It must be said that not many conductors have been given the chance to record the Ring even once, never-mind twice, but this is the case with Janowski's second (this time live) Ring cycle for Pentatone. In comparison to the first part of the so far sadly disappointing Gergiev Ring, Janowski's newly released Rheingold is a very different beast. As one might suspect, he manages to bring out much from the score that lesser conductors leave hidden - or often never knew was there in the first place. And like Karajan, "line" is prominent throughout - his "greatest secret" as Wagner called it. And my-word, does it have much "forward momentum. No lulls here.
Alas, it does not contain the stellar cast or the overall vocal "quality" of many other rings - or indeed Janowski's first digital recording in the eighties, but based on this Rheingold it certainly would seem a modern Ring deserving of more than minor attention - despite the occasional "unevenness". Whether it will replace Janowski's 80's recording is however another matter. Time will tell
Should you want to "give it a spin" the entire recording can be heard on spotify below.
