Wien '62

This is my tribute to one of the greatest recording projects of all times: Richard Wagner’s whopping opera cycle „Der Ring des Nibelungen“ with Georg Solti and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, recorded between 1958 and 1965 at Sofiensaal, Vienna.

I am not a big opera fan, in fact, I segregated classical music from my record collection for a long time. As Spliff told us: „Bei Wagner muss ich kotzen, und bei Mozart werd‘ ich krank!“. But then, by the everlasting search for the next level of sound experiences, I started „digging“ for the authentic reproduction of a big orchestra with all its acoustic instruments playing at different locations over the sound stage. And while the count of digital productions of many classical works with flawless sound qualities has become really inflationary over the past 4 decades, it is this production that wows me every time I hear a piece of it.