The Ring Cycle Archive

********* MULTICHANNEL DISCS OF THE MONTH *********
WAGNER: The Ring Cycle (complete) – Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester/ Marek Janowski – Pentatone (13 SACDs)

by Audiophile Audition | Jul 23, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Celebrating contemporary aesthetics and presenting superior engineering and performance, Pentatone’s Ring Cycle proves to be the ultimate Gesamtkunstwerk of recording releases. * WAGNER: Der Ring des Nibelungen (complete) – Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester/ Marek Janowski – Pentatone Music (13 multi-channel SACDs) B01D5OXYWS (5/13/16) TT: 13:48:08 *****:  If Wagner’s Ring Cycle is an ultimate realization of Gesamtkunstwerk (total art), then Pentatone’s self-described “Epic Ring” set must be called a Gesamtkunstwerk of recording releases. Perhaps this is to be expected, or at least hoped for, if one is to invest in a mammoth multi-hour tetralogy composed during three 19th-Century decades. Pentatone delivers, achieving classical recording’s elusive goal of presenting a contemporary experience. Recording in five-channel surround sound, Pentatone’s goal is “to offer an unrivaled classical music experience through superior audio technology.” Achievement cannot be understated. From the opening of the Das Rheingold Prelude, listeners are pulled into a new Wagnerian experience introducing layered and sustained sound as never heard before. Conducted by Marek Janowski in Berlin, the operas were recorded in performances with the orchestra on the stage instead of in the pit. Pentatone captures this symphonic experience, convincing us that Wagner’s orchestration is the soul of the work. Pentatone’s 13-disc collection contains a massive […]