Title: The Vienna Philharmonic Plays Wagner Artist: Georg Solti Release Date: 2007 Label: Decca Duration: 68:08 Album Type(s): Special essay (music history, styles, etc.) UPC: 028947585022 Genre: Opera Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 1

1. Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen, opera, WWV 49
   - Overture
2. Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman), opera, WWV 63
   - Overture
3. Tannhäuser, opera, WWV 70
   - Overture
4. Tannhäuser, opera, WWV 70
   - Bacchanale
5. Siegfried Idyll, for small orchestra in E major, WWV 103

Georg Solti's most enduring achievements are his recordings of Richard Wagner's music dramas, made in the 1960s and '70s for Decca. His classic renditions with the Vienna Philharmonic of Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Parsifal, and the tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen are not to be missed by any serious student of great opera recordings. This reissue in Decca's The Originals series presents overtures from Wagner's other works, Rienzi, Der fliegende Holländer, and Tannhäuser, with the latter's Venusberg Bacchanale, all recorded in 1961; the lyrical tone painting Siegfried Idyll, which members of the VPO recorded in 1965. The intense drama and soaring lyricism found in the full-length operas is encapsulated in the overtures and listeners can form a clear impression of Solti's handling of Wagner's operas from these much shorter examples. The orchestra is, of course, one of the world's greatest ensembles, and under Solti's exacting direction, it performs with dynamic energy, precise execution, and luminous tone, delivering Wagner's music with brilliant highlights and resonant depths. Some all-digital performances of Wagner's overtures may rate just as highly as these, but these classics are sure to satisfy with their marvelous interpretations, extraordinary playing and phenomenal ADD sound, which is cleanly remastered for this edition. ~ Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

Name Credits Christiane Frobenius Liner Note Translation Colin Anderson Liner Notes David Ylla-Somers Liner Note Translation Georg Solti Conductor Gordon Parry Engineer John Culshaw Producer Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra