Sir Georg Solti (1912-97)
Georg Solti (1912-97) was born in Budapest, but became later an UK citizen. He was awarded an honorary Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1971.
Solti made the first complete studio recording of Der Ring des Nibelungen (with the Vienna Philharmonic). The recording is now somewhat dated, with exaggerated effects and lack of transparency, but remains a classic and one of the greatest achievements in recording history.
Georg Solti has made numerous recordings that now are classics. He appeared with all the major orchestras and opera houses in the world. He was one of the greatest post war maestros.
Solti's conducting style was characterized by aggressive, spastic movements.
Some found this approach mesmerizing,
others found it graceless.
It is really sad that Solti's only Bayreuth summer turned out a disaster. When Wolfgang Wagner finally managed to persuade Solti to appear at the Bayreuth Festival, Solti teamed up with Peter Hall to make a naturalistic Ring (the premiere was in 1983). The aim was to produce a Ring simple enough for a twelve-year-old to understand what was happening. Both Hall and Solti fled the scene after the first year, and this Ring is considered to be one of the greatest flops in the history of the Bayreuth Festival.
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