William Quentin (bloom)
2003-09-22 14:59:24 UTC
I currently own two recordings of Wagner's Wesendonck-Lieder: Marjana
Lipovsek and the Philadelphia Orchestra cond. by Wolfgang Sawallisch
(orchestrated by Hans Werner Henze) and Christa Ludwig and the
Philharmonia Orchestra cond. by Otto Klemperer (orchestrated by Felix
Mottl).
These are both excellent recordings, imo. Both Ludwig and Lipovsek
sing beautifully, Ludwig with a much larger voice and darker tone (and
maybe a bit too much vibrato), Lipovsek with a lighter touch and
clearer tone, reminding me of her great chamber performances (in
particular her Schumann disc with Graham Johnson). Obviously,
however, the biggest difference between these two recordings is in the
orchestration. Henze uses a small chamber orchestra, and a number of
inventive effects. It works very well. The Mottl orchestration (for
a full Tristan-style Wagnerian orchestra) is the much more well-known
of the two, obviously, and I certainly enjoy it; to be honest, though,
I tend to listen to Henze's version more frequently.
Anyway, of these two competing orchestrations, what other recordings
would you recommend? Also, are there any recordings of the
Wesendonck-Lieder in their original piano versions? I haven't spent a
lot of time looking; nevertheless, I haven't been able to find them if
they are out there. In particular, I'd love to hear Lipovsek singing
these songs in their original incarnations - she really has a way with
them.
-Billy
Lipovsek and the Philadelphia Orchestra cond. by Wolfgang Sawallisch
(orchestrated by Hans Werner Henze) and Christa Ludwig and the
Philharmonia Orchestra cond. by Otto Klemperer (orchestrated by Felix
Mottl).
These are both excellent recordings, imo. Both Ludwig and Lipovsek
sing beautifully, Ludwig with a much larger voice and darker tone (and
maybe a bit too much vibrato), Lipovsek with a lighter touch and
clearer tone, reminding me of her great chamber performances (in
particular her Schumann disc with Graham Johnson). Obviously,
however, the biggest difference between these two recordings is in the
orchestration. Henze uses a small chamber orchestra, and a number of
inventive effects. It works very well. The Mottl orchestration (for
a full Tristan-style Wagnerian orchestra) is the much more well-known
of the two, obviously, and I certainly enjoy it; to be honest, though,
I tend to listen to Henze's version more frequently.
Anyway, of these two competing orchestrations, what other recordings
would you recommend? Also, are there any recordings of the
Wesendonck-Lieder in their original piano versions? I haven't spent a
lot of time looking; nevertheless, I haven't been able to find them if
they are out there. In particular, I'd love to hear Lipovsek singing
these songs in their original incarnations - she really has a way with
them.
-Billy