Let's say you can only listen to one recording of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. Which one would you pick? Would it be the Wilhelm Furtwängler or possibly the Carlos Kleiber? Let's say, however, you can only pick from one of the digital Tristan recordings made around the turn of the millennium -- then which one would you pick? Would it be Antonio Pappano with Plácido Domingo and Nina Stemme? Would it be the Christian Thielemann with Thomas Moser and Deborah Voigt? Or would it be this one by Donald Runnicles with John ...
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Let's say you can only listen to one recording of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. Which one would you pick? Would it be the Wilhelm Furtwängler or possibly the Carlos Kleiber? Let's say, however, you can only pick from one of the digital Tristan recordings made around the turn of the millennium -- then which one would you pick? Would it be Antonio Pappano with Plácido Domingo and Nina Stemme? Would it be the Christian Thielemann with Thomas Moser and Deborah Voigt? Or would it be this one by Donald Runnicles with John Treleaven and Christine Brewer?How about none of the digital recordings? It's not that this one is by any means bad -- indeed, it has many fine and admirable features -- it's that it, like the Pappano and the Thielemann, can't hold a candle to the Furtwängler and the Kleiber. And, make no mistake, this one does have many fine and admirable features. Runnicles is a terrific conductor who leads a detailed, dramatic, and at times quite lovely performance. The BBC Symphony plays with a clarity,...
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