oscar@utcsrgv.UUCP (Oscar M. Nierstrasz) (05/02/84)
Wagner, like beer, seems to be an acquired taste. I got a deleted copy of Karajan's Gotterdammerung (Goetterdaemmerung??? -- yech!) a few years ago, and I've been playing it faithfully at least once a year (!). I also recently got Kleiber's Tristan und Isolde and Janowski's Rheingold (Dresden performance on Digital Eurodisc). Although it's growing on me, I must confess I find the whole thing rather a murky mess. There are many different interpretations on the signifigance (?!) of the Ring, and I can only assume that the particular interpretation colours a performance. Having little to compare these performances with and not much exposure thus far (how often do *you* unplug your telephone to listen to four hours of uninterrupted Wagner?) I find it difficult to evaluate what I'm hearing. Bulfinch's has a good synopsis of Wagner's Ring, the Penguin guide suggests some good performances, and various other books tell me when Wagner lived and died, but I'm not sure what all of this really means. Can someone tell me a bit more about interpretations of Wagner in live *or* recorded performance? NB: Janowski's Walkure is on sale cheap here -- is it worth getting or would I be better off with a different recording? Much obliged. Oscar Nierstrasz
jho@ihuxn.UUCP (Yosi Hoshen) (05/05/84)
>(!). I also recently got Kleiber's Tristan und Isolde and Janowski's >Rheingold (Dresden performance on Digital Eurodisc). Although it's >growing on me, I must confess I find the whole thing rather a murky >mess. There are many different interpretations on the signifigance >(?!) of the Ring, and I can only assume that the particular Does any one have a clear opinion on the Dresden performance of the Ring. As I understand, the entire Ring is available on 19 CDs on the Denon label performed by the Dresden State Orchestra. I assume the Eurodisc LPs and the Denon CDs share the same master. -- Yosi Hoshen Bell Laboratories Naperville, Illinois (312)-979-7321 Mail: ihnp4!ihuxn!jho
asente@decwrl.UUCP (05/08/84)
I would recommend Deryck Cooke's "An Introduction to Wagner's Ring," on the London label (catalog number RDN S-1). Although a little pretentious at times, it presents all the major themes in the work and describes how they relate to each other. Before I heard this, I too found the Ring rather unaccessible, but it has since become one of my favorite works. It really helps a lot to be able to notice that while a character is talking about A he really means B because the B theme can be heard in the orchestra at the time, or to trace out the development of ideas that is paralled by the development of their themes. Often before something important happens, the events that lead up to it and that cause it to happen are accompanied by music that eventually develops into a theme directly concerning the event. [San Francisco Opera is performing Siegfried this summer!!! I can hardly wait!] -paul asente (decvax, ucbvax, ihnp4, ...)!decwrl!asente
jho@ihuxn.UUCP (Yosi Hoshen) (05/09/84)
Paul Asente writes: >I would recommend Deryck Cooke's "An Introduction to Wagner's Ring," on >the London label (catalog number RDN S-1). Although a little >pretentious at times, it presents all the major themes in the work and >describes how they relate to each other. Before I heard this, I too >found the Ring rather unaccessible, but it has since become one of my >favorite works. Thank you for this information. I have been looking for such an introductory material on the Ring for a long time. (This type of info makes net.music.classical very valuable for me). My son (14 yrs old) got hooked on the Ring last year, when Public TV put it on the air. Before that he enjoyed listening to classical music, but only after the broadcast of the Ring he really began to appreciate classical music. I would have to say that the Ring was a very useful spark. Unlike many other parents my situation is reversed, I have to urge my son that for social reasons he ought to tolerate rock. Coming from Israel, where Wagner's music is a taboo (less so nowadays) because of the association of Wagner and anti-Semitism, my exposure to Wagner's music is recent. I think it is possible to disassociate Wagner the man from his music. This statement may not be true if you are a survivor of the Holocaust. As for the music, I have difficulties finding words to express my appreciation for it. -- Yosi Hoshen Bell Laboratories Naperville, Illinois (312)-979-7321 Mail: ihnp4!ihuxn!jho