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xceptionally beautiful and powerful performances of the preludes and overtures from Wagner's operas not associated with the Ring tetralogy. When Karajan was truly working at his pinnacle, there was barely a single conductor who could hope to compete with him. Such things can be said about this superb Wagner collection, the passion and glory of this music in Karajan's hands is at times overwhelming in it's impact! EMI is to be thanked for not letting Karajan down, the engineers provided a gorgeous, expansive sound picture on which the Berlin Philharmonic summons all it's intricate virtuosity.

We start with a muscular account of the Meistersinger Prelude to Act 1, which in actuality is more of a concert overture, than a typical prelude. All the sections of the orchestra play wonderfully and you really feel the impact of this piece, especially at the climax.

The Tannhauser Overture and Venusberg Music has never received a more thrilling performance, once the Bacchanale starts it gets truly frenetic, it will have you on the edge of your seat for sure! The offstage chorus at the close is beautiful and the perfect capstone to nearly 24 minutes of music.

The two Lohengrin preludes are also of the highest class, the opening number is utterly breathtaking in it's rich romanticism and the famous prelude to act 3 with it's thrilling horns is vivid and exciting.

The Flying Dutchman overture brings tremendous thrills to the forefront but the Tristan and Isolde track which links the Act 1 Prelude with the Liebestod at the end of the opera is the perfect way to end this phenomenal Wagner collection. The richness of the orchestra and Karajan's involvement in every bar is truly a sound to behold. Karajan recorded the Prelude to Act 1 many times and the only time that he did it better than here is on a digital recording from the early 1980's, the passion in that version is frightening. If you are a true Wagner fan, you'll want to get that CD as well as this one. Apart from that, none of these EMI performances have ever been surpassed, this is one of those Karajan recordings that must be in your classical music collection! I insist!