department navigation
click for search help

To change your guide currency and shipping destination go here and 20% Value Added Tax will be removed from prices for Channel Islands and non European Union countries.

McAfee Secure sites help keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams

Additional composers or artists are detailed after their works.
Click to Order
Add to Wish List

Write a Review

More by:

Composer:
Richard Wagner

Artist(s):
Jon Vickers
Hans Hotter

Conductor:
Hans Knappertsbusch

Background: Retrospectively Hans Knappertsbusch's performances at the 1964 Bayreuth Festival came to be seen as the end of a performing tradition that dated back to the early years of the 20th century but which had also left a decisive mark on the style of New Bayreuth since its reopening in 1951.

Knappertsbusch brought a tension to the Bayreuth acoustic, with its well-blended, compact sound, while never allowing his broad tempos to sacrifice any details in Wagner's orchestral writing.

During his final season, Knappertsbusch had at his disposal a team of singers fully capable of helping him to shape this synthesis of tonal fullness and the art of subtly nuanced interpretation. Prominent among the soloists in this live recording is Jon Vickers in the title role. He first sang the part in Bayreuth in 1964, bringing to it a vocal power that took Festival audiences by complete surprise. As in virtually all the Canadian tenor's performances, the listener is moved by the singer's ability to rein in his voice and produce the subtlest nuances, most notably in the Good Friday scene. His equal in this regard was the Gurnemanz of Hans Hotter, whose qualities as a lieder singer allowed him to create islands of extreme intimacy in the character's lengthy narrations. One of his great successors as Wotan in the Ring was Thomas Stewart, who is heard here as Amfortas, his somewhat lighter - but by no means lightweight - timbre and art of characterisation producing an outstanding psychological study of the ailing Grail king. His antagonist Klingsor is played by the indestructible Gustav Neidlinger, Bayreuth's legendary Alberich, whose pitch-black bass brought a real sense of menace to the part.


CATALOGUE NR: C690074L
RECORD LABEL: Orfeo d'Or
FORMAT: 4 CD Set
PRICE: including VAT £ 34.49
RELEASE DATE: 01-Oct-2007

COMPOSER: Richard Wagner
TITLE: Parsifal - complete
ORCHESTRA: Bayreuth Festival Orchestra
CONDUCTOR: Hans Knappertsbusch
ARTISTS: Jon Vickers   Hans Hotter   Thomas Stewart   Gustav Neidlinger

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: live recording 13-Aug-1964 - Jan-2008 Gramophone Editor's Choice 'ripeness is all: a great Parsifal from a conductor who had lived with it for years'

Normally ships in 5-6 complete working days after order

Others who bought this title also bought:

Set up a PIN | Check an existing order | How to order | Privacy Policy | Contact Information | Secure Server Details
Copyright (c) Crotchet. All rights reserved
go to the advanced search facility browse the current multi-buy discounts browse our top 20 best selling titles go to your account administration go to your wishlists go to details of the crotchet affiliate program check your basket go to check status of existing web store orders go to help on crotchet web store facilities go to classical home the main classical music department go to the baroque and early music department go to the chamber music department go to the film soundtrack department go to the orchestral music department go to the opera department go to the arias, songs / lieder, vocal and choral music department go to the dvd video department go to the sacd department go to the box set department go to the audio books department go to the jazz and nostalgia department go to the world music department go to this department for featured pre-release titles and discounts go to the classical music historical recordings department go to the classical twofers - 2 CDs for the price of 1 department go to the naxos department go to the universal classics department go to the warner classics department click to see the featured pre-release titles click to see the featured releases click for more information on the advanced search facility Website currency converter