Track Listing

1. Thus, We Begin In The 'Greenish Twilight' Of The Rhine
2. Float Up To The Home Of The Gods (Entrance Of The Gods Into Valhalla)
3. Fall Amongst Hammering Dwarfs 'Smithying' Away
4. Ride Donner's Thunderbolt, Crawl With The Thirst-Crazed Siegmund To The Haven...
5. In The Sound Code, We 'See' His Loving Gaze
6. Their Flight
7. Wotan's Rage
8. The Cavalcade Of Brünnhilde's Sisters, (Ride Of The Valkyries)
9. Wotan's Farewell To His Favorite Daughter, (Wotan's Farewell And Magic Fire Music)
10. Mime's Fright
11. Siegfried's Forging Of The Magic Sword
12. His Wanderings Through The Forest, (Forest Murmurs)
13. His Slaying Of The Dragon
14. The Dragon's Lament
15. Day Breaking 'Round Sigfried's And Brünnhilde's Passion
16. Siegfried's Rhine Journey, (Dawn And Sigfried's Rhine Journey)
17. Hagen's Call To His Clan
18. Siegfried And The Rhinemaidens
19. His Death And The Funeral Music, (Siegfried's Death And Funeral Music)
20. Immolation. (Immolation Scene)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8018 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 70 minutes

Album Description
This disc is a unique synthesis of orchestral music from Wagner's Ring cycle. Arranged by Lorin Maazel, this recording includes all the standard Ring orchestral excerpts such as Ride of the Valkyries and Siegfried's Rhine Journey.

Personnel:
Lorin Maazel, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Customer Reviews

Wagner without the shouting.
If like me you're fascinated but put off by the scale of Wagner, this is the disc for you. Though one or two bridge passages sound a bit awkward, Maazel has managed to weave the main orchestral themes of all four mammoth operas into one seamless work. Devoid of any singing, the music is nevertheless authentic Wagner, painted on a vast canvas. You will hear some familiar and not-so-familiar themes sweeping past in majestic pageant, beginning with the creation (the longest chord in music), and ending in the apocalyptic destruction of Valhalla.

By the way, you don't need to know the story (but it helps).

This is an exciting, emotional journey. And there is still plenty of time to go down the pub afterwards.

Excellent Music. REAL POWER!
Very Good Interpretation, Really Good Sound Quality! Wagner's Ring Cycle can be very hard going for some with all the opera singers going full pelt but THIS IS 100% ORCHESTRA ONLY!!! There is NO vocal work here - and I prefer it - You can hear all the Epic arrangements more profoundly (Im sure purists will disagree but Im new to this!)
My personal favourite Act is Gotterdammerung - Really heavy and powerful -
Siegfried's Funeral is a piece ive had a love affair with since i first heard it used on the 1981 movie, Excalibur (classic).
Id recommend this for anyone new to Wagner or Classical generally and its a must if like me you like the darker stuff (Im principally a Metal fan but if you read my other reviews you'll definiteley see how i went from Metallica to this).

with out warbling
hi all. well i guess the purists will poo poo this one right off the bat. fortunatly, i'm not a purist, because this cd is fantastic. its basically the orcestral highlights woven into a single song.so you dont get the bad timing of the usual versions of ring highlights.i dont go for opera really but wagner is something special. wish they'ld do other stuff like this.