Search - Richard [Classical] Wagner, Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra :: Wagner: Parsifal

This is amazing!

Eric R Crowther | Los Angeles, CA United States | 11/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording is one of Kna's finest. One just has to look at the stellar cast list to realize that this recording is worth the price. The highlight must be J. Grendl's beautiful and expressive reading of Gurnemanz. Vinay is the perfect Parsifal with all his Chilean zeal. Kna's reading is more mature here than on earlier recordings and the sound is perfectly acceptably. This is well worth the price and one of Bayreut's many timeless treasures."

Nothing comes close to it

Zoltan Tuba | 10/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is by far the best Parsifal I ever heard. I own 6-7 recordings (including the Kna'62), and happened to listen to another dozen or more, there was no one I could have been fully content with. And this is not about not having first class resources to go with. It is most probably due to a lack of thorough understanding on behalf the performers, especially the conductor, of what's going on. With this recording Kna takes us into heights and depths nobody ever dared to dream of. This is a heavy attack to our soul and it is quite a challange for the listener to keep pace with it during 280 minutes. Kna has an all-star cast here, but I tend to realize that the crew pretty much follows what the captain is capable of doing, and this is a major contributor to the athmosphere which encapsulates this performance. Special mentioning goes however to Dieskau's Amfortas which is a revelation, don't know why he didn't take on this role much more."