Customer Reviews

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I agree with Mr. Shelton's review entirely, right down to the point at which he remarks that on the basis of this recording he bought Kubelik's Lohengrin and Parsifal recordings. I originally had the Myto version from the 90s and had no complaints about the sound. Recently I purchased the newer, remastered version on ARTS and now I know what I was missing in depth and clarity. Jochum's Berlin version for DG has many fine qualities, but Fischer-Dieskau barks his way through the part of Hans Sachs. Kubelik's Sachs is superior, as is his Walther (Placido Domingo is in lovely voice for Jochum, but he didn't have his German quite in place at that time and his Walther clearly comes from Spain).

Among stereo recordings of Die Meistersinger, I count this as the best, given my nearly 50 years of listening to recordings and attending performances of this opera. There is a rich legacy of mono recordings made from 1938 through 1958 that any lover of Die Meistersinger should investigate (e.g., the early Karl Boehm recordings, Jochum's masterful 1949 performance currently on Walhall, Van Karajan's 1951 Bayreuth performance, Knappertsbusch on DECCA in the early 50s, and Kempe on EMI). Find a copy of this Kubelik/Munich Die Meistersinger, buy it, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

I made a point recently of listening to four versions of the sublime quintet in Act Three, as I find that this acts as a kind of touchstone for the whole performance; it has to be right or nothing else falls into place quite as it should. Two came out way in front: the famous and venerable 1931 recording conducted by Barbirolli with Schorr, Schumann and Melchior - just one of a selection of excerpts in your standard "frying tonight" sound but with superlative voices - and the version from this complete set. So if you want a complete "Meistersinger", look no further; this recording is far superior to the Solti or the Sawallisch, good as they both are. Kubelik was a kind of magician; his Mahler, his Dvorak and his Wagner (among many others) are peerless. Nobody can touch Stewart or Janowitz in the lead roles of Sachs and Eva; his rich, humane voice is alive to every nuance of the text and she soars like an angel. Konya is as good as Heppner in the Sawllisch and Solti sets and the recorded sound is extraordinarily full, clear and balanced; amazing for a studio radio broadcast. Neither Studer nor Mattila has Janowitz's poise and purity of tone; Weikl is already sounding bleaty in the Sawallisch and Van Dam left it too late; his beautiful voice has lost some of its sheen and is beginning to sound grey and underpowered. No, once you've ruled out the Jochum set, with Fischer Dieskau hopelessly overparted, barking his way through the role of Sachs, and Domingo singing beautifully but mangling the German (it's much better these days), this is the one to buy, in the newer, mid-price Calig edition. And if you love this, buy Kubelik's "Parsifal", too; also the best recording out there (see my review).

The caption is NOT romantic hyperbole...If I could have given this set 15 or 20 "stars" on a scale of 1 to 5, I would do it. Yes, even a used copy will be on the pricey side - be it the CALIG or this ARTS transfer. But it is worth every "pfennig." (Avoid the MTYO edition: unlike the others, it is NOT based on the first-generation in-house tapes, but on a broadcast of those tapes.) And yet this might seem an unlikely choice...Kubelik was not exactly noted for his Wagner- or even for musical "focefulness" in general. But the Wagnerian "tiger" cannot devour him- it submits itself to masterful, mesmerizing conducting.

Of course, there are other great MEISTERSINGERS. I don't know them all but I can honor Kubelik's recording by comparing it to what I DO know:

1) The 1937 Toscanini Salzburg- his last complete Wagner performance and the only one ever recorded, and something unforgettable to all who were THERE. It was recorded by NBC via "Selenophone" (basically a movie soundtrack, minus the "visual"), and we can now hear it in at least passable sound - but only on the ultra-expensive, now deleted Andante set.

2) The 1944 Vienna Bohm - with very good "early tape" sound, great ensemble, rich-creamy playing from the Vienna Philharmonic, and an almost perfect cast- but marred by an excrementally bad "Walther" (whose name, out of Hans Sachsian charity, I will omit). Bohm's later live and studio MEISTERSINGERs have nowhere near the same kind of spirit. (Here I should mention Bohm's fabled Dresden MEISTERSINGER Act III, recorded by British HMV in August 1938 - the last significant, commercial pre-war Wagner recording. Acts 1 & II were planned as well, but the war intervened. So great is the warmth and spirit of this recording that, IMHO, had it been completed, it would have been THE Meistersigner for the ages...War is hell.)

3) The live 1949 Jochum / Munich production (best transferred on WALHALL, if you can find it): with the supreme Hans Hotter as Sachs, a superb orchestra, masterful conducting, an atmosphere of joyous, post-war healing, and very good sound, but occasionally marred by the wobbling of Annelese Kupper's Eva.

4) The 1950 Decca Knappertsbusch, with Schoeffler's excellent Sachs and a fresh-sounding Hilde Gueden as Eva, but marred by substandard sound (even for the time: Bohm's 1938 Dresden Act III sounds more life-like than this), and less-than-top-form conducting from "Kna" who, as anyone who has read Culshaw's RING RESOUNDING will know, was never fully "himself" in the studio.

5) The 1951 EMI Karajan / Bayreuth set: a great performance, also reeking of joy and post-war healing- with Betsy Blackhead's Eva being one of her most unaffected performances- but also with Otto Edelmann's slightly under-seasoned Sachs, and the Walter of Hans Hopf (already starting to show some of the strain that would render his 1962 Tannhauser almost unlistenable). And it is marred by a faulty microphone placement which renders the all-important, "chatty" woodwind lines too distant. For example, the crucial flute solo at the very end of Act II sounds like it's "phoned in". There is really no technical excuse for this (even given the Bayreuth orchestral "cowel"), because sound-checks at the time, by the EMI team (who had at least one dress rehearsal and several live performances at their disposal) could and should have uncovered the problem. Not to mention that the live 1949 Jochum does not have this problem AT ALL. (AND not to mention that the Decca PARSIFAL, from the same festival, sounds a lot better than this...It had something to do with Decca's hidden "mike" over the auditorium, which picked up sonic details that EMI's set-up did not. Even after the EMI "chief," Walter Legge, discovered this and, with his own money, put an extra "mike" in the same place, it STILL didn't quite do the job.)

6) The 1956 EMI Kempe / Berlin set: until Kubelik, perhaps the front runner in this happy "game." There is not one weak link in the cast: Rudolf Schock's Walter is superb; Elisabeth Grummer's Eva is perhaps her greatest recording and the very soul of maidenly purity; the massed choral scenes (always a potential sonic mess) are beautifully clear; the Berlin Philharmonic, two years past Furtwangler's death and one year into Karajan's new leadership, play their hearts out with fluent virtuosity - and not even a hint of recording "routine." And Kempe brings it all together with a potent, controlled warmth. This was my first complete MEISTERSINGER - a lucky first-time choice - on vintage LPs. The 1992 CD transfer, while listenable, has a shrillish high-end, and less warmth and "body" than the old LPs. Surely a new transfer is in order- by Testament, if EMI declines?

7) The EMI Karajan / Dresden set of 1970...Perhaps the greatest orchestral playing in any MEISTERINGER set, and a half-way decent cast...Even Rene Kollo turns in one of his better recordings as Walter (another being his Solti TANNHAUSER), and Theo Adam's Sachs is at least as good as Edelmann, better and more personable than FiDi. The choral scenes are as clearly delineated as they have ever been : obviously, HvK and his forces were going for a "chamber music" kind of clarity, and they more than succeed. But...But...Something's missing. Never mind that the overture is rather turgid, overstated and "Klempererish" (which is unusual for HvK, even at his worst: HIS besetting sin was soul-less "gloss"), but somehow the quest for "clarity" seems to have robbed this performance of something big, compassionate and spacious. That is to say, WHERE IS THE LOVE?

8) The c. 1980 DG Jochum set with Fischer-Diskau's long-awaited Hans Sachs. Great sound, wonderful conducting from Jochum, superb orchestral playing, and a decent cast including Placido Domingo as a surprisingly good Walther, and Catarina Ligenzda as a fairly good (but not great) Eva...Still, FiDi disappoints, in one of his more finicky, affected performances. Overall, a very good, ALMOST great recording.


Still, from all I have heard so far, the 1967 Kubelik emerges as the clear winner: unbeatable conducting; astounding orchestral playing (you can really enjoy what Hans von Bulow called the "Cellini-like filagree" of MEISTERSINGER's inner detail); unapproachable singing and characterization (Janowitz's Eva is unsurpassed by even Schwarzkopf & Grummer; Stewart's Sachs and Konya's Walther are both rock-solid); the sound is perfect and the transfer is stunning. This set HAS IT ALL. One expert reviewer has written that it lacks the "conversational" quality of Toscanini, early Karajan and Kempe...It does NOT. It does not lack ANYTHING: BIG when it needs to be; intimate when it needs to be; serious when it needs to be; nimble, humorous and "conversational" when it needs to be. This most sinewy of Wagner's works has never been as beautifully delineated or LIVED as it has, here. What brings all these elements together, of course, is Kubelik's wisdom, sense of musical "architecture" and sheer humanity.

"Kubi," being Czech, was best noted for his Dvorak and Smetana (he recorded the complete MA VLAST six times !). But his Wagner was perhaps his greatest achievement- which, in addition to this MEISTERSINGER, includes his LOHENGRIN and PARSIFAL - possibly the best stereo versions of Wagner's "Grail" dramas. And, PACE the Solti RING and even Bohm's Bayreuth TRISTAN, this MEISTERSIGNER may be the very greatest Wagner recording after Furtwangler's passing - and one of the ten-to-twelve greatest recorded experiences of all time.

These are bad days for good things "staying in print" ; get it while you can- new, used, just as long as it's playable. And, as Auntie Mame would put it, LIVE.

Bought this recording and the Sawallisch/Heppner recording after reading reviews..Maybe it's me..but I find the latter boring and this recording full of life...

All has already been said; this is the Meistersinger for all time.....none can compare with this gem of a performance and recording! Don't hesitate to purchase.

I concur with nearly everyone that this is probably the most satisfying Meistersinger overall and the sonics, so far ahead of their time, are extremely impressive.

The big question in my mind is why DGG did not issue it as originally planned for the centennial of the opera's premiere. From several sources, I've heard a hard-to-believe rumor that Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau wanted to record the title role eventually and threatened to leave the company if it was released! Can anyone substantiate this?

Simply put, too many tempi are too fast and crude. Sachs (Stewart) is too thin and gruff.
The recording is only adequate. I own em all.
The best are Solti (1st version), Barenboim and Jochum.

If you like F. Dieskau Jochums' is great.

Convinced by the fabulous reviews of this recording, I simply had to hear it myself. On first listen I said to myself, Wow, this is really good, everyone is in good voice even though Thomas Hemsley sounds like a buffo baritone which is a little odd for Beckmesser, and Kubelik conducted with clarity and a good feel for the music. But then I really started listening more carefully and critically, and problems began rising up for me.

In one sense this is a "reference recording" of the opera for potential singers and conductors. Kubelik's style is fine for the music, he is energetic, and he does try to sustain a good pace, keeping it light. But like several other of his studio recordings (as opposed to live, where he was fabulous), as the opera goes on you realize that although all the notes are played just beautifully, there is no life or lift to the performance. It is perfect but somewhat perfunctory. On the other hand, several of the singers - particularly Konya (who is not in bad voice at all though he phrases the music in the Italian style and not a German style, I like it but it's not to all tastes), Stewart, and Unger, unquestionably the best of all Davids. Everyone sings their written trills, even Kothner, which is rare in any performance of this opera (and yes, I want to hear the trills if the singers can perform them). Stewart is an excellent Sachs, one of the best. Yet despite all their efforts, a real performance never really happens.

Now, there are three things about the Solti recording that bother me. For one, the chorus sounds "churchy," not like peasants as they do here. For another, there are no sound effects even when the score calls for them (Beckmesser's chalk on the slate, Sachs's cobblers hammer). And thirdly, the Sachs of Van Dam and David of Lippert, though beautifully sung, are a little underdone dramatically. But what a lively feast Solti makes of this score! With his Chicago Symphony spread out like separate instrumental choirs in the soundspace, you hear every detail in perfect equipoise, and possibly because it is a live recording, the orchestra really sounds alive: humorous, ironic, delicate and serious in turn. Solti's pacing is on the brisk side, which I happen to enjoy, but tempo alone is not the difference, it is a matter of emotional involvement, and for that reason I still prefer the Solti recording overall.

Mind you, I'm not saying this is a poor performance, and even though the 1956 Kempe recording is stupendous in terms of overall involvement I simply cannot abide the singing of Rudolf Schock as Walther. You can flip a coin as to whether Konya or Heppner is the greater Walther, though I prefer Heppner because he is in fresher voice and phrases like a bel canto master. The best Sachs is either Nissen on the ancient Toscanini set (a live performance in defective sound) or Giorgio Tozzi on the Hamburg Opera DVD. The best Eva, hands down, is Maria Reining on the Toscanini set. Her voice sounds both young and powerful at the same time, and she is alive to the meaning of the words. The Quintet here is gorgeously sung, no question about it, and by and large Janowitz is a little more animated than she usually was. So if the Solti 1997 recording did not exist, this would indeed be the preferred stereo version of "Meistersinger," no quesiton. But it was not, for me personally, a moving listening experience, which is a shame because the singers I mentioned do their best to try to make it interesting. They just don't completely succeed.

Listen to the excerpts and judge for yourself.