Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan - Wagner: Das Rheingold (Original Source) Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

According to Karajan’s own account, it was during the summer of 1965, while he was working on Boris Godunov, that he had a vision of the future: “I suddenly sensed a burning desire to stage and conduct Wagner in Salzburg.” His dream – very much in the spirit of Wagner himself: “My baton shall teach future ages which road they have to take.”

For his monumental Ring cycle Karajan assembled a world-class cast of singers who possessed instrumental tone and were able to deliver a vivid and clear declamation of the text; and his Berliner Philharmoniker were more than capable of rising to the occasion. Karajan’s Ring Cycle is quite distinct from others: a more otherworldly approach concerned with beauty, lyricism, and structure.

This extraordinary recording project will now be released in the Original Source Series for highest audiophile sound; for the first time OSS will use with the original stereo master a 2-track tape as source. Starting with 4-track in 2023 and expanding to 8-track in 2024, the year 2026 will see the first 2-track OSS release.