Hello all. Been away for a while, but have been enjoying catching up on posts. Walhall have recently released Rudolf Kempe's 1957 Ring Cycle from Covent Garden. So far I've listened to Siegfried and Gotterdammerung , with Nilsson, Hotter and Windgassen common to both. I only knew Kempe's Wagner through a great live Munich Tristan from 1953 with Helena Braun and August Seider. The Garden Ring is on a similar level. Fairly swift tempi, transparent textures, but heft when needed. Above all, a wonderful sense of narrative purpose. It's interesting to compare Windgassen and Hotter to their Bayreuth performances. Hotter sometimes sounds a bit stressed at the higher end of the range, but his and Kempe's conceptions of the role are obviously in tandem. I know Windgassen isn't to everyone's taste, but his ebulient Siegfried is witty and, ultimatley, tragic. Nilsson's Brunnhilde is invariably less 'complete' an interpretation than on the 1960's Decca performances, but it is fresh and gloriously vocalised. How I envy those who were at these performances!