"Great Wagner Conductors" on DG

Just released by Deutsche Grammophon is a four CD set of Historical recordings of orchestral excerpts from various operas of Richard Wagner, with the conductors Furtwangler, de Sabata, Knappertsbusch, Elmendorff, and Jochum.
     These range from Kna's recordings in 1927/28 for Polydor, to de Sabata in '39,to Furtwangler in the 1930s, 40s, and early 50s, Elmendorff during WW2, and Jochum in the fifties, with Knappertsbusch again in the early 1960s.
      All of these conductors were born within 20 years of the death of the composer, and would have rubbed shoulders with people who knew Wagner and his performance practices directly, a direct conduit to "the real Wagner".
      Many of these recordings have been remastered quite nicely. The performances are truly sublime, and a must for anyone wishing to understand the orchestral meaning behind the composer's music.
           One of the most important Historical Wagner orchestral excerpts set for some time, and no doubt, for some time to come. Highly recommended.

Edited by presdoug - May 11 2013 at 14:06

The T wrote: Fantastic. Though studio-wise, no set is complete without Solti (who was Decca anyway so he couldn't really be bere).

Yeah, i've heard some of Solti's excerpts on Decca, fabulous.

presdoug wrote: The T wrote: Fantastic. Though studio-wise, no set is complete without Solti (who was Decca anyway so he couldn't really be bere). Yeah, i've heard some of Solti's excerpts on Decca, fabulous.

I should mention that Solti was a hard sell for me, at first, i used to be critical, but reheard the Wagner excerpts, and i am impressed, now.