Posted by Robert Storm Abendroth is pretty good but not one of my favorites. The public opinion seems to be that it's the better one of the 1943 Bayreuth Meistersingers. I don't quite agree though it does have the great Schöffler as Sachs. Both 1943 recordings have a Stolzing that have a somewhat too heavy voice for the part. Some may find these recordings controversial as they were made in Bayreuth during the nazi era. Personally I don't think that makes these recordings them "evil" in any way, especially as most performers are dead by now. It would be a different thing if the money for the CD's went to the nazi party or something. So in my opinion you should get the Knappertsbusch recording though Abendroth is worth hearing too.
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on April 4, 2006, 17:11:11, in reply to "Help - Meistersinger Recordings"
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Nobody (except maybe Karajan on his live recordings) is able to make Meistersinger sound as grand and festive as Knappertsbusch. In my opinion he is the greatest Meistersinger conductor of all time. The tempi are not quite as slow as on his Ring recordings. this recording features Paul Schöffler and Günther Treptow who are perhaps my favorite Sachs and Stolzing. Anton Dermota is an excellent David. The sound is disappointing for a studio recording. Kna's other Meistersinger recordings are great as well. The ones from 1952 and 1955 have a less good Sachs and Stolzing than this studio recordings but they also feature a very nice Eva by Lisa della Casa.
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