Mitch Friedfeld wrote:

>According to the BBC Music Magazine, a Naxos reissue of Reiner's Tristan is
>No. 11 on the British bestseller list this month.  It strikes me that this
>might be a reasonably priced way to dip my toe into this work, which I have
>never heard in its entirety.  Any opinions on performance and sound?

It is a wonderful performance.  (It would verge on the impertinent
to say anything else about Flagstad and Melchior in their prime in this
work, although some prefer Beecham's conducting in another performance of
about this vintage.) The sound is surprisingly good for a thirties live
performance.  But you'd never mistake it for a modern recording (and I
think sound does matter in Wagner, if you're a "one recording per work"
sort).  If you're looking for a "reasonably priced" recording that
presumably eliminates the Furtwaengler/Flagstad/Suthaus studio recording
of 1952 (too bad!).  But the Boehm/Nilsson/Windgassen performance from
the mid-60's fits on three CD's (due to Boehm's fleet tempos), and it's
about to be or has been released on one of DG's reissue labels, isn't it
(hasn't it)? But if you can deal with good "historical" sound, the Naxos
performance can hold its own against anything else that's come along since.

Nick
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