Gregory Wanamaker

composer

Clarikinetics features my Sonata for clarinet and piano, clarikinetics, Duo Sonata, and Mid-Winter Waking

“An impressive and rewarding unaccompanied work” – – Philip Sinder referring to TubaSuite in the Guide to the Tuba Repertoire: The New Tuba Source Book ©2006 Indiana University Press.

Top 5 Recordings

These lists simply reflect my favorite recordings of certain musical works. They are limited only to those recordings I have listened to. If I didn’t include certain more popular recordings, it may be because I either haven’t listened to them or that they are simply not in my Top 5. It does not necessarily mean that I don’t like them.

Top 5 Recordings of Wagner’s Ring Cycle

1. Joseph Keilberth, Bayreuth 1955.

This was a terrific surprise when I heard in 2007 that this was finally going to be released. This recording was to be the first live stereo Ring and was recorded by Decca’s top engineers. Sadly, this recording never saw the light of day – until recently – because Culshaw’s desire for a studio Ring stifled the immediate release of this great 1955 Ring. The sound overall is excellent considering that it truly is a live recording of a four evening event. Keilberth is a terrific, energetic conductor with a beautiful overarching line throughout the entire Cycle. It is pricy, but worth every penny! Just like my number 2 selection, this cycle features Windgassen, Varnay, and Hotter.

2. Clemens Krauss, Bayreuth 1953.

Featuring Windgassen, Varnay, and Hotter, we experience an incredible cast under Krauss’s clear baton that is all at once lyric and dramatic with incredible depth.

3. Wilhelm Furtwangler,Orchestra Sinfonica Della Radio Italiana,1953.

It’s a shame that we don’t have a recording of Furtwangler conducting the Ring Cycle at Bayreuth. This is not a top–notch orchestra – there are gaffes, blats and clams – but we have a great cast – something lacking in his 1950 La Scala Ring – and Furtwangler’s dramatic intensity and depth. Don’t expect anything close to audiophile sound. Julius Patzak’s Mime is arguably the definitive interpretation of this role.

4. George Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic.

Unlike the previous recommendations, this is a studio recording with incredible effects. Windgassen, Nilsson, and Hotter! I recommend supplementing this set with Erich Leinsdorf’s Die Walküre. Solti’s Die Walküre is quite problematic, and with Leinsdorf’s, you still get Nilsson’s Brünnhilde. London Symphony Orchestra with Jon Vickers, Birgit Nilsson, and George London in 1962. Also check out The Golden Ring on DVD. It is a 90 minute special for BBC that originally aired in 1965 about the making of Götterdämmerung featuring interviews with Solti,the brilliant producer John Culshaw, Dietrich Fischer Diskau, and Birgit Nilsson.

5. The Ring from the New York Metropolitan Opera 1936–1941

Because of ridiculously stupid US Copyright laws, my fifth recommendation is unavailable in the US. The link above connects you to Amazon’s English site. I bought mine in Canada. Anyway, Naxos has released a “compilation” Ring Cycle recorded between 1936–1941 at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Artur Bodanzky conducts Das Rheingold, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung; with Erich Leinsdorf’s 1941 Die Walküre. During this set, we hear the great but controversial Lauritz Melchior as both Siegmund and Siegfried exhibiting his patented vocal pyrotechnics throughout, and Kristen Flagstad’s Brunnhilde – in Siegfried only. I love this set because of its quirks and because it is a nice document of some of the earliest Ring broadcasts from the US. Don’t expect great sound. Some of it is difficult to listen to by today’s audio standards. I include it in my top 5 list simply because I find it interesting.