Search - Wagner, Boult, Npo :: Overtures & Preludes

A Brit Conducts Wagner Well!!!

Rudy Avila | Lennox, Ca United States | 12/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I own this recording of Wagner Overtures and Preludes conducted by the British conductor Sir Adrian Boult, and it is commercially available in this recording and in a box set (a green one with a Caspar painting on the cover). Boult conducts both the London Phil and New Philharmonia, two top-notch English orchestras. The strength lies in the sheer grandeur of the music interpretation. Unlike Ormandy and Dorati who make the music somewhat more lyrical, Boult can bring out the fiery intensity in such music as The Flying Dutchman Overture, Tannhauser Overture and Parsifal Good Friday Music. While I always enjoy Siegfried's Funeral March, it's unfortunate that Sir Adrian Boult's style didn't cut it for me. The music is bland and too controlled, when compared to the magnitude of such renditions as the Funeral March conducted by Antonio Pappano most recently and before him Sir George Solti, Karajan and Bohm. But this is a fine intro to Wagner's music. I was especially impressed by the Tannhauser Overture, with its chant-like opening, stately processional music that escalates into a climax. This is a cheap recording of great music and I highly recommend it."