Customer Reviews

Wagner: Without Words

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ever since World War Two Wagner has seemingly had more critics than fans. Although his music dominated the latter part of the 19th century, and is some of the most influential and revolutionary work, his music is associated and remembered with Nazism and Hitler who embraced Wagner's work as the theme music of Nazi Germany. Nevertheless, despite its unfortunate interweaving with Adolf's dark vision, Wagner is undoubtedly recognized as one of the most important and monumental figures in music history and demands listening.

Remarkably, Wagner was virtually self-trained, and no composer had as little formal training. Like Beethoven, Wagner believed that the world owed him for his music, and as such he lived off of other peoples' money. He was a gambler, drinker, and collector of enormous debts, being chased all over Europe by creditors. In 1864 King Ludwig II of Bavaria, infatuated by the man and the music, gave Wagner carte blanche to the entire resources of Bavaria, which Wagner quickly squandered leading to an economic crisis and his banishment.

In "WAGNER WITHOUT WORDS" the listener will enjoy highlights from Wagner's most recognized works including "Ride of the Valkyries," which was made popular by Robert Duval's helicopter charge in Apocalypse Now. But all eight tracks are wonderful, from the ethereal "Forest Murmurs," to one of my all time favorites "Seigfrig's Funeral Music," which, consequently, was played at Wagner's own funeral by a full orchestra as Wagner's casket was lowered into the grave.

Nothing bad can be said of George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra who give a good to excellent performance of the pieces. I recommend this CD emphatically and wholeheartedly, so rush out and buy it. But please note, Wagner's music is enormous, full of thunderous themes like cathartic tempests over dark, jagged mountains with a faint ray of sunshine coming from somewhere in the distance, so do yourself and the music a favor and listen through a stereo. You'll be thankful that you do.

This is certainly very good music-making, falling just a little short in the colors department - for which the Berlin under Karajan or the Philadelphia under Ormandy are the ticket. But that aside it's difficult to accept all this Szell bashing. People still listen to the Cleveland recording of the Dvorak Slavonic Dances and will for years to come. And unless you have to have original instruments it's tough to beat Szell and the Cleveland orchestra's brio and attention to detail in Mozart and Haydn.
Of course some of this carping may be the result of a little bit too much self-esteem and not enough appreciation for just what it takes to lead an orchestra at such a level. I remember in college I happened to be at a small gathering of literary people including a few novelists and poets and one critic,the august Edmund Wilson. Not knowing any better I walked right up to a stern-looking older man looking every bit the serious 'Dean of American Critics' and blurted out how much fun I had reading his story "The Man who Shot Snapping Turtles." Apparently this gushing adolescent accolade softened him a bit, and he talked with me for a couple of minutes. The last question I asked him was what did he consider the most important thing in writing criticism. Mr. Wilson blurted out bluntly, "Get it right!"
Over the years I have always thought there was a world of truth in that rather journalistic maxim. The reviews here are a perfect example. One could write and gush about this and that, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter how many names you drop, or airs you put on, if you cannot recognize quality you're no better than the crook in Gatsby whose idea of a small town where one could safely pass counterfeit bonds over the counter was Detroit.
In the Great Gatsby the crook passing false currency for real is picked up by the police. Unfortunately Amazon readers are easily mislead by glowing praise or, in the case of some of the reviews of the Wagner here, cold dislike. People react to harsh words, and especially when they are well written and sound based on experience. Let me assure you - no one is always right, and there are some people who, for whatever reason, have skewered taste.
The Szell Cleveland Wagner CD here is a series of showpieces, played very very well by the Cleveland orchestra. What sets this apart from many Wagner collections is the astonishing orchestra playing. Szell's orchestra, supreme in Dvorak, brings to Wagner's music a clarity rarely achieved by other orchestras. Superbly balanced, the virtousity of the players is on full display. It's a joy to actually hear all the myriad instrumental sounds in Wagner's score - Wagner played in tune, what a shocking concept. And particularly Wagner devoid of bathos! Tovey used to cite Wagner as perhaps the best of all orchestrators; here we have the Cleveland at the pinnacle of their glory days, a wonderful momento. Writing nasty dismissive words about performances of this caliber says more about the reviewers than it does about the recording.
This has been remastered for SACD and if you have a machine that will play SACDs then that is the one to purchase.

I quote from a previous review: "Perhaps no eminent conductor has fallen so far after his death as George Szell". To this comment, I say "Baloney". One great thing about Amazon is their sale of deleted CDs by independent sellers. When George Szell/Cleveland Orchestra CDs suddenly disappear, their price by the independent sellers skyrockets. As for the present CD, I have bought it on LP, cassette and CD and cherished it for years. The playing is sensational, the performances have plenty of passion and the sound is great. The Die Meistersinger and Tristan excerpts were recorded earlier than the Ring and have a little more spontanaiety but the Ring excerpts are also outstanding.

This was Cleveland's most prominent condutor, the late George Szell's only Wagner album. True, he was at home conducting the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Dvorak and all the brand-name, top classical music, but he was, at the same time, a gifted interpreter of Wagner. While Szell's name is not mentioned in the same sentence as Herbert Von Karajan nor was he a conductor of opera, this album showcases the skill and artistry he achieved while conducting the score to Wagner's most important operas - The Ring of the Nibelungen and Tristan and Isolde. The Cleveland Orchestra is at the height of its powers and the music you will hear on this album overflows with passion, dignity, grandeur and beauty, all the elements that Wagner's larger-than-life operas are made of. The first track is the Entrance Of The Gods Into Valhalla, the final scene in Das Rhinegold, the first of the four Ring operas. Pity this album does not begin with the beautifully mysterious and spiritual Rhinegold Overture, which would have been more appropriate, as the music segues into the Entrance of the Gods. But even as it is, it's wonderful. The music describes the vainglorious Odin, his wife Freya and the other Norse gods ascending into the glittering golden palace of Valhalla, pride and downfall of the gods. The music is bombastic and grand, just like one hears it at the opera, a melage of trumpets and brass. But the music is also composed of melancholy strings (violins) describing the lament of the Rhinemaidens, bemoaning the loss of the Ring and foreshadowing the coming tragedy. Track 2: Ride Of The Valkyries: This famous war march has been heard in films (such as Apocalypse Now) and occurs toward the end of "Die Walkure". It's a militaristic, noisy, ebullient battle cry. In the opera, Brunhilde, Odin's immortal daughter, has rebelled against him and takes to the air on winged horses with her fellow Valkyries. This interpretation is quite different than others you'll hear because Szell discovered an additional bit of music that Wagner intended to be played but for the most part is not heard. If you're quick, you'll catch it. It's a repetition of the battle cry "Hojo-to-ho" on the trumpet, occuring toward the last portion of the piece. 3: Magic Fire Music: This "magical" music, mostly for strings, serves as the score to the final scene in "Die Walkure" in which Odin has cast a sleeping spell on Brunhilde and puts her in the middle of a ring of fire, where she will await the kiss of the hero Siegfried. The tristesse of the piece represents a father's grief for the loss of his most belove daughter. Track 4 and 5 Forest Murmurs and Siegfried's Journey: This music is taken from various moments in the opera "Siegfried" which relates the hero's adventures. He awakens the sleeping Brunhilde who has become mortal, slays the fearsome dragon Fafnir and wields as magical sword. The Forest Murmurs takes place in the immense forest where Brunhilde lies sleeping. Endowed with the gift of communicatin with nature, a bird tells Siegfried where he can find Brunhilde. If one does not overanalyze the music, merely strings and flutes, one can clearly feel the word-painting and characterization in the piece. The flute is the bird or birds and the forest itself, the more powerful chords represent Siegfried and the brief "Valkyrie" motif stands for Brunhilde. In "Rhine Journey" we hear the strings become the flowing river and we can see Siegfried journeying to a dangerous adventure, one which costs the hero's life. In "Siegfried's Funeral March" Siegfried has been betrayed and is slain by the Giants. The funeral music is dark, primal and powerful in its depiction of nobility and downfall. As it ends, we hear Brunhilde's love theme which then appropriately takes us to the Immolation Scene. Brunhilde, distraught over the death of her beloved, summons her horse and leaps over Siegfrie'ds burning funeral pyre, a grand act of love and sacrifice, the first hint of humanity and compassion in otherwise dark drama filled with greedy and wicked characters. This leads to Valhalla's demise by fire and water and the world ends. Only the Rhinemaidens remain, taking back the ring which had long been stolen from them. Though these are only portions of music from the supremely lengthy score, it is enough to entice the listener to seeing the Ring, the biggest feast of opera one can ever undertake. The Overture to Tristan and Isolde summarizes the work itself. It's a high romantic tragedy concerning the knight Tristan, the King he serves and Isolde the Queen, whom he falls in love with. Their love is doomed but the magic and transient bliss is perfectly captured in the luminescent Overture, which begins softly and mysteriously with the "Tristan Chord" and culminates with a ravishing rush of strings. The Liebestod, the Love Death, is Isolde's swan song, as she dies of love for the fallen knight. Szell does not play this too fast or too slow. It's done right, and it's heartbreaking, ethereal and magnificent, perhaps even at the level of Karajan's famous interpretations of it. The final track is the grand overture to Die Mastersanger Von Nuremberg, a lengthy paean to Mediveal chivalry, all grandeur and pomp.

Five Stars Well Deserved. Make this your first intro to Wagner. The music will seduce you into watching Wagner operas. Dreamy, romantic, grand, sad, larger than life, Szell has captured the essence of Wagner in a single album. Buy it now. It's cheap and affordable. It's highly recommended. Enjoy.

Best intro cd for Wagner and has some great uptempo stuff and really showcases what he's famous for.

I'm very impressed with George Szell's conducting style. He's very close to Karajan's level of care with this very beautiful music. I'd avoid Maazel's CD of some of this same music. It's just not very well conducted compared to Szell.

I had this George Szell recording years ago on the old-style records. Wagner's music (minus the words) is extraordinary. So grand, so moving, so rich. It's amazing to hear so many instruments coming together in these Wagner's masterpieces. This CD remastered version is so superior to the sound possible on 78 records decades ago.

I've listened to a lot of Wagner in my life, and I can tell you this performance by Cleveland and Szell is out of this world. Wow !! The sound is immense and crystal clear. Szell extracts from this great orchestra every once of grandeur, emotion, and detailed expression possible. The standout performance is the Gotterdammerung. My success criteria of a performance of this piece is that you are left a quivering mass of jello at the end. This one does it hands down.
If you are a Wagner fan and want it big and powerful, this is the recording for you.

Perhaps no eminent conductor has fallen so far after his death as George Szell. He was treated with enormous respect during his long tenure with the Cleveland Orchestra, and he couldn't appear in Carnegie Hall without getting raves from the New York critics (his reviews were much better than Bernstein's). On the evidence of this cold, unfeeling CD of Wagner excerpts, mostly from the Ring, one wonders why. Every excerpt is treated to the same strict, unyielding approach; there is no rubato or romanticism. In addition the sound is thin and full of hiss (Szell's LPs on Epic were infamous for their bad sound, and Sony hasn't bothered to improve things on their digitual reissue.)

I will remember Szell fondly from my formative years in the Sixties, but he has become a dead letter in the intervening decades.

The Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell's baton rose to the greatest American symphony orchestra during the 60's and 70's. Nevertheless, Wagner- whose music is introspective, dark, philosophical, grandiose and epic but subtle and mystical, seems to be out of Szell's league. I have heard other supremely remarkable and high-calibre music conducted by George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra- Beethoven, especially. However, this orchestral highlights from the "Ring", "Meistersanger" and "Tristan and Isolde" do not measure up to his otherwise outstanding musicianship.

There is something missing. I don't feel the drama in the score, I don't feel the fire and passion or the dynamics. The only fine moments are the "lyrical" moments such as Siegfried's Rhine Journey and the Prelude to Act 1 of Tristan and Isolde. The Liebestod is the worst I've heard. It does not reach the heights of overwhelming passion it should. If you are a fan of the particular style of conducting of George Szell or have nostalgic reasons for buying this- maybe you saw Szell conducting back in the late 60's etc, or you are a native of Cleveland, etc- but other than that search for other Wagner orchestral music.

I recommend: Sir Adrian Boult and the London forces, "Ring" music conducted by Herbert Von Karajan or Karl Bohm. Karajan also conducted the best Tristan and Isolde. So, once again, I'm sorry but this is not as great as I thought it would be.