Parsifal conductors in Bayreuth
1882
Hermann Levi
Franz Fischer (assistant conductor)
Hermann Levi
Richard Wagner
During the final performance Wagner took the baton out of Hermann Levi's hand and conducted the last act from the transformation scene to the end.
Hermann Levi in a letter to his father: "At the end of
the work the audience broke into applaus that defies description. But the
Master did not show himself, but remained with us musicians, making bad
jokes, and when the noise of the audience showed no sign of abating after
ten minutes, I shouted ’Quiet! Quiet!’ at the top of my voice. This was
heard up above, and people did quieten down, and then the Master, still
at the conductors desk, began to speak, first to me and the orchestra;
then the curtain was raised, the whole company of singers and technical
personnel was assembled on the stage, and the Master spoke with such affection
that everyone started to weep – it was an unforgettable moment!"
From Derek Watson: Richard Wagner: A Biography
Derek Watson's Wagner biography on Amazon
The Bayreuth Festival (Richard Wagner-Festspiele Bayreuth)
1883
Franz Fischer (assistant conductor)
Hermann Levi
1884
Franz Fischer (assistant conductor)
Hermann Levi
1886
1888
1889
1891
1892
1894
1897
Anton Seidl
Felix Mottl
1899
1901
Karl Muck
1902
Karl Muck
1904
Karl Muck
Michael Balling
1906
Michael Balling
Franz Beidler
Karl Muck
1908
Karl Muck
Michael Balling
1909
Siegfried Wagner
Karl Muck
1911
Michael Balling
Karl Muck
1912
Michael Balling
Karl Muck
1914
Karl Muck
1924
Wilibald Kaehler
Karl Muck
1925
Karl Muck
Wilibald Kaehler
1927
Karl Muck
1928
Karl Muck
1930
Karl Muck
1931
Arturo Toscanini
1933
‘It is not I who conducts Parsifal faster but rather you in Bayreuth who have got slower and slower. Believe me, what you are doing in Bayreuth is all wrong.’ (Richard Strauss)
"The Master has already composed Parsifal to be very slow, so one doesn't need to add to this by also conducting it slowly." (Richard Strauss to the orchestra during rehearsals)
"With Strauss, the tempo is much livelier than is usually adopted for this sacred play. Yet it loses nothing of its pious and heartfelt mood either, something which of course must always be retained. And the theatrical piece that is Parsifal also received immense drive so far as purely dramatic effect is concerned. Totally new aspects, tensions and triggers which one would hardly ever have expected are suddenly illuminated. Those long drawn-out movements, further extended by slow tempos (for instance in the case of Gurnemanz in the first act) become more comprehensible thanks to tighter tempos. Of course, Strauss is no mystic - but he is a musician of such great calibre that he managed to convince with his Parsifal performance, despite its veering away from all those well-worn paths, and left everyone deeply moved."
(Oskar von Pander in Münchner Neueste Nachrichten, 24 July 1933)
1934
Franz von Hoesslin
Richard Strauss
1936
Wilhelm Furtwängler
1937
Wilhelm Furtwängler
1938
Franz von Hoesslin
1939
Franz von Hoesslin
1951
Hans Knappertsbusch
1952
Hans Knappertsbusch
1953
Clemens Krauss
1954
Hans Knappertsbusch
1955
Hans Knappertsbusch
1956
Hans Knappertsbusch
1957
Andre Cluytens
Hans Knappertsbusch
1958
Hans Knappertsbusch
1959
Hans Knappertsbusch
1960
Hans Knappertsbusch
1961
Hans Knappertsbusch
1962
Hans Knappertsbusch
1963
Hans Knappertsbusch
1964
Hans Knappertsbusch
1965
Andre Cluytens
1966
Pierre Boulez (CD)
1967
Pierre Boulez
1968
Pierre Boulez
1969
Horst Stein
1970
Pierre Boulez (CD)
1971
Eugen Jochum
1972
Eugen Jochum
1973
Eugen Jochum
1975
Horst Stein
Hans Zender
1976
Horst Stein
1977
Horst Stein
1978
Horst Stein
1979
Horst Stein
1980
Horst Stein
1981
Horst Stein
Released on
DVD. Cast: Siegfried Jerusalem, Eva Randova, Bernd Weikl,
Hans Sotin, Matti Salminen.
Stage director was Wolfgang Wagner.
1982
James Levine
1983
James Levine
1984
James Levine
1985
James Levine
1987
Daniel Barenboim
1988
James Levine
1989
James Levine
1990
James Levine
1991
James Levine
1992
James Levine
1993
James Levine
1994
Giuseppe Sinopoli
1995
Giuseppe Sinopoli
1996
Giuseppe Sinopoli
1997
Giuseppe Sinopoli
1998
Giuseppe Sinopoli
1999
Giuseppe Sinopoli
2000
Christoph Eschenbach
2001
Christian Thielemann
2004
Pierre Boulez
2005
Pierre Boulez
2006
Adam Fischer
2007
Adam Fischer
2008
Daniele Gatti
A new production. Stage director: Stefan
Herheim.
Read more about the Herheim/Gatti Parsifal production at Bayreuth here
2009
Daniele Gatti
2010
Daniele Gatti
2011
Daniele Gatti
2012
Philippe Jordan
Parsifal (complete) timings
| 3.38 | Pierre Boulez, Bayreuth 1970 |
| 3.44 | Clemens Krauss, Bayreuth 1953 (Jonathan Brown has 3.52) |
| 3.49 | Pierre Boulez, Bayreuth 1966 |
| 3.55 | Hartmut Haenchen, Copenhagen 22 March 2012 |
| 3.58 | Wilhelm Furtwängler, Milano 1951 |
| 4.02 | Christian Thielemann, recorded at Staatsoper, Wien in June 2005 (Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 4.04 | Herman Levi, Bayreuth 1882 |
| 4.08 | Michael Balling, Bayreuth 1904 |
| 4.10 | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth 1962 |
| 4.12 | Wilhelm Furtwängler Bayreuth 1936 |
| 4.15 | Felix Mottl, Bayreuth 1888 |
| 4.17 | Herbert von Karajan (1981, Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 4.19 | Anton Seidl, Bayreuth 1897 |
| 4.22 | Siegfried Wagner, Bayreuth 1909 |
| 4.23 | Fischer, Bayreuth 1882 |
| 4.23 | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth 1952 |
| 4.25 | Armin Jordan (Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's Parsifal film, 1982) (according to the cover) |
| 4.27 | Karl Muck, Bayreuth 1901 |
| 4.28 | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth 1954 |
| 4.29 | Kaehler, Bayreuth 1924 |
| 4.33 | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth 1951 |
| 4.33 | James Levine, Bayreuth 1990 |
| 4.42 | Arturo Toscanini, Bayreuth 1931 |
Sources: Jonathan Brown (Great Wagner Conductors), Derrick Everett, Per-Erik Skramstad, Hartmut Haenchen.
"The Master has already composed Parsifal to be very slow, so one doesn't need to add to this by also conducting it slowly." (Richard Strauss to the orchestra during rehearsals)
Timings Parsifal Vorspiel / Prelude Act 1
| 10'12" | Herbert Kegel, Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, 1978 |
| 10'23" | Gustav Kuhn, Tiroler Festspiele, 2006 |
| 10'27" | Pierre Boulez, Bayreuth, 1970 (Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 11'03" | Christian Thielemann, recorded at Staatsoper, Wien in June 2005 (Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 11'05" | Bruno Walter, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (From the Album Orchestral Music - Beethoven, L. Van / Mendelssohn, Felix / Weber, C.M. Von (Studio Recordings - 1920's and 30's, Vol. 1) (Walter) (1924-1927)) |
| 11'25" | Bernard Haitink, Opernhaus Zürich, April 2007 (DVD) |
| 11'26" | Horst Stein, Bayreuth, 24 June - 15 July 1981 (DVD) |
| 11'35" | Erich Leinsdorf, SWR Sinfonieorchester (No year) |
| 11'40" | Kent Nagano, Baden-Baden, 6 and 8 August 2004 (DVD) |
| 11'50" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1958 |
| 11'56" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1963 |
| 11'57" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1962 |
| 12'00" | Hartmut Haenchen, Amsterdam, 1993 |
| 12'00" | Hartmut Haenchen, Paris, 2008 |
| 12'03" | Armin Jordan (Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's Parsifal film, 1982) |
| 12'03" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1964 |
| 12'07" | Clemens Krauss, Bayreuth, 1953 |
| 12'07" | Hartmut Haenchen, Copenhagen, 2012 |
| 12'07" | Jun Märkl, Semperoper Dresden, 19.Februar 2006 |
| 12'08" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1959 |
| 12'08" | Hartmut Haenchen, Brüssel, 2011 |
| 12'15" | Jaap van Zweden, Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Concert performance. |
| 12'15" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1960 |
| 12'24" | Philippe Jordan, Bayreuth 2012 |
| 12'31" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1961 |
| 12'32" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1956 |
| 12'41" | Valery Gergiev, Marinski Orchestra 2010 (Marinskilabel) |
| 12'47" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1957 |
| 12'47" | Daniele Gatti, Metropolitan Opera, 2 March 2013, live on BBC Radio 3 |
| 12'59" | Felix Mottl, Freiburg, 1907, piano roll |
| 13' | Richard Wagner, Bayreuth, 25 December 1878 (Voss: Die Dirigenten der Bayreuther Festspiele) |
| 13'03" | Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia, 1960 |
| 13'06" | Arturo Toscanini, NBC Symphony, 1940 |
| 13'15" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1952 |
| 13'18" | Daniele Gatti, Bayreuth, 2010 (Stefan Herheim's Parsifal production). In 2008 Gatti conducted the prelude one minute slower. |
| 13'29" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 1954 (Melodram release timing. Seven Seas has 13'15" and Tara 13'35") |
| 13'47" | Daniel Barenboim, Berliner Philharmoniker, 1989-90. Available on Daniel Barenboim: Complete Wagner Operas (34 CD) |
| 13'51" | Reginald Goodall (EMI - 1984) |
| 13'53" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Berlin, 1943 |
| 13'57" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, 31 July 1951 |
| 13'59" | Fritz Busch, Buenos Aires, 1936 |
| 14'03" | Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berlin, 1938 |
| 14'13" | Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth, July-August, 1951 |
| 14'14" | Herbert von Karajan (1981, Deutsche Grammophon) |
| 14'18" | Fritz Reiner, New York, 1938 |
| 14'20" | Daniele Gatti, Bayreuth, 2008. Premiere of Stefan Herheim's Parsifal production. Two years later, Gatti conducted the prelude one minute faster. |
| 14'30" | Richard Wagner, Munich, 12 November 1880 |
| 15'06" | Arturo Toscanini, London, 1935 |
| 15'30" | Artur Bodanzky, New York, 1938 |
| 15'35" | Rudolf Kempe, Wiener Philharmoniker, 1958 (Seraphim). Concert ending. |
| 15'53" | Karl Muck, Berlin, 1927 |
| 16'23" | James Levine, Bayreuth, July/August 1985 |
| 16'38" | Erich Kleiber, New York, 1946 |
Sources: Jonathan Brown (Great Wagner Conductors), Per-Erik Skramstad, Hartmut Haenchen, Vic White, Pieter Berghs
|
|
|
Parsifal on DVD
Harry Kupfer / Daniel Barenboim (Berlin)
Waltraud Meier, Poul Elming, John Tomlinson |
Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (film, 1981)
Reiner Goldberg, Aage Haugland, Lloyd, Minton |
Lehnhoff / Kent Nagano ( Baden-Baden)
Waltraud Meier, Christopher Ventris, Matti Salminen, Tom Fox, Thomas Hampson |
Hans Hollmann / Bernard Haitink
|
Otto Schenk / James Levine
|
Wolfgang Wagner / Stein
|
Tiroler Festspiele Erl / Gustav Kuhn
Thomas Gazheli, Manfred Hemm, Michael Baba, Michael Kupfer, Emanuela Barazia |
Parsifal on CD
Hans Knappertsbusch
Bayreuth 1962: Martti Talvela, Hans Hotter, Jess Thomas, Gustav Neidlinger,
Irene Dalis, Gerd Nienstedt, Gerhard Stolze, George London, Gundula Janowitz, Anja Silja |
Christian Thielemann
Wiener Philharmoniker, Plácido Domingo, Waltraud
Meier, Falk Struckmann, Ain Anger, Franz-Josef Selig, Wolfgang Bankl, Benedikt Kobel, Janina Baechle |
Pierre Boulez
Bayreuther Festspiele 1970: Thomas Stewart, Karl Ridderbusch, Franz Crass, James King, Donald McIntyre, Gwyneth Jones, Heinz Zednik,
Marga Höffgen, Hannelore
Bode |
Jaap van Zweden
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orch, Klaus Florian Vogt, Falk Struckmann, Robert Holl, Katarina Dalayman |
Valery Gergiev
Orchestra and Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev, Gary Lehmann, Evgeny Nikitin, René Pape, Violeta Urmana |
Herbert von Karajan
Berliner Philharmoniker, Peter Hofmann, Kurt Moll, José van Dam, Victor von Halem, Siegmund
Nimsgern, Dunja Vejzovic, Hanna Schwarz, Claes
Håkan Ahnsjö, Kurt Rydl, Anne
Gjevang |
Karl Muck
Recordings of Parsifal by conductors Karl Muck (1927-28), Alfred Hertz (1913), Siegfried Wagner (1927) - Naxos Historical |
Pierre Boulez
Bayreuther Festspiele, 1966: Thomas Stewart, Kurt Böhme, Josef Greindl, Sándor Kónya, Gustav Neidlinger, Astrid Varnay, Ruth Hesse, Hermann Winkler, Gerd Nienstedt |
Georg Solti
Wiener Philharmoniker 1971-72, Hans Hotter, René Kollo, Gottlob Frick, Zoltan Kelemen, Christa Ludwig, Robert Tear, Heinz Zednik, Lucia Popp, Kiri Te Kanawa |
