Customer Reviews

Wagner: Tannhäuser / Siegfried-Idyll / Tristan und Isolde

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

 

 

This outstanding recording of Wagner selections was made live at the 1987 Salzburg Festival. It certainly captured Karajan at his best. He is quite fabulous here; of course, he draws a glorious sound from the Vienna Philharmonic on top form, but here he is also infallible of pacing, and expressive and insightful of interpretation. This is one of his warmest recordings I know of. He is letting himself get caught up in the music, as he sometimes didn't.

The opening Tannhäuser Overture is nobler in the pilgrims' theme, more sensuous in the Venusberg music, more singing in Tannhäuser's song than any other recording. It is a magnificent performance. The only drawback I can find is that in the more energetic sections of the Venusberg music, Karajan sounds a little heavyweight: not as wild and fleet as Solti. In all other respects, though, this is an incredible performance, and makes you regret again that he never made a legitimate recording of the complete opera.

The Siegfried Idyll is, if anything, even more extraordinary. It is warmest performance I know, unfolding gently and sweetly in a glorious, beautifully rich carpet of sound from the Vienna forces. It is also helped by the clarity and transparency of the magnificent digital recording. It is an ideal reading, and alone is worth the price of the set.

The Tristan excerpts are also on this level. The Act 1 Prelude is magnificent. Emotion is conveyed more clearly than in Karajan's 1971 complete recording, and there is an added clarity of sound and orchestral texture. It is as fine a recording as any, and on the same level as (though very different in style from) Furtwängler's 1952 EMI recording. The Liebestod is gorgeous, one of the two or three greatest recordings of this stunning piece ever made. Jessye Norman is a glorious soloist, with her large, magnificently beautiful voice riding the waves of orchestral sound in a way few can. The climax is stunning, and dies away into rapturous lyricism from Karajan and the Vienna Philharmonic. The only other recordings I think are on this level are the 1952 Furtwängler/Flagstad and the 1971 Karajan/Dernesch. Comparison between the 1971 and 1987 Karajan versions is particularly interesting. The 1971 account is, strangely, more electric and intense, with Dernesch providing both a more beautiful, truly Wagnerian voice and singing more expressively than Norman. The climax at "In der Welt-Atems wehendem All" is the most shatteringly ecstatic on any recording. The 1987 recording is clearer and perhaps even more beautiful than the earlier account, but not as intense. Inevitably, more detail can be heard in the digital recording. Both are fabulous recordings, however; though in some ways the Furtwängler/Flagstad is the finest of all.

Overall, this is one of the finest recordings in recent memory. In my opinion, this is one of Karajan's finest recorded achievements and one that deserves to be in every collection of Wagner. Enjoy!

I saw part of the film "Karajan in Salzburg" on PBS about ten years ago. I was channel surfing and happened across Jessye Norman singing "Isoldes Liebestod" (the last track on this CD). I wasn't that familiar with Wagner at the time, had just worked my way through the Met's Ring Cycle, and had no notion of what Norman was singing. I couldn't understand her German. Yet I could feel the hair rising up on the back of my neck. By the time she had finished, I was crying.

That brief seven minute film clip was an epiphany for me. I fell desperately in love with Richard Wagner and Jessye Norman (Von Karajan was no slouch, either). I was elated when I came across this Deutsche Grammophon recording that was made during the filming of "Karajan in Salzburg." These four exerpts from "Tannhauser," "Sigfried," and "Tristan und Isolde" are Wagner at his most sublime. The climax is Norman's clear, tender 'Liebestod':

"Do I alone/ hear this melody/ which, so wondrous/ and tender/ in its blissful lament,/ all-revealing,/ gently pardoning,/ sounding from him,/ pierces me through..."

This wasn't Karajan's last concert, but on records it could stand in for that, along with his New Year's Strauss concert and the Bruckner Seventh, all with the Vienna Phil. A rancorous rupture and sudden resignatio kept him from making similar late recordings in Berlin. In any event, this short (54 min.) CD is a touching farewell. As with Bernstein's last concert with the Boston Sym., also on DG but a few years later, the maestro can't be said to be in top form--there is a papable sense of declining powers--but this is compensated for by glowing orchestral textures and the shadow of mortality which makes every moment important.

All the pieces are played in a freer, more elaxed way than one is used to from this supreme technician. Each is very lovely, and een though Karajan was far from being beloved, particularly here in America, he was undoubtedly a very great conductor. ONe of his earliest reviews called him "Wunder Karajan," Karajan the miracle, which he remained almost to his dying day.

I think highly enthusiastic absorption is one of Karajan's characteristic. Wagner is an excellent material for him to fully develop this propensity. The overture for Tannhaeuser and the Siegfried's Idyll are passionately played in this syle, so we are thrown into violent or intense ecstacy and yet the most beautiful and symbolic melodies are clearly floating before our mind. Wagner is clearly analysed in ecstatic passion....to such an extent that we are slightly reminded of Wagner's and Hitler's racism which were so violent and so merciless. Clearly melodious, passionate and not a little ominous.
As for Jessye Norman, I feel she is no less a superb exquisite musical instrument rather than a human being. So, I dare say we are allowed only to be intoxicated by her heavenly voice rather than go about deciphering the German script.

Criticizing Jessye Norman's vocal colors is like telling Picasso he has used the wrong tone--how ridiculous! Furthermore, an artist's use of the full palate is something to be lauded, not criticized. I just can't get over the liberties people take--These sorts of criticisms are slightly reminiscent of intolerance for diversity/anything that departs from the expected.

This is a magnificent album, in every respect!

The Overture to Act I of Tannhaeuser is played with great feeling and precision, and at just the right tempi. The cello section is extremely expressive. However, the horns can hardly be heard--a big loss in this piece.

The Siegfried-Idyll is also very well played--perfect conducting and execution.

The Act I Prelude to Tristan und Isolde starts out tentatively and seems unfocused, but gets better.

While I really like the rich tone of Jessye Norman's voice (and her emotive capacity), I don't care for other aspects of her singing of the Liebestod. She doesn't pronounce a lot of consonants, she swallows many words, and has difficulty controlling the volume of her high notes. But what really bothers me are the extra notes she throws in--especially on "Wonne klagend". She turns the melody into a bluesy major pentatonic run. This sticks out like a sore thumb--not exactly idiomatic. Of course, it might not matter to the listener who hasn't heard other versions of the piece, or who likes a little Porgy and Bess with their Tristan and Isolde.