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Wagner: Die Walküre / Furtwängler, Mödl, Rysanek, Frantz


Release Date: 09/10/2002 
Label:  Emi Great Recordings Of The Century Catalog #: 63045   Spars Code: ADD 
Composer:  Richard Wagner
Performer:  Johanna Blatter,  Hertha Töpper,  Erika Köth,  Ruth Siewert,   ... 
Conductor:  Wilhelm Furtwängler
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Number of Discs: 3 
Recorded in: Mono 
Length: 3 Hours 49 Mins. 

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Review

This CD is reissued by ArkivMusic.

Notes and Editorial Reviews

With epic breadth, overall sweep and a deeply committed performance, this first ever studio recording of Die Walküre has some claims to be the best.

The first ever studio recording of Die Walküre also has some claims to be the best – at least as far as the conducting is concerned. At the same time there is no unequivocal opinion even here but most commentators agree that there is an epic breadth, overall sweep and deep commitment to this performance that always makes an impression, whatever objections there can be to details. The 1954 mono sound can’t stand comparison with later efforts in stereo. However, recorded in the marvellous acoustics of the Musikvereinsaal and with the Vienna Philharmonic on their Read more toes for the beloved maestro in what turned out to be his last recording, much of the greatness of the performance still comes over to the listener. There is also enough width in tonal and dynamic scope to be embraced by the sound and the drama. From time to time I have heard excerpts from various versions of this recording, both on LP and CD; I have never actually owned a complete set. Even though Mark Obert-Thorn has worked with finished LP pressings rather than master-tapes he has secured sound that is well up to the best possible from this period. Having chosen to issue the set on three discs the long second act has had to be split over all three discs but I don’t believe many Wagnerians will grumble about that.

As always with Furtwängler in the pit, or as here on the rostrum, it is the orchestra that comes to the fore – as it should. Once, after a performance of Die Walküre with admittedly excellent singers, my wife complained that the singing tended to overshadow the orchestra. No such risk here, but neither are the soloists swamped, not even in the most powerful moments. As for the conducting there are so many places, apart from the overall grandessa, to savour. Take the wild and stormy prelude to the first act: jagged, angular even, lumbering along at a fairly measured tempo but still more brutish and frightening than any other version, however streamlined and well played. There is a kind of professional primitiveness that goes well with the ancient setting. Take on the other hand the cello solo, introducing for the first time the love theme, just before Siegmund’s Kühlende Labung gab mir der Quell, so magically beautiful and intense. Time stands still! And time and again he is so considerate to the soloists, encouraging them to sing softly and prolong a phrase for stronger expression – Siegmund’s Den Vater fand ich nicht soft and ritardando; a magical moment. Just a couple of other instances: the act 2 prelude with its braying trumpets and its rhythmical incisiveness. There is no elegance, only a barren truthfulness; the act 3 transition from the “public” scene two with all the Valkyries, thunder and storm gradually calming down to the nocturnal atmosphere where Brünnhilde’s and Wotan’s “private” scene takes place. Finally, note the flickering flames just before the end, when Wotan has evoked Loge and the stage is transformed into a sea of fire. Later recordings have reproduced this with greater dynamics and more pinpoint detail, but turn up the volume a notch above your usual listening level and you have the full score audible.

As a library recording this is still a necessary purchase for Furtwängler’s handling of the orchestra. When it comes to the soloists some objections have to be raised, more concerning the actual sounds in some departments than the singers’ commitment, which can hardly be questioned. To begin with the group of eight Valkyries is an uncommonly homogenous group; not a single screamer, which is a rarity. All of them were important singers in their day and at least Erika Köth and possibly Hertha Töpper should be names even to younger readers. Margarete Klose, the veteran in the cast, is strong and authoritative as Fricka, her long solo So ist es denn aus mit den ewigen Göttern spat out with venomous anger. Ludwig Suthaus has the required power and stamina for Siegmund but also sings very sensitively, especially in the scene with Sieglinde where he shows much care over phrasing. Elsewhere he is reliable and steady but a little dry-voiced. He grows, though, to tragic- dramatic heights in the long Todesverkündigung scene. His Sieglinde is the young Leonie Rysanek, who had a very long career, spanning around 45 years. Here, though, for much of the time she is uncharacteristically woolly of tone, sometimes unsteady and rarely displaying the gleaming lirico-spinto sound that made her such a sought after artist for many years. She was Sieglinde in Bayreuth more than ten years later and can be heard to much greater advantage on the live-recorded Philips set, conducted by Karl Böhm and with Birgit Nilsson and James King among the soloists. She is better in act 2, but in act 3 she is back to the occluded and old-sounding tone from act 1. For her last effort, O hehrstes Wunder, she luckily gathers momentum and is jubilant and glorious.

Brünnhilde is sung by Martha Mödl, who began her career as a contralto in the early 1940s and returned to that Fach in latter years. She died in December 2001, aged 89, and in the beginning of that year she was still appearing on stages in Germany. She has always been considered one of the great singing actresses – like Leonie Rysanek – and the lower and middle registers of her voice were always expressive. She sings much of the role with deep insight in Brünnhilde’s predicament, a lesson to many aspiring dramatic sopranos. Sadly though, she lacks the security and the ring to make the uppermost notes tell. Compared to Birgit Nilsson she is only middlingly successful for pure singing. Ferdinand Frantz, though hardly as insightful and worldly-wise as Hans Hotter, nor with the authority and darkness of the latter, is still an honest and engaging singer. He sings with enviable steadiness of tone. Though his is a marginally lighter voice than Hotter’s he can still be sorely strained on high notes and resort to shouting. Most of the time his is a manly and reliable Wotan and in the third act he sings with much feeling. Loge, hör! is indeed impressive.

All the singing may not be up to the best on some other sets but as a total experience this is still one of the really important recorded Walküres, most of all for Furtwängler’s inspired and inspirational conducting.

-- Göran Forsling, MusicWeb International Read less

Works on This Recording

1. Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
Performer:  Johanna Blatter (Alto), Hertha Töpper (Alto), Erika Köth (Soprano),
Ruth Siewert (Alto), Dagmar Schmedes (Soprano), Judith Hellwig (Soprano),
Gerda Schreyer (Soprano), Gottlob Frick (Bass), Margarete Klose (Alto),
Ludwig Suthaus (Tenor), Ferdinand Frantz (Baritone), Leonie Rysanek (Soprano),
Dagmar Hermann (Mezzo Soprano), Martha Mödl (Soprano)
Conductor:  Wilhelm Furtwängler
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1856; Germany 
 Date of Recording: 1954 
Venue:  Grosser Saal, Musikverein, Vienna 
Length: 229 Minutes 38 Secs. 
Language: German 
Notes: This selection recorded September 28 to October 6, 1954. 

Sound Samples

Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE: Vorspiel/Prelude/Prélude (Orchester)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Erste Szene/Scene 1/Première Scène: Wes Herd dies auch sei (Siegmund)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Erste Szene/Scene 1/Première Scène: Einen Unseligen labtest du (Siegmund/Sieglinde))
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Zweite Szene/Scene 2.Deuxième Scène: Müde am Herd fand ich den Mann (Sieglinde)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Zweite Szene/Scene 2.Deuxième Scène: Friedmund darf ich nicht heißen (Siegmund)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Zweite Szene/Scene 2.Deuxième Scène: Die so leidig Los dir beschied (Sieglinde/Hunding/Siegmund)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Zweite Szene/Scene 2.Deuxième Scène: Ich weiss ein wildes Geschlecht (Hunding)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Dritte Szene/Scene 3/Troisième Scène: Ein Schwert verheiß mir der Vater (Siegmund)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Dritte Szene/Scene 3/Troisième Scène: Schläfst du, Gast? (Sieglinde)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Dritte Szene/Scene 3/Troisième Scène: Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond (Siegmund)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Dritte Szene/Scene 3/Troisième Scène: Du bist der Lenz (Sieglinde)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Dritte Szene/Scene 3/Troisième Scène: O süßeste Wonne! Seligstes Weib! (Siegmund)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ERSTER AUFZUG/ACT 1/PREMIER ACTE, Dritte Szene/Scene 3/Troisième Scène: Siegmund heiß' ich und Siegmund bin ich! (Siegmund/Sieglinde)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE: Prelude - Nun zäume dein Roß, reisige Maid! (Wotan)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Erste Szene/Scene 1/Première Scène: Hojotoho! Hojotoho! (Brünnhilde)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Erste Szene/Scene 1/Première Scène: Der alte Sturm, die alte Müh'! (Wotan)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Erste Szene/Scene 1/Première Scène: So ist es denn aus mit den weigen Göttern (Fricka)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Erste Szene/Scene 1/Première Scène: Heiaha! Heiaha! Hojotoho! (Brünnhilde/Fricka/Wotan)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Zwite Szene/Scene 2/Deuxième Scène: Schlimm, fürcht' ich , schloß der Streit (Brnnnhilde)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Zwite Szene/Scene 2/Deuxième Scène: Als junger Liebe Lust mir verblich (Wotan)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Zwite Szene/Scene 2/Deuxième Scène: Ein andres ist's: achte es wohl (Wotan)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Zwite Szene/Scene 2/Deuxième Scène: So nimmst du von Siegmund den Sieg? (Brünnhilde)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Zwite Szene/Scene 2/Deuxième Scène: So nimm meinen Segen, Niblungen-Sohn! (Brünnhilde/Wotan)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Dritte Szene/Scene 3/Troisième Scène: Raste nun hier, gönne dir Ruh! (Wotan)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Dritte Szene/Scene 3/Troisième Scène: Hinweg! Hinweg! Flieh die Entweihte! (Siegmund/ Sieglinde)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Vierte Szene/Scene 4/Quatrième Scène: Siegmund! Sieh auf mich! (Todesverkundigung) (Brünnhilde)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Vierte Szene/Scene 4/Quatrième Scène: Erdenluft muß sie noch atmen (Brünnhilde)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Vierte Szene/Scene 4/Quatrième Scène: Weh! Weh! Süßestes Weib (Siegmund)
Die Walküre (1989 Digital Remaster), ZWEITER AUFZUG/ACT 2/DEUXIEME ACTE, Vierte Szene/Scene 4/Quatrième Scène: Zwei Leben lachen dir hier (Brünnhilde/Siegmund)

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 An Essential Walküre September 18, 2012 By George Brown (Boca Raton, FL) See All My Reviews "Passionate, exciting, moving, musical. There are many fine Walküre's in the catalog, but Furtwängler's Vienna studio recording is essential listening for all Wagnerians and opera lovers. The sound is fine for its time, and the orchestra plays beautifully. The singing is characterful. All the principals inhabit their roles - there is never a question that we are hearing a music DRAMA being given the highest creative and interpretive expression. Mödl's Brünnhilde may be an acquired taste for some, but she was at the height of her powers when the recording was made. Rysanek is powerful and insightful. The men are accomplished interpreters of their characters. Comparisons with other recordings are irrelevant. This Walküre stands alone. If only this team had completed a full Ring cycle! Don't miss the opportunity to own and treasure this recording. Over the years, I've worn out two LP sets of it - how helpful to have it on CD's." Report Abuse
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