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First, thanks to all respondents to my recent posting on Tristan und Isolde recordings. You have given me an education and much useful information.
I have been persuaded that I ought, at least, look for a decent copy of the Furtwangler LP set. I write now for clarification on this set. What I am seeing mostly is, I believe, Angel 3588, but I see on the web items with different cover art and so on. I shall try and attach pics. Are these all the same recording? Is one version preferable to another?
Many thanks,
George Roland
Follow Ups:
Only you can decide, but I would be tempted to see if you can find the combination of least expensive/most pristine version (non digitally messed with of course)-I have seen good copies of the Angel set for under $10, and I have picked up two copies of it for free. If you love the interpretation you can then seek out the rarer items. If you want to spend a bit more, I have seen the EMI and the RCA online for $25.
Tristan is the rare Wagner opera I don't love, although I love parts of it. But Furtwangler, of whom I am NOT a complete fan, has a sense of line in this opera that is compelling, and the Philharmonia, early in their career, play wonderfully for him. I have others - Kleiber doesn't have a great Tristan or Isolde, Fischer-Dieskau was clearly at the end of his career (he is spectacular on the Furtwangler), and the early digital sound is questionable. I would like to hear the Karajan, with Vickers - mixed reviews, but what a voice Vickers had. I have the Bohm as well, but I just can't get motivated to give it a spin, since I find Bohm such a mediocre conductor (I think his Ring is quite poor). I also have the Pappano, but I find Domingo's voice to be all wrong for Wagner (and I have his Meistersinger and Tannhauser as well, so I have heard a lot of it. Last, I also have the Solti, which I acquired as a completist, wanting to have all of Solti's Wagner on LP, and I haven't listened to that yet either.
It is true that the best sound is on the original EMI issue ALP 1030-35, however, as jdaniel says, they are hard to find and can be pricey. Alas, I only have three of the six discs, but they do sound great:
The next best option might be the earliest US issue, on RCA LM 6700 (I am not alone in this assessment). Sound is very close to the original EMI. Not hard to find or expensive, but it may take a little persistence to find a really clean copy. I believe that the Angel issue in the blue/green box only came in a blue label US pressing, made by Capitol, and any of the various EMI issues is a better option than that.
Edits: 10/25/16
I bought mine in the late '70's. What I was told at the time was that the EMI pressing was way better than the Angel, so I bought the EMI.
They certainly were: German pressings, and thick and flat.
I'm a big fan of the set in your first picture, because to my ears the early UK black-label vinyl seems to have an extra dollop of immediacy compared to the later US and UK pressings. (Early UK and later US pressings were issued in box set of your second pic).
The earliest pressings came out individually in six slipcases, but can be a bit expensive and hard to find in clean shape.
The vinyl in your last pic was digitally-remastered; a concern for some.
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