Wagner: Tristan und Isolde [Original recording remastered]

Richard [Classical] Wagner (Composer), Wilhelm Furtwängler (Conductor), Philharmonia Orchestra of London (Orchestra), Philharmonia Orchestra (Orchestra), Rhoderick Davies (Performer), Edgar Evans (Performer), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Performer), Kirsten Flagstad (Performer), Josef Greindl (Performer), Rudolf Schock (Performer), Ludwig Suthaus (Performer), Blanche Thebom (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Rhoderick Davies, Edgar Evans, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kirsten Flagstad, Josef Greindl, et al.
• Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra of London, Philharmonia Orchestra
• Conductor: Wilhelm Furtwängler
• Composer: Richard [Classical] Wagner
• Audio CD (September 11, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00005NW0D
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,229 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Act I: Prld - Wilhelm Furtwangler

2. Act I, Scene 1: Westwarts Schweift Der Blick

3. Act I, Scene 1: Brangane, Du? Sag - Wo Sind Wir?

4. Act I, Scene 1: O Weh! Ach! Ach, Des Ubels, Das Ich Geahnt!

5. Act I, Scene 2: Frisch Weht Der Wind Der Heimat Zu - Rudolf Schock

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Act I, Scene 5: War Morold Dir So Wert

2. Act I, Scene 5: Ho! He! Ha! Am Obermast Die Segel Ein!

3. Act I, Scene 5: Du Horst Den Rut?

4. Act I, Scene 5: Auf Das Tau! Anker Los!

5. Act I, Scene 5: Tristan!...Isolde!

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Act II, Scene 2: Doch Unsre Liebe

2. Act II, Scene 2: So Sturben Wir, Un Ungetrennt

3. Act II, Scene 2: Habet Acht! Habet Acht!

4. Act II, Scene 2: O Ew'ge Nacht, Susse nacht!

5. Act II, Scene 3: Rette Dich, Tristan! - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Act III, Scene 1: Noch Iosch Das Licht Nicht Aus - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

2. Act III, Scene 1: Mein Kurwenal, Du Trauter Freund! - Ludwig Suthaus

3. Act III, Scene 1: Shepherd's Pipe Song/Noch Ist Kein Schiff Zu Sehn! - Wilhelm Furtwangler

4. Act III, Scene 1: Nein! Ach Nein! So Heisst Sie Nicht! - Ludwig Suthaus

5. Act III, Scene 1: Der Trank! Der Trank! Der Furchtbare Trank! - Ludwig Suthaus

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

It's not surprising that this sublime performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde has remained on the market for so long: Wilhelm Furtwängler's reading of the tale with Ludwig Suthaus, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Kirsten Flagstad is probably definitive. The conductor is peerless at achieving a strong sense of direction throughout the epic length. Carlos Kleiber's controversial version with the Dresden State Orchestra might boast orchestral fireworks (abetted by modern recording technology), but if you're looking for a Tristan in which the singing takes center stage, this is the recording to buy. Newly remastered with Abbey Road Technology as part of EMI's Great Recordings of the Century series. --Joshua Cody

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars are Not Enough for the Essential "Tristan", November 8, 2004

By 

Ralph J. Steinberg "Lover of German Music" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Audio CD)

There are a number of notable recordings of "Tristan und "Isolde"; the Bohm recording from Bayreuth, the (sadly) abridged EMI version (on Preiser and Naxos) from the 1928 Bayreuth Festival, another Bayreuth performance from 1952, with Karajan conducting and Modl and Vinay in the title roles (Modl is one of the most underrated Wagnerian sopranos, a singer with temperament and superb acting ability). I personally have raved over the 1928 Bayreuth set under Elmendorff with Larsen-Todsen and Graarud. But still, as a totality, the Furtwangler "Tristan" maintains its lead as one of the very few opera recordings that can be called "definitive" (the other Wagner sets in this category would include Kempe's "Meistersinger" and Furtwangler's "Walkure"). This reissue is brighter in sound thatn previous ones, and allows for more clarity both in the singers and the orchestral sound. Flagstad's portrayal now emerges as passionate, yet reserved and regal, as an Isolde should be. Suthaus is a really great Tristan, in some ways reminiscent of my favorite Wagnerian tenor, Max Lorenz. Although it would have been exciting to have Margarete KLose as Brangane, I have no reservations about Blanche Thebom in the role. Rudolf Schock is wonderful as both the sailer and the shepherd, and Josef Greindl sings with more dignity and refinement than usual. But Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's Kurvenal really belongs in a class by itself. But of course, the main reason for this album's success all of these decades is the intense, surging conducting of Wilhelm Furtwangler, directing an orchestra that although worked intermittantly with him, understood him as well as any other orchestra. I end by nominating this as the ESSENTIAL "Tristan."

68 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IT'S AS GREAT AS EVER -- WITH IMPROVED SOUND, October 3, 2001

By 

L. Mitnick (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Audio CD)

This recording has led a charmed life since its original release, and why not? Surely it remains as arguably the greatest complete "Tristan Und Isolde" ever preserved in any recording. The sound has been even further improved over the previous EMI incarnation on CD, which was itself an improvement over the long playing vinyl format ---- which remained in the catalogue since its original release in 1953. Furtwangler's way of capturing the black magic of this fabulous score remains a marvel, yet it is in the lyrical portions, such as in the long love duet in Act II, where he weaves an expansive web of sound that, to my ears, comes close to a musical transfiguration. In this, he is aided greatly by the Isolde of Kirsten Flagstad. While it is true that by the time she made this recording in 1952, at age fifty-seven, her voice had passed it's most resplendent prime, it is also true that virtually no one (with the exception of Birgit Nilsson) has come within miles her her accomplishment here. Her Isolde is perhaps somewhat matronly, but it is certainly magnificently sung --- and who really cares about the two interpolated top C's that Elisabeth Schwarzkopf inserted in Act II? It simply doesn't matter --- the role has been masterfully performed with those two notes completely omitted. What matters here is that Flagstad on this recording still was in possession of a glorious and shining instrument. Her Tristan, Ludwig Suthaus, obviously is not in her league, but he is no slouch either, and is certainly preferable to most, if not all of the recorded Tristans (save possibly for Jon Vickers) already heard. He sings beautifully with Flagstad in Act II --- and their voices blend rhapsodically when they must. The very young Dietrich Fischer-Diskeau is heard as Kurwenal --- and I've yet to hear anyone better in this role. I am considerably less impressed with the Brangane of Blanche Thebom, whose singing to me has a blanched and faded quality. But of course, she is swept along by Flagstad, who would probably have blown anyone away anyway. The price of this recording has been moderately reduced, and the packaging is elegant, as are all of the releases in this EMI Great Recordings of the Century series --- with a smaller but quite nostalgic reproduction of the cover art which graced the original LP recording. If you don't already own this recording, you need it. If you already own the previous incarnation on CD, you might want to buy this one anyway for the improvement in the sonics. Whatever the case, it's one of the giants!

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The supremacy of Furtwangler, October 27, 2005

By 

The Cultural Observer - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Audio CD)

The great dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf herself said about Wilhelm Furtwangler that he was the greatest conductor who ever lived. The soprano quoted that Furtwangler knew how to make the music flow...that he made the music live. Yehudi Menuhin, the great Jewish violinist, praised Furtwangler as the one conductor who knew how to shape music into a fluid--a feat that Furtwangler could do so well without resorting into shaping static, solid phrases of music. Werner Tharichen, a long time timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic, had this to say about Furtwangler. "One day I was sitting beside my timpani while a guest conductor was reheasing...Suddenly the sound changed. There was warmth and intensity as if everything were at stake. Astonished, I looked up from my score to seee if some new baton acrobatism had brought about this miracle. But it was still the same conductor. I looked at my colleagues. They were all staring at the door at the far end of the hall. There stood Furtwangler. His mere presence suffered to draw those sounds from the orchestra."

Imaginative...fluid, and lyrical. Sublime, passionate, erotic...rapture...these mere words fail to express the beauty that shrouds this recording of Tristan und Isolde. For many years, I have held out on this recording due to my thought that Karajan's Tristan was supreme over Furtwangler's. I was not mistakened, for stereo, Jon Vickers, Christa Ludwig, and a youthful Dernesch all made K's Tristan a wonder to behold. Then, I put this record back onto my player, and before I knew it I was enraptured by the sweet music flowing from Act II. Then I heard the dementia elucidated by the orchestra in Act III and lo and behold, I was seduced. Furtwangler really knew how to conduct Wagner's most passionate score, and without a doubt his Tristan is supreme over others in interpretation of music.

Kirsten Flagstad sings Isolde in this recording. She has distilled this Isolde from the many years she has performed it, and it is indeed a golden one. It may sound matronly at first, but you tend to overlook this once you are swept away by Furtwangler's greatness. No one phrases Isolde the way she does, and no one is as musical either. This is an Isolde of perfect pitch and tenderness and lyricism. Augment that to her enormous voice and you have the perfect Wagnerian singer. Ludwig Suthaus is an amazing heldentenor, one of the most beautiful voices to take on the role. Blanche Thebom, like a former reviewer said, is the perfect foil to Flagstad's outstanding Isolde, floating Brangäne's lyrical lines with a lithe, limber tone so fitting for the role. The young Fischer-Dieskau with his energetic vivacity and his lieder singer nuances complements the role of Kurwenal perfectly.

With more than 50 years behind it, this recording still takes first place as an essential Tristan.