Wagner at Wahnfried

"... who is it for? There are many other recordings of both works out there. Many music-lovers will already have their favourite Wesendonck Lieder, and I doubt this will replace any. The Siegfried Idyll is more distinctive and, I think, uniquely appealing. Again, however, it's not a work that's short of recordings and, at full price and less than 40 minutes, I can't see this CD having a huge appeal in such a wide open market place. In fact, I suspect it's aimed squarely at a rather niche market: people who already love Bayreuth and its festival and, even more so, who want to capture a slice of what they missed out on in 2020. In other words, it's aimed at me and those like me, and I suspect we're a pretty small group! So while it's a lovely disc, and it will have a special place in my heart because of the circumstances in which it came about, I can't in good conscience recommend it for the general listener. It would make a very niche gift for the Wagnerian in your life, though, and they might appreciate the value of its uniqueness.".

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"It's only 38 minutes long, but a touching, authentic memento of a hard year, performed in Wagner's own home".

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