RICHARD WAGNER : Complete Works for Piano (Nina Kavtaradze) (1996) 2xCD / Mp3

RICHARD WAGNER : Complete Piano Music (2013) 2xCD /Mp3

Richard Wagner's reputation rests on his tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen, and the other music dramas he created, including Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Parsifal, which revolutionized all aspects of late Romantic music and left their mark on modern music as well. Yet there is a small body of non-operatic works that shows a more relaxed Wagner working on a much smaller scale: his Siegfried Idyll for chamber orchestra, a group of songs, and a collection of pieces for piano. This double CD by Pier Paolo Vincenzi presents Wagner's complete piano music with three sonatas, a large-scale fantasia, and eleven short pieces that show the composer's attempts at finding a more personal and intimate voice. Vincenzi plays these neglected works with subtlety and warmth, and gives them their due, slight as many of them are. While these compositions don't rise to the level of greatness and genius of the operas, they are ingenious and often indicative of Wagner's abiding interest in Beethoven. This is most apparent in the Sonata in A, "Grosse Sonate," and the Sonata in B flat major, which are well-developed and earnest attempts at mastering sonata form. The Fantasia in F sharp minor, the longest piece on this recording, is also clearly inspired by Beethoven, and while it is ambitious, it is episodic and loosely structured. The selections that instantly sound like mature Wagner are the first track of the first CD, Eine Sonate für das Album von Frau M.W., as well as the short pieces that fill out the second disc, which include a piano arrangement of the Prelude to Tristan und Isolde, Ankunft bei den schwarzen Schwänen, Notenbrief für Mathilde Wesendonck, and especially the Elegy in A flat, and the Albumblatt für Frau Betty Schott, which wholly embody Wagner's lyrical style. This 2013 release commemorates the bicentennial of Wagner's birth and provides an opportunity for fans to appreciate a side of his music that is seldom explored. by Blair Sanderson  

WAGNER : Two Symphonies [Neeme Järvi] 2012 / CHANDOS [24-96] FLAC

For this 2012 SACD, Neeme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra present mostly unfamiliar pieces by Richard Wagner that have languished in obscurity, usually for good reasons. While the Overture to Rienzi is a rousing, tuneful piece that still gets programmed regularly, none of the other selections will register with a general audience: this is terra incognita for most listeners. The Symphony in C major of 1831 is Wagner's youthful attempt to imitate Beethoven, though it lacks the master's skill with the orchestra or his imaginative developments of fertile ideas. Wagner plainly strove after his hero's dynamism and force, but the underdeveloped music is bombastic, hollow, and false. The two-movement Symphony in E major is a reconstruction from unpromising sketches that were abandoned in 1834, only to be completed and orchestrated decades later by Felix Mottl at Cosima Wagner's request. The occasional pieces, Huldigungsmarsch and Kaisermarsch, are from 1864 and 1871, respectively, and must be viewed as products of Wagner's maturity. Yet they have never been popular with modern audiences, perhaps because of their forced martial air and peculiar deficiency of memorable tunes. Yet even though these are lackluster efforts, they are still important to document, and because Järvi and this orchestra have been invested in presenting Wagner's orchestral music in several previous releases, it makes sense to include them in their super audio recordings for Chandos. Because the performances are enjoyable and the state-of-the-art sound is extraordinary, the album deserves a better than average rating, even though the music itself is of limited interest to Wagner specialists.  by Blair Sanderson 
Tracklist
Symphony in C major, WWV 29
1 1. Sostenuto e maestoso - Allegro con brio  12:34
Richard Wagner
2 2. Andante ma non troppo, un poco maestoso  9:41
Richard Wagner
3 3. Allegro assai - Un poco meno allegro - Tempo 1 - Meno allegro - Presto  5:38
Richard Wagner
4 4. Allegro molto e vivace - Più allegro  6:20
Richard Wagner
Symphony in E major, WWV 35
5 1. Allegro con spirito  13:28
Richard Wagner
6 2. Adagio cantabile  5:46
Richard Wagner
7 Huldigungsmarsch in E flat major, WWV 97  5:23
Richard Wagner
Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen, WWV 49
8 Overture  11:24
Richard Wagner
9 Kaisermarsch in B flat major, WWV 104  8:54
Richard Wagner

WAGNER [1813-1883] : Two Symphonies

Neeme Järvi / Royal Scottish National Orchestra 

2012 / CHANDOS [24bit-96khz] FLAC / scans

O Púbis da Rosa

WAGNER : Der Ring des Nibelungen (Pierre Boulez) 12xCD Box-Set (2006) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Although not the most controversial of postwar Bayreuth Rings -- Georg Solti and Peter Hall's retro-Romantic Ring with naked Rhine maidens wins that prize -- Pierre Boulez and Patrice Chéreau's post-industrial revolution Ring as metaphor for the decline and fall of capitalism is certainly the second most controversial postwar Bayreuth Ring. But more controversial than Chéreau's dramatic conception was Boulez's musical execution. With startlingly clear textures, spectacularly bright colors, and stunningly light tempos, Boulez' obtains a Wagner sound like no other. And for those with ears to hear, it works. Wagner's music doesn't have to be murky to be metaphysical or massive to be overwhelmingly moving and Boulez gets playing from the too-often turgid Bayreuth Festival Orchestra that makes the music crackle and blaze with musical and dramatic meaning. But perhaps most surprisingly, the best thing about this Ring is the singing, or, rather, the singing-acting. From Donald McIntyre's bigger than life but deeply human Wotan to Gwyneth Jones heartbreakingly beautiful Brünnhilde, the leads are magnificently convincing both as singers and as actors. And while Peter Hoffmann's Siegmund and Manfred Jung's Siegfried were less well received at the time, their performances, while perhaps too earnest, are still quite effective in their roles. Philips' 1981 sound is very live -- much of the stage action is plainly audible -- but this only adds to the verisimilitude of the recording. While not for everybody, the Boulez Ring has to be heard by anyone who loves the work.  by James Leonard  
All Tracklist

FRIDA LEIDER - A Vocal Portrait [2003] 2CD / NAXOS

 FRIDA LEIDER - A Vocal Portrait 

[2003] 2CD / NAXOS / CBR320 / scans

O Púbis da Rosa