David Harbin asked:

>Can anyone recommend a top choice for Lohengrin? I've heard good things
>about the 1953 live Kleiberth performance from Bayreuth but am not sure
>which to buy.
>
>What recording of this work would you take to your desert island?

My favorite recording of Lohengrin (I own four, including the live
Kielberth) remains the Kempe / VPO version (on mid-price EMI) from the
mid-60's with Jess Thomas, Elisabeth Grummer, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Christa Ludwig, and Gottlob Frick.  IMO, it's the most consistent overall
in terms of cast, pacing (I like Kempe's brisk tempos), and performance
(DFD and Ludwig alone are worth the price of admission) and the sound is
just fine.  This would be one of my desert island discs *period* not just
my desert island Lohengrin!

My Kielberth set is on the original London LPs, and the sound quality
is variable at best.  (Please note:  I'm one of those dinosaurs who
actually *prefers* analogue sound on vinyl and I have a pretty high
tolerance for boxy old mono recordings with tape hiss, so when I say the
sound is variable, I mean it.  Perhaps the CD issue has undergone some
helpful remastering . . .) I'm a big fan of both Steber and Varnay and I
like both of them on this set very much.  (Varnay's Ortrud really makes
one's hair stand on end!).  Windgassen doesn't seem to have been having a
great day, however, so, IMO the Lohengrin is actually one of the weak links
on this recording.  I'd do a "highlights" disc of Varnay and Steber's
contributions to take along with me to that desert island, but not the
whole set.

I inherited the Abbado / Studer / Jerusalem set.  There is no need to
rush out and add this to your collection, IMO, unless you are a fan of
Waltrud Meier - I think her Ortrud is the recording's major strength
(unfortunately, the Telaramund is one of its major weaknesses).  I also
have the recent Barenboim set with Seiffert / Magee / Polaski / Struckmann
/ Pape.  (I'd crawl across the desert on my hands and knees just to hear
Pape sing the phone book; it's a pity King Henry isn't really a central
role . . .) I like the recording just fine, and it's note complete and in
great sound, but I wouldn't recommend over the Kempe, especially with the
latter at mid-price, unless you must have the latest in recorded sound.

Good luck and happy listening!

Kathleen O'Connell