Orchestral excerpts from Wagner’s music dramas occupied a central position in Toscanini’s concert repertoire. The conductor’s hard-core fans, to be sure, might disparage the inclusion of the late NBC Lohengrin Preludes, Siegfried Idyll, and Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung over his more genially inflected and massively contoured 1936 New York Philharmonic recordings. And the powerfully inflected Parsifal Act One Prelude and Good Friday Spell are no match for the Maestro’s hypnotic, slow motion 1935 live recording with the BBC Symphony (EMI). The later readings, however, boast more presence and dynamic contrast than ever in RCA’s new transfers. The Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde move at a broader, more songful pace than previous Toscanini versions. By all accounts, the conductor took great pains over those tricky triplet subdivisions in Siegfried’s Funeral March, to glorious results. Notable too are the exquisite wind/string balances throughout the Forest Murmurs, and the eloquent Act Three Meistersinger Prelude. The oft-hackneyed Ride of the Valkyries whirls with more dignity and breadth than usual. It takes time for the basic tempo to settle in at the outset of the Tannhäuser Overture, but once the Bacchanale kicks in, it’s smooth, ecstatic sailing. William Youngren discusses these recordings with insight and perspective in his uncredited notes.
