral sonority. The music unfolds without self-indulgent pointing, in a free-wheeling manner that is simply right.

The original Ormandy program is supplemented with a track by Robert Shaw doing a luscious rendering of the famous Bridal Chorus from <Lohengrin> with his divine women's chorus, a version as good or better than any ever anthologized or appearing in complete opera recordings, its 1959 atmospherically recorded sound barely showing its age.

My only caveat is that this stuff really merited more respectful packaging than this ersatz "Best of" series, but at the price, who should complain?

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ormandy is underrated!, February 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Of Wagner (Audio CD)

I did a test by listening to Szell, Klemperer, Karajan, Kubelik, Bohm, Jochum, Gerdes, Ozawa, Stokowski, and Ormandy play Wagner overtures and excerpts from "The Ring". My verdict: it's Ormandy. What can I say? I feel as is he's underrated, especially in the annals of Wagner worship. I like Stokowski's energy, but he plays around with scores (horrors!) too much. The Szell was great, but a tad limp. Other conductors have their high points, but Ormandy ranks consistently at the top. His conducting is full and rich and the orchestra always sounds great. I ranked the Szell orchestral music from Wagner at 5 stars, so Ormandy rates 6 stars.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Recordings, November 7, 2000

By 

gobirds2 (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Of Wagner (Audio CD)

The selections performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy are excellent. One of the best. Highly Recommended.