An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
When Wagner set the Ring to music, he intended the orchestra to act in the fashion of a chorus from a classic Greek tragedy--setting the mood and commenting on the action. In order to allow a nonverbal musical line to reflect on the plot, Wagner developed a psychologically and musically complex symbology to communicate his thoughts to the listener. From the beginning the Ring has spawned numerous written commentaries on the relationships of the motif structure, but by using examples from the Decca Ring recording, Deryck Cooke's thoughtful spoken commentary is by far the most accessible guide for either the fledgling Ring enthusiast or the seasoned veteran. --Christian C. Rix

An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen, Music, Deryck Cooke, Georg Solti, Wiener Philharmoniker, Anita Valkki, Berit Lindholm, Birgit Nilsson, Brigitte Fassbaender, Christa Ludwig, Claire Watson, Claudia Hellmann, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Eberhard Wächter, George London, Gerhard Stolze, Gottlob Frick, Grace Hoffmann, Gustav Neidlinger, Hans Hotter, Helen Watts, Helga Dernesch, Hetty Plumacher, Ira Malaniuk, James King, Jean Madeira, Joan Sutherland, Kirsten Flagstad, Kurt Böhme, Lucia Popp, Marga Höffgen, Marilyn Tyler, Maureen Guy, Oda Balsborg, Paul Kuen, Régine Crespin, Set Svanholm, Vera Little, Vera Schlosser, Waldemar Kmentt, Walter Kreppel, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous Music

An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
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Ring introduction critique

FASCINATING STUDY FOR NOVICES AND AFFICIONADOS ALIKE

Welcome back to a classic analysis

Essential for Understanding Wagner's Ring Cycle

Very Functional

An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
Deryck Cooke , Georg Solti , Wiener Philharmoniker , Anita Valkki , Berit Lindholm , Birgit Nilsson , Brigitte Fassbaender , Christa Ludwig , Claire Watson , Claudia Hellmann , Dame Gwyneth Jones , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Eberhard Wächter , George London , Gerhard Stolze , Gottlob Frick , Grace Hoffmann , Gustav Neidlinger , Hans Hotter , Helen Watts , Helga Dernesch , Hetty Plumacher , Ira Malaniuk , James King , Jean Madeira , Joan Sutherland , Kirsten Flagstad , Kurt Böhme , Lucia Popp , Marga Höffgen , Marilyn Tyler , Maureen Guy , Oda Balsborg , Paul Kuen , Régine Crespin , Set Svanholm , Vera Little , Vera Schlosser , Waldemar Kmentt , Walter Kreppel , and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Tracks:

Of All Great Musical Compositions... (Examples 1-4)
The Fundamental Symbol... (Examples 5-11)
Returning Now To The Nature Motive... (Examples 6, 12-16)
A Number Of Further Motives... (Examples 5, 17-21)
A Second, Much Smaller Family... (Examples 22-25)
So Much For Nature. (Examples 26-38)
The Cause Of The Deterioration... (Examples 39-44)
The Other Transformation... (Examples 45-48)
Several Other Motives... (Examples 49-52)
Two Further Motives... (Examples 41, 53-61)
The Basic Motive Associated With The Spear... (Examples 62-68)
Along Another, More Complex Line... (Examples 69-72)
In Act Two Of Walkure... (Examples 69, 73-75)
Returning Now To Act Two Of Walkure... (Examples 76-79)
Love Is Another Of The Central Symbols... (Examples 80-83)
Later In The Same Scene... (Examples 84-87)
Freia's Motive Has Two Independent Segments... (Examples 88-91)
The Label 'Flight'... (Example 92)
When Fasolt, In Scene Two Of Rhinegold... (Examples 93-98)
A Little Later In The Interlude... (Examples 99-103)

Tracks:

The Other New Motive... (Examples 104-109)
There Are Several Independent Love-Motives... (Examples 110-114)
The Characters In Whose Lives... (Examples 115-120)
One Further Motive Belongs... (Example 121)
The Sword Motive Recurs... (Examples 122-130)
Ironically, This Phrase... (Examples 131-135)
Closely Associated With Gutrune's Motive... (Examples 136-140)
Here We Come To The End... (Examples 141-146)
Complemtary To This Symbol... (Examples 147-149)
One Last Central Symbol... (Examples 150-157)
One Further Motive Connected... (Examples 158-161)
There Are One Or Two Motives... (Examples 162-168)
These Motives Of Alberich And Mime... (Examples 169-171)
Quite A Number Of The Subsidiary Motives... (Examples 172-176)
Besides This Family Of Motives... (Examples 177-180)
Our Final Example... (Examples 10, 181, 182)
In The Final Scene Of Gotterdammerung... (Examples 181-183)
Even More Masterly... (Examples 184-188)
Now If We Return... (Examples 189-191)
This Masterly Way... (Examples 192, 193)

Amazon.com

When Wagner set the Ring to music, he intended the orchestra to act in the fashion of a chorus from a classic Greek tragedy--setting the mood and commenting on the action. In order to allow a nonverbal musical line to reflect on the plot, Wagner developed a psychologically and musically complex symbology to communicate his thoughts to the listener. From the beginning the Ring has spawned numerous written commentaries on the relationships of the motif structure, but by using examples from the Decca Ring recording, Deryck Cooke's thoughtful spoken commentary is by far the most accessible guide for either the fledgling Ring enthusiast or the seasoned veteran. --Christian C. Rix

Customer Reviews:

Ring introduction critique.......2006-11-04

This is very worthwhile, at the same time it requires time, patience and attention, but it does provide some keys to better enjoyment of a sensational piece of music.

FASCINATING STUDY FOR NOVICES AND AFFICIONADOS ALIKE.......2006-08-16

This may look an intimidating, daunting and dull prospect - a 2+ hour lecture on the motifs in the Ring. Don't be put off. Whether you're a relative novice to the Ring and want to find out what it's all about, more experienced with a desire to understand the composer's methods better or an afficionado who thinks he knows it all inside out, there is great pleasure as well as elucidation to be had from this set. Originally made to accompany the Decca Solti Ring, it contains a multitude of musical illustrations taken from those recordings as well as some specially recorded by Solti just for this Introduction.

It wasn't the first time this has been tried. The famous HMV sets from the late 20's also included recorded examples of over 100 motifs. (These, by the way, are available as part of the Pearl reissue of those wonderful HMV recordings). What that set lacked was the wonderful insights as well as the approachability of the talk by Deryck Cooke. Cooke was a great and much missed musicologist - a Mahler expert responsible for the performing edition of the Tenth Symphony still most played today, a fascinating explorer into the nature of music's basic building-blocks in his excellent book, The Language of Music, and an inspiring and elucidating critic of Wagner's work as shown by the fascinating book he left unfinished at his death, I Saw the World End.

On these CDs he does much more than list the leitmotifs and identify them as calling-cards. He shows the amazingly integrated and organic growth of the musical material that Wagner uses throughout his vast work. He demonstrates how motifs can change their sense and meaning as they evolve through the drama. And he shows how the complex combinations of motifs can radically advance both the musical and the dramatic narrative of the piece. There are even places where he corrects the misinterpretation of some of the motifs that had become ingrained from early commentators' false labels.

This set should engage and enlighten anyone with an interest in Wagner's huge and inexhaustible tetralogy. Do give it a try - no matter how far down the road to Wagnerianism you are.

Welcome back to a classic analysis.......2006-05-28

Deryck Cooke's lecture series upon THE RING is almost as much a classic by now as the Solti RING cycle, with which it was originally issued on LP, and from which it derives its musical examples. The difference is that whereas the Solti RING has been continuously in print ever since it was completed, and was among the first opera sets to benefit from the CD revolution, the Cooke analysis was for long almost totally unobtainable. Now we have it back. It should be welcomed: it is a classic. Cooke's mellow, deep voice with the hint of a Celtic burr - which made him ideal on BBC radio - patiently explains Wagner's melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic metamorphoses to such good effect that if you own this recording, you really require no other RING analysis. (A pity about the abrupt beginnings and endings of too many vocal and orchestral illustrations, though.) Musicology lost a fine, sensitive thinker with Cooke's premature death in 1976.

If all you want is dilettantish baby food, there are plenty of dumbed-down Wagner commentaries on the market, stretching from Anna Russell's famous monologue (which doesn't pretend to be anything other than a parody aimed at morons) to the latest standard-issue "Wagner-was-a-Nazi-boo-hiss" feuilleton (which, unfortunately, does). Without reasonable score-reading skill you will find Cooke useless, however diligently you have ploughed through Marx, Jung, Freud, or other gurus purportedly relevant to THE RING. Cooke expects you to use your brains and your musical sense. Quelle horreur. At today's BBC his "elitism" would render him unemployable.

Essential for Understanding Wagner's Ring Cycle.......2006-05-15

I originally bought this set on vinyl in the early 70s when I discovered the Ring in college. I studied the records and booklet assiduously, and after about three run-throughs I finally started getting it. Wow! Thirty-five years later, I still remember Mr. Cooke's analyses of various motive families, and I don't know how I could have mastered and loved the Ring without him. I now own this set on CD and listen again on the rare occasion of attending a Ring performance. My wife calls me a "Ring nut," but of course I'm nuts about many other things as well.

Bottom line, buy this set and study it if the Ring has captivated you as it has countless others. The presentation is dry, but sticking with it brings measureless and longlasting rewards.

Very Functional.......2006-03-19

This CD set is excellent for what it sets out to do: present the leitmotives of the Ring according to their relationship to one another and their role in developing both characters and plotlines. Deryck Cooke's lectures on each motive are very insightful, very helpful at cueing the listener into the semantic aspect of Wagner's orchestral writing. The one drawback is that the musical examples are a bit jarring. Without fade-ins or -outs, the engineering is quite barbaric. And though the orchestra was, I believe, conducted by Solti, and is beautifully done, the vocal performances can be quite unpleasant. Point being: this is not background music, but in accomplishing what it sets out to do, it is very successful, and I don't know of anything else like it.

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A substantial overview of Karajan's Ring
Where is Karajan's Ring on amazon?
not an introduction to The Ring
A wonderful introduction, or a new experience
good introduction

Highlights from Der Ring des Nibelungen

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen

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Release Date: 2001-02-27

Tracks:

The Rhinegold: Lugt, Schwestern! Die Weckerin Lacht in Den Grund - Helen Donath/Edda Moser/Anna Reynolds/Zoltan Kelemen
The Rhinegold: Nur Wer Der Minne Macht Ensagt - Helen Donath/Edda Moser/Anna Reynolds
The Rhinegold: Der Welt Erbe Gewann Ich Zu Eigen Durch Dich - Zoltan Kelemen/Helen Donath/Edda Moser/Anna Reynolds
The Rhinegold: Haltet Den Rauber! - Helen Donath/Edda Moser/Anna Reynolds
The Rhinegold: Hor, Wotan, Der Harrenden Wort! - Karl Ridderbusch/Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Martti Talvela/Simone Mangelsdorff
The Rhinegold: Schwester! Bruder! Rettet! Helft! - Simone Mangelsdorff/Donald Grobe/Robert Kerns/Gerhard Stolze/Josephine Veasey
The Rhinegold: Wotan, Gemahl, Unselger Mann! - Josephine Veasey/Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Gerhard Stolze/Robert Kerns/Donald Grobe
The Rhinegold: (Transformation Music) - BPO/Herbert Von Karajan
The Rhinegold: Zur Burg Fuhrt Die Brucke - Donald Grobe
The Rhinegold: Abendlich Strahlt Der Sonne Auge - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
The Rhinegold: So Gruss Ich Die Burg - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Josephine Veasey/Gerhard Stolze
The Rhinegold: Rheingold! Rheingold! - Helen Donath/Edda Moser/Anna Reynolds/Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Gerhard Stolze
The Valkyrie: Der Manner Sippe Sass Hier Im Saal - Gundula Janowitz/Jon Vickers
The Valkyrie: Wintersturme Wichen Dem Wonnemond - Jon Vickers
The Valkyrie: Du Bist Der Lenz - Gundula Janowitz
The Valkyrie: O Susseste Wonne! Seligstes Weib! - Jon Vickers/Gundula Janowitz
The Valkyrie: War Walse Dein Vater, Und Bist Du Ein Walsung - Gundula Janowitz/Jon Vickers
The Valkyrie: Siegmund, Den Walsung, Siehst Du, Weib! - Jon Vickers/Gundula Janowitz
The Valkyrie: (The Ride Of The Valkyries) - BPO/Herbert Von Karajan
The Valkyrie: Leb Wohl, Du Kuhnes, Herrliches Kind! - Thomas Stewart
The Valkyrie: Der Augen Leuchtendes Paar - Thomas Stewart
The Valkyrie: Loge, Hor! Lausche Hieher! - Thomas Stewart
The Valkyrie: (Magic Fire Music) - BPO/Herbert Von Karajan

Tracks:

Siegfried: Dass Der Mein Vater Nicht Ist - Forest Murmurs - Jess Thomas
Siegfried: Nun Sing! Ich Lausche Dem Gesang! - Jess Thomas/Catherine Gayer
Siegfried: Prld To Act III. - BPO/Herbert Von Karajan
Siegfried: Wache, Wala! Wala! Erwach! - Thomas Stewart
Siegfried: (Brunnhilde's Awakening: Intro) - BPO/Herbert Von Karajan
Siegfried: Heil Dir, Sonne! Heil Dir, Licht! - Helga Dernesch/Jess Thomas
Siegfried: Siegfried! Siegfried Seliger Held! - Helga Dernesch/Jess Thomas
Twilight Of The Gods: (Orchestral Interlude) - BPO/Herbert Von Karajan
Twilight Of The Gods: Zu Neuen Taten, Teurer Helde - Helga Dernesch
Twilight Of The Gods: Mehr Gabst Du, Wunderfrau, Als Ich Zu Wahren Weiss - Helge Brilioth/Helga Dernesch
Twilight Of The Gods: (Siegfried's Rhine Journey) - BPO/Herbert Von Karajan
Twilight Of The Gods: (Funeral Music) - BPO/Herbert Von Karajan
Twilight Of The Gods: Starke Scheite Schichtet Mir Dort - Helga Dernesch
Twilight Of The Gods: Mein Erbe Nun Nehm Ich Zu Eigen - Helga Dernesch
Twilight Of The Gods: Fliegt Heim, Ihr Raben! - Helga Dernesch
Twilight Of The Gods: Conclusion 'Zuruck Vom Ring!' - Karl Ridderbusch

Customer Reviews:

A substantial overview of Karajan's Ring.......2007-07-11

One could debate for a brief eternity which conductor should be labeled "the best." Numerous magnanimous interpreters come to mind: Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, Otto Klemperer, Carlos Kleiber, Karl Böhm, Herbert von Karajan, Sir Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim, Giuseppe Sinopoli, and James Levine are just a potpourri of renowned orchestral masters. Toscanini and Karajan were probably the most influential in redefining the nature in which one should approach a piece of music; both insisted that traditional conducting, in which a piece was essentially performed in the same manner continuously, was neither healthy nor appropriate for the music in question and, they laid the foundation for conductors to develop their own characteristic conducting and interpretative styles.

One now comes to Richard Wagner, often considered the master of Romantic music and one of the definitive composers to ever set foot on the soil of this planet. If one were to painstakingly evaluate the two conductors' collective Wagnerian works, one would most likely come to the conclusion that Hungarian-born Sir Georg Solti was a "more perfect" Wagnerian conductor than the Austrian musical megalomaniac Herbert von Karajan. Solti's style of conducting, which lent itself to the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, Mahler, and Richard Strauss, was obviously within the atmosphere of Wagner, and his John Culshaw-produced rendering of Der Ring des Nibelungen can easily be considered one of the greatest achievements in modern recorded sound. Nonetheless, Karajan's brilliance came not from his ability to conduct Wagner perfectly, as one might arguably suggest for Solti, but rather from his ability to approach every composer with a certain level of comfort and singularity while simultaneously retaining his format of interpretation. Karajan was just as comfortable with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as he was with Jean Sibelius and Arnold Schoenberg, and his expertise transcended every medium, from choral works and masses to symphonies to operas to concerti. It was also his singular smoothness, his uncanny ability to gloss and refine the roughest and most vulgar of music (which, occasionally, in a work such as Carmen, had a derogatory effect) which made his Wagnerian music so spectacular a beacon and link within the chain mail of the musical world.

This is the reason why this recording of Der Ring des Nibelungen features what critics have called a "chamber music approach" to the Wagner score; Karajan dissected the music (as he did with everything he conducted) and took every measure to present, at all times, the beauty inherent in the music, even at the most violent and explosive instances. No fault is obvious in this, and with the operas of Rossini or Donizetti, no problem would have occurred; however, with Wagner, placing too burdensome an emphasis on beauty could, possibly, have an acidic effect on the overall drama of the work. This became an almost debilitating fault near the end of his illustrious career, but here the results are stunning. Karajan's interpretation is not sluggish (by the standards set by Solti, it is actually fairly brisk) and the orchestral performance from the imperial Berliner Philharmoniker is beyond betterment.

Thus, one must wonder why this recording of the Ring Cycle, with arguably the best conductor in the world leading one of the finest groups of musicians ever assembled, is frequently dogged by critics as weak and woefully idealistic. The answer lies in Karajan's casting which is, overall, inferior to Solti's. However, jewel-bedecked performances can be found in Karajan's cast with which Solti's cannot compete. Jon Vickers and Gundula Janowitz bring new definition to the twins Siegmund and Sieglinde. Operatic roles may have existed which Vickers did not perfect, but those which he performed (Peter Grimes, Samson, Tristan, Aeneas, Otello, Don José) were forever standardized by his interpretation. Siegmund is no exception, and though James King was a golden-toned, amorous youth on the Solti Die Walküre, Vickers is mightily Zarathustran and gloriously introspective during "Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond." Janowitz, who could make the harshest, most brutal German phrases drip with the smoothness and creamy elegance of French, brings radiance and gleaming simplicity to her Sieglinde which no other soprano could dare attempt. Their ecstatic, and eventually orgasmic, love duet ("Du bist der Lenz" ... "O süsseste Wonne! Seligstes Weib!" ... "Siegmund, den Wälsung, siehst du, Weib!") may be the greatest moment of Karajan's entire Ring Cycle.

The character of Wotan, the ruler of the gods, should, theoretically, be performed by a commanding, sonorous bass-baritone such as George London, Hans Hotter, Theo Adam, or James Morris, the most superb modern Wagnerian baritone. However, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who was so praised for his vocal delicacy and aristocratic gentility, is surprisingly successful as the ambitious god whose ageless wisdom was blinded by his opulent rapaciousness in Das Rheingold. Fischer-Dieskau was often fussy and blusterous on the operatic stage, but brief instances of vocal waywardness are often excusable through Wagner, and he will have no difficulty pleasing the most caustic critic during his wondrous musing as the gods enter the celestial fortress of Valhalla ("Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge...So grüss ich die Burg"). Thomas Stewart, a severely under-recorded American baritone, excels as Wotan in Die Walküre and Siegfried. Wotan's eminent farewell to Brünnhilde in Die Walküre ("Leb wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind!...Der Augen leuchtendes Paar") could easily buckle many baritones; Stewart, however, sings with unfettered passion and mournful abandonment as the pained father. He is less thrilling (due to the context of the music, not his voice) in his conjuring of Erda in Siegfried ("Wache, Wala! Wala! Erwach!").

Gerhard Stolze, the consummate character singer, is not featured on this set of highlights as Mime, Alberich's toiling, gnomish brother, in Siegfried; his unique caricature of Loge in Das Rheingold is inserted instead. Loge, the mischievous demigod of fire, is a part usually performed by a heldentenor, such as Wolfgang Windgassen, Set Svanholm, or Siegfried Jerusalem, and for those strictly concerned with vocal beauty, these singers would be highly appropriate. However, for those seeking a more burlesque, stupendously acted performance (merely listen as he warns the gods not to enter Valhalla ["Ihrem Ende eilen sie zu"]), Stolze is perfectly idiomatic and certainly does not "bark" his lines, though he is occasionally criticized for doing so. Hungarian bass-baritone Zoltan Kélémén's career began, for the most part, with Karajan casting him as Alberich. The most inimitable interpreter of the dwarf fiend was Gustav Neidlinger; his Alberich was explosively, thunderously vindictive, a Caligulan nemesis. Kélémén's Alberich was a twisted, grisly deuce, and though he may have lacked the vocal robustness of Neidlinger (and the malignant guffaw), his retort against the mocking of the Rheintöchter ("Der Welt Erbe gewänn ich zu eigen duch dich") is a petrifying outburst. Helen Donath, Edda Moser, and Anna Reynolds are the most perfectly tuned Rheintöchter available on disc. No other trio can compare with their beguiling chatter in the first scene ("Lugt, Schwestern! Die Weckerin lacht in den Grund") nor with their wrathful longing in the finale ("Rheingold! Rheingold! Reines Gold!"). Liselotte Rebmann, Daniza Mastilovic, Ingrid Steger, Lilo Brockhaus, Carlotta Ordassy, Barbro Ericson, Cvetka Ahlin, and Helja Jenckel are similarly victorious during the Walkürnritt ("Hojotoho!"), which is sure to conjure an image of helicopters napalming seaside Vietnamese villages vis-à-vis Francis Ford Coppola or hellish, armed and armor-bedecked maidens soaring about on flying horses.

Josephine Veasey possessed an elegant, matronly tone which was perfectly suited for Fricka, Wotan's bickering wife, the goddess of marriage. Donald Grobe, a Karajan regular, is insipid but secure as Froh in his brief monologue ("Zur Burg führt die Brücke"). Martti Talvela and Karl Ridderbusch (another Karajan regular) shared the four main bass roles in the saga: Fasolt, Fafner, Hunding, and Hagen. Talvela is noted as one of the most sympathetic Fasolts on record; one must wonder how Talvela, the gargantuan Finnish bass, could not be suitable as a giant in any opera. His performance is woefully truncated here, alas. His Hunding, which was surely brutish and bovine, is not heard at all. The iniquitous villain Fafner's greatest moment comes not in Das Rheingold as the bellowing lummox but in Siegfried as the leering, yawning dragon; this is also left out of the collection. Ridderbusch's performance as Hagen, often heralded as one of his finest, is represented here by little more than his final outburst of "Zurück vom Ring!" After Dame Joan Sutherland's "cameo" appearance as the Waldwogel in Sir Georg Solti's Siegfried, all other performances are bound to fall short. Nonetheless, Catherine Gayer is notably lovely and chirpy.

Most criticism concerning the soloists is invested in insulting Jess Thomas, Helga Dernesch, and Helge Brilioth. Thomas, a regal Lohengrin and Tannhäuser in his youth, has forever been the recipient of spiteful banter reviling his performance as Siegfried in the third opera of the cycle. It is true that Windgassen owned the role in much the same way that Birgit Nilsson was the executor of Brünnhilde (after Flagstad and Varnay); however, their performances were sublime in the locality of their vocal precision and dramatic prowess, which were sublime. In the sector of vocal attractiveness (which is, one must concede, Karajan's principal area of focus), Windgassen fell short of the golden-throated Thomas, and Nilsson's steely voice, though it possessed its own rampageous eroticism, was also inferior to Helga Dernesch's richer and milder tone. As examples, Thomas is marvelous during the darkly impressionistic, meandering Waldweben ("Dass der mein Vater nicht ist"); Dernesch is ravishing in the Awakening Scene ("Heil dir, Sonne! Heil dir, Licht! ... Siegfried! Siegfried! Seliger Held!") and in the apocalyptic finale of Götterdämmerung ("Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort...Fliegt heim, ihr Raben!"). Poor Brilioth is often criticized for simply sounding dull and inadequate as Siegfried in Götterdämmerung, and one must concede that it would have been more prudent for Karajan to cast Windgassen. [Régine Crespin, who is not featured on this collection, performed Brünnhilde in Die Walkure. This had mixed results, for most held her performance as the Valkyrie in juxtaposition to her gorgeous interpretation of Sieglinde on the Solti recording. I, personally, found her Brunnhilde delightfully witty and humane.]

Perhaps the greatest fault of this collection of highlights is that it is what it is: a collection of excerpts. Der Ring des Nibelungen is an expansive masterpiece which is not suitable for a two-disc collection of noteworthy tracks. This compilation, nevertheless, is indeed superb (as are most Deutsche Grammophon/Panorama releases), as is the set of highpoints from Karl Böhm's Ring Cycle, released through Philips. One should, by all means, disregard the hateful criticism placed upon Karajan's work here. It is not his finest, but it is Karajan, and his worst level is a pinnacle of excellence which most conductors can only hope to achieve, particularly in a Wagnerian sphere.

Where is Karajan's Ring on amazon?.......2005-09-05

I can't find any of the four Ring operas here at amazon.com. This is very peculiar, but in case you, too, are looking for them, I can say that the Rheingold and Die Walkure are superb, but the Siegfried is vocally a catastrophe, beginning with the woeful Jess Thomas in the title role, and the Gotterdammerung is hampered by an inedequate Siegfried and a not veyr inspired dernesch as Brunnhilde. DG has remastered them all at mid-price, and the mid-Sixties analog sound was good to begin with.

not an introduction to The Ring.......2005-04-18

This is absolutely the best "highlight" collection out there -- no others come close to the range and depth of material provided. But beware, this is not an "introduction to The Ring", as some claim -- the notes are skimpy, the titles of the excerpts are untranslated, there is no libretto, no description of the excerpts -- their context or meaning -- so what you have is a great summary of the works -- one that is most useful if you already know them -- something to take along with you in the car or while jogging or walking the dog to remind you of the real thing. Bear in mind that whatever the deficiencies of this collection, the others have the same faults also.

A wonderful introduction, or a new experience.......2004-02-14

Admittedly, it is a daunting task to try to "get into" opera, and even more so with Wagner's Ring. This CD is perfect for the beginner and the more experienced listener for various reasons. First of all, it spoils you somewhat in presenting you with the best pieces of the various operas. These "bleeding chunks" certainly give you a wonderful introduction to the various motifs, and most importantly, are very long pieces. The CD manages to capture several of the different flavors present in Wagner's opera.

Secondly, the CD is worth its price mainly due to Karajan's conducting. After listening to Solti's version of the Ring (also wonderful), I was suprised by the subtle hints he seems to charge through. You can literally hear the galloping of the horse, or subtle musical hints which add a great appreciation and character to the opera. Thus, if you have experienced several other conductors, but have not had the pleasure of Karajan, it would be worth the price.

Unfortunatly, some of the singing is kinda weak. Again, after Solti's Valkyries, you will have a hard time getting into the singing. And again, Karajan's Brunhilde isn't as strong as Solti's, but she still holds her own. Loge, here, sounds like a trickster (though he does sing/speak his words), and the Wotan's are alright.

In conclusion, this is perfect if you want to add flavor to your Wagner listening experience, or just want to know what the big deal is. I, of course, suggest getting one of the DVD's to get the big picture of what is going on (Levine's MET is a good start). So buy and enjoy.

good introduction.......2002-06-11

this is a good way to see why it is worth getting the full Der Ring opera--all 15 CDs! having just the highlights shows you the power and majesty of Wagner's music, but skips the depth and true emotion you get out of listening to the whole opera.

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Stracciari, Riccardo

String Quintet in F Major

Just A-Pickin' and A-Singin'

Supersonic [CD-single]

The Bells of Arcosanti

Stationen [Import]

The Singles 1992-2003

Studio 99 Perform All the Beatles No. 1s

Sometimes You Win

The Finishing Touch

Other Side [Live]

The Lost Masters [Explicit Lyrics] [Limited Edition]

Premier

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