Wagner Wesendonck Lieder and Bruckner Symphony No. 4 ("Romantic"). In 2020, Christian Thielemann conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker at the Großes Festspielhaus as part of the Salzburg Festival. Features vocalist Elīna Garanča. Sung in German. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Both Wagner and Bruckner wrote big music. To add variety, this program includes 5 substantial songs by Wagner (relatively light) that are considered to be studies for Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde opera. Print critic Jim Pritchard (seenandheard-international.com) heaped praise on Garanča’s “sensual and operatic” handling of the songs with a voice that “soared effortlessly over the orchestra.” Pritchard also lauds Thielemann for his conducting of the mighty symphony with a “firm grip of the musical line and scrupulous attention to textural refinement.” Mark Pullinger agrees and gives this 5 stars in his bachtrack.com review.
Is this program a bit short at 1 hour and 45 minutes? You be the judge. We note the video was shot by Michael Beyer, whom we associate with the dread disease DVDitis. The official YouTube video below has 22 video segments. 7 of these are OK. 15 are the kind of shots that lead to a diagnosis of DVDitis. Here’s the trailer:
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