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In Reply to: RE: Parsifal posted by TGR on April 03, 2015 at 15:29:18
I've avoided the performance, assuming that Solti's would be too hard-driven to allow the luminous parts... to "luminate."
Follow Ups:
I recall the reviews of the set when it first came out....they noted that Solti had matured as a Wagner conductor, that it was a much more mellow than expected based on his reputation as a dynamic conductor. I always found Solti's recordings of Mozart's operas to belie his reputation as well, so it comes as no surprise that the orchestral execution is actually lovely and not whipped-up. And it is the Vienna Phil, and a Decca recording. Of the sets I own, I would place Solti's conducting above that of Gergiev, certainly, and Janowski. But Kna certainly gets to the heart of the matter better, as does Kubelik in the recording he made in 1980 with the Bavarian Symphony (as we call it in English). Solti' cast is variable - this isn't Kollo's best role, and I don't know about Frick - but he has Christa Ludwig and Fischer-Dieskau.
So I don't think Solti's set is indispensable - it is a noble effort, but falls short of others. I have collected all of his Wagner sets on LP, with the exception of Tristan, so of course I need these one being the collector that I am. I'm looking for a good copy of that Tristan, by the way.
TGR:
Solti seems to arouse passions of some critics; me, not so much. I have been annoyed by his tendency to clip rhythms in Verdi (my standard is Toscanini), but still have not found him to be hyper-driven. And further to your comment re Mozart, there's a Magic Flute (with Christina Deutekom as Queen) that is beautiful. I am not familiar with Solti's entire discography, of course, but I wonder from time to time if he did something truly outlandish once and became condemned thereafter to critical expectations of more of the same.
Jeremy
FYI: At least some of the Solti "Tristan" London LP boxed sets came with a bonus LP of rehearsal excerpts. And some came with an awesome full-color large postcard of Nilsson in Isolde drag. Things you might want to keep in mind while shopping around.
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