Twilight of the Gods: The Essential Wagner Collection

Richard Wagner (Composer), Antal Dorati (Conductor), Giuseppe Sinopoli (Conductor), Herbert von Karajan (Conductor), Karl Böhm (Conductor), Otto Gerdes (Conductor), Rafael Kubelik (Conductor), Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Bayreuth Festival Orchestra (Orchestra), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Dresden Staatskapelle (Orchestra), National Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), New York Philharmonic (Orchestra), Philharmonia Orchestra of London (Orchestra)

Product Details

• Orchestra: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, National Symphony Orchestra, et al.
• Conductor: Antal Dorati, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Herbert von Karajan, Karl Böhm, Otto Gerdes, et al.
• Composer: Richard Wagner
• Audio CD (August 11, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000009ON7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,152 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #32 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( N ) > National Philharmonic Orchestra London
  #37 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( N ) > New York Philharmonic Orchestra
  #62 in	Music > Classical > Featured Composers, A-Z > ( W ) > Wagner, Richard

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
If you like your Wagner served up in bleeding chunks or if you're simply in a hurry to hear the tunes, then this compilation is for you. The performances, drawn from the Polygram (mainly Deutsche Grammophon) back catalog, are for the most part authoritative. They feature the likes of Herbert von Karajan, with the Berlin Philharmonic, and Karl Böhm, with the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra (and chorus), in extracts from recordings of complete operas, and conductors Giuseppe Sinopoli, Otto Gerdes, and Antal Doráti in some of the more familiar overtures and preludes. Singing, without which it is impossible to get the full flavor of Wagner's work, is skirted whenever possible: this is an unapologetic tribute to Wagner the orchestral genius. At times the salesmanship is a little overblown--the glitzy packaging includes a cover shot of the helicopters from Apocalypse Now--and the sound, some of it from very good originals, seems to have been juiced with a little added digital reverb, resulting in an overall glassiness. The gaps between tracks are minimized, disco style, so there's no dead air, and the whole thing has an Entertainment Tonight feel to it. Were he around, Wagner would have screamed bloody murder, then happily taken his cut of the action. For today's on-the-go listener, this may well be the most practical way to enjoy Wagner's music, but we won't be happy until it motivates at least one newcomer to seek out a recording of a complete opera. Anyone who does that will find out what "apocalypse" really means. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bleeding Chunks, July 26, 2003

By	A. Tohline "Tambora" (Rolla, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What the Amazon.com reviewer said about "Wagner served in bleeding chunks" is absolutely right.

Now let's "dissect" that comment, shall we? Suppose you wanted to buy COMPLETE versions of all the operas represented on this double-CD. It would cost a few hundred dollars, right? When faced with that argument, this CD, for those who only want the best, makes sense.

However, suppose you decided to read Charles Dickens the same way? A couple chapters out of A Tale of Two Cities, maybe 3 from Oliver Twist, a half dozen each from Great Expectations and David Copperfield (sort of equivalent to Der Ring), and then a few pages ripped out of Bleak House. What would you have? Certainly great writing, but no context. The writing would prove unfulfilling and deeply lacking, certainly a disappointing choice.

Well, this "Essential Wagner Collection" is even worse. Not only does it slice and dice story lines, but it often doesn't even give you entire scenes; artistic glory and achievement is tossed aside in favor of a sloppy fade-out. And this isn't the exception, it's the rule.

Out of the 27 tracks on this double-CD, an egregious 19 are listed (covertly, and in teeny tiny letters) as "extract"s, often with unsettling fades and cuts on both ends.

And of the recordings that aren't "extract"s, the highly-touted Ride of the Valkries just doesn't deliver (at least, not in Antal Dorati's sloppy reading of it), and the magnificent version of Siegfried's Funeral March is ruined by being chopped off in the worst of places.

I really regret buying this CD. All in all, it adds up to a musical Frankenstein; made of the choicest parts, but hideous when stitched together in such a haphazard and disrespectful way.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Bleeding chunks" and "essential collection" reconciled, October 27, 2003

By	Susan Godley (Temple, TX USA) - See all my reviews

I see the point of view from both previous reviewers.

1. First off, I understand how to a Wagner "fan" or "lover," theres something missing here. I experienced this with John William's music - I loved the star wars and et music, and when I got a two cd "essential collection" of JW, I was disappointed by the cuts/artificial reverb/changed tempos etc... in the tracks that I knew well. However, the tracks I didn't know well sounded fine, until I got the real soundtrack - i.e. Schindler's list - the tempo waaay to fast etc...

2. Secondly, I'm no wagner critic/fan, so I have a different perscpective on him. I love this "essential collection" set, and think that some of the pieces are incredibly moving. I cannot distinguish where the piece has been chopped up, etc... So, I guess for someone not that aquainted with Wagner, this is a perfect set. But for someone that has listened to whole operas from Wagner, this is probably like going back from some the entire "Empire Strikes Back" album to a weird recording of the imperial march...

In conclusion, I would highly recommend this album to someone interested in Wagner, but for someone that already knows him well, this is by no means an "essential collection."

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ugh-the WORST Wagner CD I can imagine., November 1, 2001

By	patrickcassidy (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews

Although these pieces are gathered from excellent recordings, the hideous ways in which they are truncated makes them very nearly worthless. This disc has works of 15 and 20 minutes original duration slashed to 7, 5, maybe even as little as 4 minute chunks. It might serve as an introduction to someone who has never heard Wagner before, but for anyone who already loves this music, it is appalling. I suppose I shouldn't have expected much from any Wagner CD with a picture of helicopters on the cover. Wagner is wonderful, but there are MANY better choices than this most UN-essential collection.