In complement to Decca’s recent remastering of the original recording, Eloquence now reissues Cooke’s introduction on CD, presented just as it was in the original box. Unlike previous digital-era issues, this set also includes the recordings of the Siegfried Idyll, led by the Vienna Philharmonic violinist Walter Weller, and the charming Katechismus which Wagner composed as another birthday present for his wife Cosima.

All six LP sides fit on two generously filled CDs, and the booklet includes full details of the track points as well as newly inscribed musical examples, to help listeners navigate their way around the narrative. Much more than a period-piece, this set remains the ideal introduction to Wagner’s Ring, with much to teach both newcomers and experienced listeners to a perennially challenging and rewarding work of theatrical genius.

TRACKLISTING:

RICHARD WAGNER
Siegfried Idyll
Kinderkatechismus
Members of the Wiener Sängerknaben (Kinderkatechismus)
Members of the Wiener Philharmoniker
Walter Weller, leader 
Georg Solti
 

An Introduction to ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’
with extracts from the complete recording
Deryck Cooke, narrator
Wiener Staatsopernchor
Wiener Philharmoniker
Georg Solti