A Rare Gem For The Concert Hall

Wagner's staggering Ring Cycle is a cornerstone of the operatic repertoire, a monumental epic of warring Gods and mortals, brave heroes and nefarious villains fighting for the titular ring that will give them dominion over the world. As an opera, it takes on average 15 hours to complete, but in this very special program Wagner-expert Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the New York Philharmonic through Lorin Maazel's distilled version, specially transcribes for the concert hall.

First recorded in 1987, Maazel believed that above the voices of the cycle, it was in the orchestra that the essence of the work lay. In removing the words and condensing the score, he produced a concise version of the work that retains the thickly textured complexity of the piece, whilst making it more accessible to all audiences. Conductor Stutzmann is the perfect leader for this performance, having made enormous waves at the 2023 Bayreuth Festival conducting Wagner's Tannhauser - only the second ever woman to conduct at the festival's 150 year history.