Customer Reviews

Wagner: Overtures & Preludes

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great as he is, Richard Wagner isn't always the easiest composer to discover: Since (with few exceptions) he really wrote only opera, one either has to plunge into his full-length works (which can be intimidating for the uninitiated) or settle for one of these "Overtures" compilations, which usually feature his non-vocal work.

To some extent the "overtures" approach can be frustrating, since Wagner's greatest work is firmly imbedded within his operas, and becasue anyone who discovers a love of Wagner will likely buy the complete works anyway. But, having said that, this collection is an excellent choice among the many Wagner "overtures" samplers available.

For one thing, it contains more than just overtures. Notably, "Siegfried Idyll", a lovely piece originally composed as a chamber work by Wagner for his wife as a Christmas present, draws upon themes from "Siegfried" in a satisfying, inclusive way. (Interestingly, this piece will likely be the first Wagner work to be played in Israel, in a concert scheduled for later this year). This CD also contains pieces from "Tristan und Isolde", (usually not included in collections of this type and indispensible as part of a Wagner introduction), and a with-vocals version of "Ride of the Valkyries", (also a wise inclusion, for once you've heard this with the opera singers it's hard to imagine it without them).

Minor quips: It would have been lovely to hear the "wedding march" theme (yes, it's the same theme you're thinking of) that immediately follows the third act Prelude from "Lohengrin". Also, the review is correct in stating that more liner notes are needed. I suggest reading Berger's "Wagner Without Fear" to learn some of the background behind this complex, controversial man and his sublime works.

Enjoy!

Many reviewers are stating that this is some sort of great introduction to Wagner, when I think they are not aware of many other terrific orchestral Wagner CDs. EMI has recently released an outstanding CD by Karajan of various Wagner preludes and overtures from the non "Ring" operas. That CD is part of EMI's "Great Recordings of the Century" catalogue and it's also available in the "Karajan Collection". Two different pressings, exact same thing.

To get some juicy "Ring" selections, you should investigate George Szell's oustanding CD on Sony Essential Classics which is uniquely captivating as far as orchestral excerpts from the Ring operas go.

Getting back to this DG Double, here is my rundown of all the tracks. The Rienzi Overture is done well by Karl Bohm but it's nothing remarkable. The Flying Duthchman also conducted by Bohm is played with gusto, pretty good. The Tannhauser Overture is an extremely dull run-through by Otto Gerdes, what a nightmare! Listen to Solti instead to get the full power of this terrific piece! The Lohengrin preludes by Kubelik lack the dreamy mysticism and rich power of Karajan's versions on EMI. The preludes to Die Meistersinger are played by Bohm and Jochum, Bohm is too relaxed and slow in the prelude to Act 1 but Jochum finds more life in the prelude to act 3. The ultra-famous "Ride of the Valkyries" is played by Karajan, an excerpt from his complete set of the Ring and yes the soprano soloists are on display here. It's a good account but hardly matches the excitement of Solti's version from his complete Ring recording.

The second CD opens up with powerful excerpts from Tristan and Isolde played by Bohm, the prelude and Act 3 intro are taken from his famous Bayreuth set with Birgit Nilsson. Nilsson however is not represented in the final Liebestod, instead a later, not very passionate Bohm recording is tacked on. The Siegfried Idyll is conducted by Kubelik and is not very memorable, certainly lacking the romantic abandon of the famous Karajan versions. Siegfried's Rhine Journey from Gotterdammerung is led by Karajan and sounds great.

Finally we get to the best part of this 2CD package, Eugen Jochum's performances of the Prelude and Good Friday Music from Wagner's final masterpiece, Parsifal. Both sound highly involved and deeply spiritual, the sound is great for something that was recorded way back in 1957. The brass get a bit edgy but it's not much of a worry, the readings are exceptional.

If you're a Wagner newbie, this 2CD set might satisfy you but I recommend you go and buy that EMI Karajan CD and the Ring excerpts by Szell, listen to those and you'll be well on your way to tackling a full opera. The most accessible opera to start with is Lohengrin.

I'm generally not a "compilation" kinda guy, but with the epic Wagner operas you often don't have a choice, for how often do you have the time, the urge and the bladder capacity to sit through four-and-a-half hours of shrieking Vikings? So if you'd like to have all (or many of) Rickie's Greatest Moments in one handy slimline CD case for the car or whatever, there is probably no better set than this. You get some of the best orchestras of the German tradition, and such revered old-school stickwavers as Jochum, Bohm, Kubelik, and Karajan. The magnificent, epic Rienzi Overture, a piece not heard often enough in my view, starts things on a positive note, but then fasten your seatbelts for a thrilling wild ride with the Flying Dutchman, conducted by Karajan as you've never heard him before, burning all bridges and taking no prisoners. Unfortunately, after that the set suffers its one huge drop: Otto Gerdes conducts the Berlin Opera Orchestra in one of Wagner's most thrilling overtures, Tannhauser. But this is a stiff and weak performance of that masterpiece, and after the first two magnificent works this sounds like amateur hour by comparison. I can't believe DG didn't have a better Tannhauser somewhere in their vaults. This is the only selection that mars this set.

The rest, including a spirited Lohengrin by Kubelik (is anything by Kubelik ever less than spirited?), a hair-raising Ride of the Valkyries by Karajan, and a passionate and mysterious Tristan by Bohm (whose Tristan I wouldn't expect to be this passionate). After a beautiful and intimate Siegfried Idyll and a portentious Gotterdammerung, the set ends with a suitably devout Prelude and Good Friday Spell from Parsifal. One work I wish had been included here: "Dance of the Apprentices" from Meistersinger, the only Waltz Wagner ever penned, and a marvelous one.

With the exception of Tannhauser, one feels that DG chose exactly the right orchestras and conductors for these works: no one quite digs in with the weight and burnished veneer of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. Vienna gives the comparatively "lighter" and earlier Rienzi overture a clarity ideal for the contrapuntal lines.

One puzzlement: Amazon reviewer Robert Levine mustn't have listened all the way through: this set is not "without voice," as he states. There is a soprano and a mezzo-soprano (not credited!) in Karajan's Ride of the Valkyries, although the way he treats them they might as well not be there. Levine is right that the liner notes and recording information is inexcusably skimpy. DG is getting lazy. Still, this set is superb, and the price is, needless to say, very right.

This is a gorgeous two CD set presenting nothing but gems from a solid cross-section of the best Wagner interpreters of this century. Yeah, there's no Furtwangler but there is Jochum, von Karajan, Bohm and others. The set needs real liner notes but otherwise it's great!

Add me to the people raving about this budget-friendly 2-CD set. The quality of the recordings is very high, as one would expect with DG. Plus, the variety of the selections is quite pleasing. We tend to think of Wagner as being martial and thunderously dramatic, but this collection allows the tremendous range of Wagner's work to come out, particularly those slowly building moments of sublime, lush beauty.

If I had the Wagner-loving portion of my life to do over again, I would buy this 2-CD set first, listen to it for about three months, and then and only then move on to the other stuff.

All of the performances here are interesting, and the digital remastering of the earlier releases has done wonders for the sound quality. In particular, Kubelik's reading of the Lohengrin prelude is well paced and the climax on the percussion is effective. Critics elsewhere has given very high praise of the Jochum readings of the Parsifal Prelude and Good Friday Music, ranking them among the very best ever made; speaking only for myself, I find the brass blares a bit, but otherwise I agree. The playing time is very generous. The documentation is not, but at this price that should not deter anyone. Highly recommended.

I am not overly fond of opera but there are exceptions. This album is such an exception. I suppose that is because there is little to be heard in the way of singing on it. I like it for the instrumental passages and they are wonderful.

As the title suggests, these are primarily overtures and preludes. They are not as bombastic as Wagner is wont to be but they are very strong. They are evocative of beauty and majesty. It is good orchestral music.

The performances included are all from Germanic orchestras. This music is a part of the culture and it is well done. If I have one complaint, it is a minor one. The pianissimo passages are sometimes so soft as to not be present. They are...understated in the extreme.

All in all, this is a quality recording capable of producing hours of enjoyment from its two disks.

When you consider how many superb Wagner recordings there are in the catalogues, including by Deutsche Gramophon, you wonder why this second-rate product was ever marketed. It makes you suspect that DG just wanted to ride on their reputation and squeeze a few more bucks out of their lesser goods!? For example, with all the respect I entertain for Karl Böhm, his stodgy readings of Rienzi and Holländer are hardly first class; and why Otto Gerdes' average rendering of the Tannhäuser Overture was chosen over e.g. Karajan is another one of those unanswerable questions. Karl Böhm features again in Tristan episodes, from his Bayreuth performances - not bad, considering they are live, but DG have Kleiber on their books! The Kubelik tracks are really old, and sound antiquated; he gives a beautifully sculpted reading of the Idyll, but uses the whole 60-man band for what is self-evidently chamber music. And so on - not worth dilating on it and praising the odd really good track. Unfortunately the one jewel in this rag bag is Jochum's Parsifal - also very old, but in this case worth perpetuating forever, the archetype of a great Wagner performance. But this has been resuscitated many times over the years in different compilations, e.g. with Jochum's Bruckner and elsewhere. Two tracks are not worth the money being asked.
Keep looking. Better recordings of the same or similar material are on the market in abundance.

Superb recordings of Wagner. Especially Lohengrin, Prelude to Act 1 which is by far the best recording of that piece, with the perfect tempo.

I have been searching for quite some time to find a CD with the "Leibestod" overture, and I finally found it on this CD. The CD was exactly as described, the quality was excellent, and as always I enjoy my shopping at Amazon!