Kirsten Flagstad and Furtwangler - Liebestod

[francescaemc2]

Ma che meraviglia!!!! Kirsten e Willelm!!!!!! Grazie infinite..

[pulejus]

Flagstad e Behrens due stelle di enorme splendore...assolutamente insuperabili

[Ritorneremo1]

She was simply the best!!!

[TubaSmaug]

I have never cried so much in my entire life. its BEAUTIFUL!!

I forgot it was a crappy medium for about 6 minutes and just let the true sadness of lose of a loved one wash over me. Wagner gets me every time...

[waelse1]

Really enjoy the Liebestod, and Flagstad does a great job here. Thanks!

[asl19999]

Through this music, the spirit of National Socialism will live on forever. . .

[tantris39]

Where and when was this performance? Yes I agree - impossible as it may seem, in my opinion it does surpass the studio version. (E grazie, friulano!)

[FISTRIG]

This is a memorial, an electronic monument to one of the great singers of all time ! I love this voice ! What a beauty !

[SPLINTER581]

När den bäste Wagner tolkaren för sopraner har funnits någonsin då blir hon anklagad för att vara nazist av norska och amerikanska regeringarna så hon inte kunde uppträda och sjunga det hon älskade mest, opera. FY f

[KOPKE9]

Great voice and interpretation, thanks!

[enikkan]

there is not word to describe it, it came from heaven,,,,,,,,,,,

[VivaRenata]

@enikkan Yes it did, and I have just remembered that Flagstad was born on July 12, 1895 in the small town of Hamar in Norway. Spending the "remainder of the day" to remember her and her great legacy to all of us who love music.

[1Victorinus]

Absolutely sublime!!!

[friulano]

Ma chi sono questi coglioni che vogliono insegnare a Furtwaengler l'uso dei timpani?

[nanai16951]

@friulano ME LO CHIEDO ANCH'IO.

[RamirRMA]

I think Kirsten is still the best Isolda. She sounds feminine, delicate, but she's a wagnerian singer - but a girl in Wagner! Love the feel of her voice.

[ansgarkreutz]

man versteht kein Wort - muß trotzdem weinen ---- Text wird einfach überbewertet.....

[edro3638]

Her tones were a gift of the gods!

[gwangjuboy1]

I remain absolutely convinced that there are some 'leftists' who would ban this. Thank fully, it is still ours.

[Gooseberry51]

@gwangjuboy1 who wants to ban brilliant music??

[achantus1]

@gwangjuboy1 It will always be ours, even if the "leftists" should be victorious (wich I fear they will) and destroy what is left of the western civilzation. This will be eternal, and a gift to all mankind. Islam will rule Europe, but a few will safeguard the remains of "old" Europe. Or at least, so I hope. Please excuse me if I sound pessimistic. But there's reason to be.

[lowenklee]

@gwangjuboy1

Good grief, just enjoy the music.

[mrF1no]

She is from my hometown, Hamar, Norway. And I'm very proud of it. It's just amazing!

[pinintra]

Suprema interpretazione...Flagstad, Furtwangler, Knappertsbusch...il vero Wagner!!!

[TheSmoshmy]

The tympani at around 3.50 is absurdly exaggerated.This is musical miscalculation.

The rest, however, is,of course,. wonderful.

[firestartertwistedfi]

@TheSmoshmy Yes, there's a bit timpani bit a minute later - wonder if he got confused :)

[snaaptaker]

For more than 50 years, she has been my all-time favorite Wagnerian soprano, and he has been my all-time favorite conductor. This is my favorite "aria"(?) from my favorite Wagner opera.

This as good as it gets for me.

And it's really hard for me to type this through my tears.

Thank you so much for this.

[fastdrive55]

Amazing performance. I envy dorjenne for hearing her live...

[lamanodeonansequeja]

The Queen of Wagner's sopranos with the Aristocrat of Conductors.

[francescaemc2]

Thank you for posting this!!!!! Grazie mille!!!!

[VivaRenata]

Hej Cindie! Jag ville skicka vidare en "Liebestod" med Flagstad för vidare lyssning men det visar sig att den som äger sajten har "comments pending approval". Nåväl hittat en annan, lyssna och njut. Din lilla Isolde har ett stort arv att bära - och vi ses imorgon! Kram, ML

[langleywil]

I like the Timpani, however, I would've liked for it to have been carried throughout towards the climax instead of abrupt and odd stopage....

[rbpenelope2008]

SUBLIME!!!!!

[Invisus944]

I find the use of the timpani actually add to the performance...

[Whistlejocket]

I absolutely love this, thanks for posting.

[Johnny1206]

This is the best partnership in the History of Music!

Best singer and best conductor in this wonderful piece...Instead of Tristan und Isolde, this is Furtwängler und Flagstad!

[francescaemc2]

@Johnny1206

word!!!!

[Silverhalide60]

Hearing this captivating music is like opening a sensual dream box to another life were a blissful balm is applied by voices of angels.

[Melusineviolon]

This is the BEST version of Tristan! AMAZING

[OperaNerd1986]

I know the milkman sketch was in "And Now for Something Completely Different," which I thought was all sketches from "Flying Circus," but maybe this was new for the film. Anyway, this piece is played in the background of the sketch as a beautiful woman lures a milkman into her home.

[yuehchopin]

danke für die Sendung!

[Warwickcain]

Always brings back images of Monty Python. This is in the Milkman sketch. It's so wonderful to listen to it - even though I can never fully appreciate the wonder of the music with those skeletons in the back of my mind.

[shellac1925]

I do prefer Furtwangler's studio version of the Liebestod, but any performance of this with him and Flagstad is enough to give me chills. It's so transcendent I can ignore the annoyingly loud tympani. (Furtwangler always brought them out, but not this much.)

[petrof4056]

i absolutly agree with you! I have this record!! and i will upload it

[petrof4056]

when was record this treasure?

[avalenciach]

desolador y hermoso

[himitsunosallychan]

うまいとか下手とか言っている次元ではない二人です。実際、技術­的にFlagstadは一流といえるのでしょうか。でも、黄金の­声は何にもかえられません。Furtwanglerも聞かせる魔­術みたいなものを心得た音楽家です。ペテン師よばわりする人もい­ますけど....

わたしはこういうペテンなら喜んで引っかかります。

[dadasopher]

beautiful. magnificent.

[nog55]

Yes I agree, I have that performance one of my favourites. Also v. fond of his 8th& 7th,although slightly prefer Karajan's 5th over Furtwangler's but,that's a studio recording of course & Karajan was'nt afraid to tamper with his recordings.But the result I think is thrilling.

[nog55]

That indeed happened to me, I could'nt stand Wagner but somehow got a recording of just the Liebestod from the studio recording.I was immediately hooked, which is unusual for me.Have since become a convert,not only to Wagner but Furtwangler as well I now have lots of his recordings,particularly Bruckner.How lucky dorjenne to have seen Flagstad live.

[ipmoic]

I don't believe this could ever be bettered--it is transcendent and never loses its drive and forward propulsion. Hair-raising! Could make the most ardent Wagner hater be converted.

[tryagaintony]

Let's be thankful all of us, that we have the ears to appreciate this - truly wonderful music.

[parisole88]

only norman and nilsson since have managed to achieve an ounce of what flagstad brought to isolde

[adamwas]

Amazing! touched truly touched and moved

[bellatrix58]

Kein wort...nur fantastisch, wunderbar!!

[lovelymess]

I'm sorry but there is no bombastic timpani in my opinion.

Quite the opposite. This is one of the most difficult works to conduct for a singer because of the thickness of the orchestration VS the dynamic markings.

Yes the timpani are big at that point, but show me a recording, especially a live one, wherein they are not.

Note the great climax on the G#:

Isolde's voice is allow to soar and float.

The orchestra cradles her w/out bombast.

Great post!

[lovelymess]

Is this from the the 1951 Tristan studio recording?

It is absolutely incredible.

This needs to be posted on the pro Toscanini thread that has the Italian metronome hacking his way through the same work.

[dorjenne]

I heard Kirsten Flagstad sing this with the Dallas Symphony in 1951. It was an experience I'll never forget. She stood like a giant oak tree and the beautiful sound seemed to arise from the earth.

[zipper179]

@dorjenne I was barely 7 years old when I heard Kirsten Flagstad sing this over the radio.. Can you imagine, a little kid, a little black boy, crying, not yet able to tell you why.. To this day, a half hour short of my 66th birthday(9/22/10), it still moves me..!

[revmyo]

@zipper179 : Beautiful comment... Bless you, friend, and happy (belated) birthday.

[gwirgalon]

@zipper179 then a late happy birthday to you again. what a beautiful story for us who sing this to remember how beautiful this music is for anyone at any age..I remember the first time I heard it, I couldn't move in another world where only my heart spoke but someone else was speaking for her--and never dreamed then I would sing it one day... Thank you again for this gift of your own experience. Did you become a singer or musician eventually, or "just" a lover., who makes it all worth it to do?

[Rapicienta]

La amo! la mejor voz wagneriana femenina, nadie como ella, nacio para cantar Wagner!, bravisiimaaaaaa!.

[weepingforbrunnhilde]

Listen to Furtwangler thundering with the tympani.

Christ.

[battenwood]

No bull. The tympani bit is totally inconsiderate of the singer. If I had been a soloist and Willy had done that to me, I'd have picked up the damn thing and thrown it at him!

[Artfulchoice]

Thank you! I so agree that Flagstad and Nilsson are truly the two greatest of the 20th century -

[paulostroff99]

Sensational!She and Birgit Nillson were in a class by themselves.She reigned supreme.With Furtwangler this made for a truly spectacular performance.Memorable to the max.

[scargo1013]

Thank you. Any Flagstad is wonderful, and this is live!!