Wagner | Der Ring des Nibelungen (complete)

| Marek Janowski | Pentatone Music

If Wagner’s Ring Cycle is an ultimate realisation of gesamtkunstwerk (total art), then Pentatone’s self-described ‘Epic Ring’ set must be called a gesamtkunstwerk of recording releases. Perhaps this is to be expected, or at least hoped-for, if one is to invest in this mammoth multi-hour tetralogy. Pentatone delivers Wagner’s musical genius while achieving classical recording’s elusive goal of presenting a contemporary experience that delivers the soul of the work. Recorded in five-channel surround, Pentatone’s achievement cannot be understated. From the opening of the Das Rheingold Prelude, listeners are pulled into a new Wagnerian experience introducing layered and sustained sound as never heard before, partly because the operas were recorded with the orchestra on the stage instead of in the pit. The 13-disc collection includes a 250-page coffee-table book. www.audaud.com