Search - Richard Wagner, James Levine, The MET Orchestra :: Wagner: Orchestral Music / Levine, The MET Orchestra

Great orchestral beauty but inert interpretations

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 12/04/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For execution alone this CD rates 5 stars. DG has caught the MET orchestra in prime condition; everything sounds with depth and impact. Yet Levine has always tended to be an inert Wagner conductor. This is all the more strange because he is deeply devoted to the composer--after all, no other American has conducted a complete Ring cycle on disc.



I am a Levine admirer, and I'm always hoping that he will find the missing key. On this CD the Ride of the Valkyries is thrilling, and the climax of Siegfried's Funeral March hits one in the middle of the chest. Those are the only two highlights,, however. The Lohengrin Prelude is wispy and detached; the Tristan Prelude makes you think these epic lovers are going on a first date, ending with a kiss at the door.



Levine can't sustain the long line in these often slow readings. There's no soul or deep emotion to connect one paragraph to the next. All one can say, given Levine's undeniable brilliance, is that what he feels falls too far short of Wagner's endless potential. Everything here is musical and well intended, but none of it makes your heart ache."