One strong vote for Solti! I agree with your statement praising its sound quality. My second pick would be Leopold Stokowski, though I doubt few die-hards would agree with me on that one ;)
Wagner: The Ring Cycle. Diffinitive Lp Pressing?
After looking for a complete (slightly abused) volume of Sir Georg Solti's studio version on Decca in vain here in the states for some time now I see Testament Records is pressing Joseph Keilberth's live version of this Wagner masterpiece on vinyl as a 19 record set in the near future. Many performances appear on those shiny little silver discs and unfortunately that is the way I have been introduced to four versions of this opera conducted by Karajan, Clemens Kraus, Karl Bohm, and lastly Georg Solti. My query is this, what do you think of the current selection of available media quality CD, Lp, etc, then interpretation and performance, and finally pressing quality on vinyl. What is the definitive collection to own, if there is just one? I presently prefer Solti with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on Decca vinyl both for sound quality (especially the air and dynamics) and performance although I admit there is much debate about the different performances. Some say Solti/Decca have the best recording of all time, with great names that were well past their prime and left the performance somewhat flat and two dimensional while others accuse him of being too bombastic as in his other ventures. Understanding performance differences is still my weak spot as I am relatively new to opera and this is one huge undertaking, but I enjoy what I hear.
What do you think?
Happy Listening!
What do you think?
Happy Listening!