Classical Music

That Hansjorg Albrecht is becoming increasingly involved with conducting, ever since his highly successful Braunfels orchestral songs, is no longer a secret. In the following recording, some of which was recorded live in Weimar, he has turned to Richard Wagner's Ring. He has once again selected the Staatskapelle Weimar for this task, an ensemble whose history extends all the way back to the year 1491. Thus this orchestra has one of the richest traditions of any ensemble in the world, and is more than familiar with the works of Richard Wagner.

REVIEW:

The sound is high-quality digital, with the Weimar orchestra as full and deep as on many audiophile recordings of Wagner, so the recording could only be improved with a multichannel version. Perhaps of greatest interest to newcomers is the inclusion of all the standard concert pieces, as well as generous portions of music that convey important aspects of the drama, though without any vocal parts. Maazel’s recording is still available, but Albrecht’s interpretation gives it a salutory renewal, so The Ring Without Words continues to make Wagner’s masterpiece accessible to listeners who haven’t taken the plunge.

– AllMusicGuide.com (Blair Sanderson)

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Organist Hansjorg Albrecht and his sound engineer Martin Fischer have collaborated again on a set of new Richard Wagner organ transcriptions. This time Albrecht plays the celebrated Woehl organ in the Herz-Jesu-Kirche in Munich. The transcriptions are by the young composer Axel Langmann, and by Edwin Henry Lemare. The Overtures to Die Feen and Das Liebesverbot are heard in world premiere recordings. Hansjorg Albrecht has released more than 20 albums on OehmsClassics, both as conductor and organist. They include the complete recording of Walter Braunfels' orchestral songs, which received many positive comments from the international media; and Richard Wagner's Ring ohne Worte in the orchestral version by Lorin Maazel, which was nominated for the German Record Critics' Prize. Hansjorg Albrecht was also nominated for a Grammy award in 2013 in the category Best Classical Instrumental Solo for his organ recording of Gustav Holst's The Planets.

An overall glance at the history of opera shows that in many ways, the growth of multinational record companies after the end of the Second World War has had far-reaching effects. Up till then the national singing schools controlled the scene and nothing could have been more logical than for Italian, German, Russian and French singers to perform mainly in their own language. The language an opera was staged in depended on where the opera was being performed. For example: Boris Godunov wasput on in Russian at the Bolshoi, in Italian at the Scala, in French at the Opera, in German at the Staatsoper in Vienna, in English at Covent Garden and in English or Italian at the Met, depending on which company was performing. This release, despite it's 1962 recording, follows that same tradition of singing the presented opera in the language of the country in which it is being performed. In this case, Italian.

While the theme of this album may seem contradictory, the chamber music of powerhouse composer Richard Wagner has been taken by Gerald Schubert and proven to be of substance and beauty. Gerald Schubert, who is a long time member of the Vienna Philharmonic, joins with pianist Bernadette Bartos for this recording. The works on this recording include Wagner’s Duo for Violin and Piano on Motifs from Wagner’s “Tannhauser”, Walther’s Prize Song from “Die Meistersinger von Numberg,” Five Poems for a Female Voice after Texts by Mathilde Wesendonch, and Isolde’s Love Death from “Tristan and Isolde”, Sigfried- Paraphrase, and Parsifal-Paraphrase. +

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WAGNER: DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDE

Salzburg Marionette Theatre's condensed two-hour version of The Ring of the Nibelung was premiered in cooperation with the Salzburg State Theatre in March of 2012. Performing to the legendary recordings by Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic, the unrivaled puppetry of the Salzburg Marionettes guides spectators through Wagner's epic masterpiece. This simplified version, which showcases the best known scenes, is perfect for Wagner beginners and younger audiences.

While hunting at night, Prince Arindal encounters the beautiful fairy Ada. Both fall in love immediately. Arindal decides to be always at Ada's side in the fairy realm. The fairy king warns, however, if Arindal should ever leave Ada alone for longer than a year she will turn to stone. But the Prince must leave Ada. Will he be back on time? Wagner's opera Die Feen (The Fairies), a charming fairy tale about the magic of love and music, is featured here in a special adaptation for children by the Wiener Staatsoper.

Yondani Butt was born in Macau. He studied conducting with Wolfgang Vacano at Indiana University, majoring in chemistry. He continued to study conducting with Josef Blatt at the University of Michigan while pursuing his chemistry degree. Hailed by Robert Marsh of the Chicago Sun Times as “an outstanding talent,” Yondani Butt has received acclamation from critics and audiences for his many recordings and concert performances. He died on August 28, 2014. “If you’re one of those classical enthusiasts who prefer their Wagner experience to be administered in brief but nonetheless memorable doses this splendid new Nimbus collection could well have been conceived specifically with you in mind. Conductor Yondani Butt and the LSO serve up commanding performances of some of the most evocative and instantly recognizable orchestral passages in the Wagner canon, including ‘Magic Flute Music,’ Siegfried’s ‘Rhine Journey,’ and the [album’s] show stopping finale, ‘Ride of the Valkyries.’ (Halesowen News) “…The sound in these recordings is extremely vivid and realistic… Butt’s Wagner is very impressive.” (Musicweb International)

This collection of rarely recorded Wagner repertoire, the master’s work for voice and piano, includes the famed Wesendonck-Lieder in both its original German and an Arrigo Boito Italian version. Also featured are the famed ‘Gretchen am Spinnrade’, ‘Melodram’, the complex ‘Dors, mon enfant’ and further works with texts by writers including Hugo, Heine, de Ronsard and Scheurlin. Michela Sburlati - ‘a fine dramatic soprano’ (NYT) and fellow Italian maestro Marco Scolastra perform. Booklet includes liner notes, sung texts and artist biographies.

Water Damage turned into luck The Rhine is where Richard Wagner's cycle of operas "Der Ring des Nibelungen" begins and ends - and it was beside the Rhine in 1851 that the composer first dreamed of this equally visionary and monumental work. Even if Wagner's plans for a festival would ultimately be realized in an entirely different part of Germany, the performance of a "Ring on the Rhine" will always remain something very special. And where better to make this happen than at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein? Two cities, two orchestras, two casts of singers - with the Rhine opera's fantastic ensemble of singers and it's two outstanding orchestras, the Duisburger Philharmoniker and the D�sseldorfer Symphoniker, at their two venues in Duisburg und D�sseldorf, the essential conditions were in place. The "Ring on the Rhine" staged by Dietrich W. Hilsdorf and under my own musical direction gradually began to take shape from June 2017 onwards. The successful conclusion of this two year musical and scenic collaboration was planned for the end of the 2018/19 season with the performance of a complete "Ring" cycle at each of the two venues. However, a few weeks before the premiere of "G�tterd�mmerung", a defective sprinkler system flooded Theater Duisburg. The damage this caused made completing the staged "Ring" cycle in Duisburg (for the time being) impossible..." (From the Editorial of Axel Kober)

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The opening salvo of Wagner's tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), Das Rheingold establishes immediately the epic nature of Wagner's intentions in a epochal tale that owes much to Old Norse and Icelandic sagas. Featuring the acclaimed conductor Jaap Van Zweeden with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, this production is graced with the presence of noted soloists such as Matthias Goerne, Kwangchul Youn, Eri Nakamura and Michelle DeYoung, among others.

Directed by Hans Hulscher. Starring Heinz Kruse, Jeannine Altmeyer, Henk Smit.

This live recording of Wagner’s great opera Tristan und Isolde was recorded in August of 1958.; Wolfgang Windgassen, who champions the role of Tristan, was known for his powerful voice and successful performances in Wagner operas. He is often considered the most accomplished Wagner tenor of the twentieth century.; Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson was also a Wagner specialist, along with works from Strauss. Her voice is remembered for its force and brilliance in the upper register.

What are heroes made of and why do our societies need them so badly? At the Staatsoper Stuttgart, stage director Árpád Schilling tries to answer this mythological, political and existential question, lying at the core of Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin. “A wonder! A miracle!”, the men and women of Brabant agreed when, against all expectations, someone stood up for Elsa and invalidated the allegations made by the plaintiff Telramund. And yet he does the most normal thing in the world: to help a person in distress. So why is there a need for this savior, surrounded by the aura of mystery, whose name and origin even his new wife Elsa cannot ask? Why does the collective body abdicates its moral and political responsibilities and surrenders them to a single individual? And when does the providential man stops being a savior and becomes a threat? For Hungarian stage director Árpád Schilling, a fierce enemy of the very idea of the cult of a personality, and he himself a political exile, these questions lie at the core of Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin. For his new production at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, the stage director recenters the opera on the expressivity of the direction, and strips the stage of all its ornamental or mythological elements. He creates a coming-of-age tale, pervaded by the themes of responsibility, trust, and the relationship between the individual and the collective. This powerful and ambitious proposition is mirrored in Maestro Cornelius Meister’s expressive and philosophical conducting, and in Michaël König, Simone Schneider, Martin Gantner, Okka von der Damerau’s profound singing.

This 2012 Frankfurt Opera production of Richard Wagner’s second of four “Ring” operas, Die Walküre, features the Frankfurter Opern und Museumsorchester led by conductor Sebastian Weigle. The cast of singers includes Frank van Aken as Siegmund, Amber Wagner as Sieglinde, Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde, Terje Stensvold as Wotan, Ain Anger as Hunding and Martina Dike as Fricka. Mr. Weigle is the General Music Director of Frankfurt Opera, a position he’s held since 2008/9.

This never-before-released-in-any-format, newly re-mastered, 1960 live performance of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman features the soprano Anja Silja (b. 1940) as Senta in her electrifying Bayreuth Festival debut. +Ms. Silja was a sensational presence on the Bayreuth stage throughout the 1960’s. + Conducted by the eminent Wolfgang Sawallisch, this recording also features tenors Franz Crass and Fritz Uhl, and bass Josef Greindl, noted Wagnerians all, in leading roles.

In this biographical and musical road movie by Andy Sommer, Antoine Wagner heads to Switzerland on the trail of his great-great-grandfather, renowned composer Richard Wagner. In order to apprehend the composer's complex personality, Antoine Wagner returns to sites where his ancestor lived, meeting historians, musicologists, musicians, and enlightened amateurs, and exploring the landscapes that inspired Richard Wagner in one of his most artistically rich periods.

Parsifal, Wagner's last opera, is a work of intense humanity. + Created in honor of the Wagner bicentenary, Stephen Langridge's new production, with designs by Alison Chitty, distils with 'intellectual fiber and visual eloquence' (Financial Times) the timeless and universal nature of the Parsifal story. + Tenor Simon O'Neill stars in the title role. + Ren� Pape as Gurnemanz is 'immaculate' (Guardian), Gerald Finley as Amfortas is 'compelling' (Telegraph) and Angela Denoke as Kundry is 'dramatically electrifying' (Telegraph). + Antonio Pappano leads the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

In 2015, Sony Classical reissued Die Walküre and Siegfried from the first digital recording of the Ring. “It has stood the test of time remarkably well”, observed ClassicsToday.com when the complete set, originally released in 1983, was last reissued. “The Staatskapelle Dresden plays spotlessly for Marek Janowski … An excellent ‘Ring’ experience.” Now the remaining two music dramas from this acclaimed cycle are again available separately. Das Rheingold is dominated by Siegfried Nimsgern’s vibrant, articulate Alberich, Peter Schreier’s wonderfully vital, strikingly intelligent and articulate Loge and Theo Adam’s experienced Wotan. But Fricka, the Giants and Rhinemaidens are all well cast, and the whole performance grips one’s attention from start to finish.”

Katharina Wagner, the great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner, is currently director of the Bayreuth Festival, making this recording even more special.. Tristan und Isolde was first performed in 1865 and provided inspiration to many composers including Mahler, Strauss, Szymanowski and Berg. It is widely acknowledged as one of the peaks of the operatic repertoire, and has been performed regularly since it's premiere. This production, by renowned director Christoph Marthaler, stars leading Wagner exponents Robert Dean Smith and Ir�ne Theorin in the title roles, supported by the Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Peter Schneider. The press had only good things to say about this performance: "It's hard to know where to point the awards finger first in such a complete ensemble performance... Musically everything is fine under the super-experienced Peter Schneider... Despite the ferocious competition, absolutely unmissable.' (Gramophone) 'Peter Schneider conducted with real feeling for the score and the prelude to the first act stole upon the ear with the magic of Bayreuth's amazing acoustics.' (The Stage)