Wagner: Siegfried Idyll; Overtures, preludes & orchestral excerpts from Der fliegende Holländer, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Die Walküre, Rienzi, Tristan und Isolde &Götterdämmerung
Published:
COMPOSERS: Wagner
LABELS: Mercury Living Presence
WORKS: Siegfried Idyll; Overtures, preludes & orchestral excerpts from Der fliegende Holländer, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Die Walküre, Rienzi, Tristan und Isolde &Götterdämmerung
PERFORMER: Detroit SO/Paul Paray
CATALOGUE NO: 434 383-2 ADD 1956/60
Paul Paray’s Wagner is swift and somewhat perfunctory in places (the Dutchman is certainly flying), but this dip into Wagner makes interesting listening. After many years with the Colonne Orchestra, Paray ended his days in Detroit (1952-63) and these recordings date from 1956 and 1960. The overall ambience smacks of a dry school hall rather than the Living Presence of Mercury’s label, exposing some poor tuning, and though there are exciting moments one also misses the voices. Christopher Fifield