Many listeners and critics might disagree, however. For example, Solti's Ring is regarded by many as the Culshaw Ring. It is certainly true that there is much praise for his opera recordings. One of the reasons would have to be that Decca had at their disposal, and/or contract, many of the great singers at the time, and I'm sure the success of these recordings is as much about them as Solti. I bought his Magic Flute once upon a time and gave it away: it was brutal and unsubtle. And I'll never forget how shocked I was when I heard his Liszt Mephisto recording. Perhaps it was why my shriveled brain spewed out Solti's name when the Egmont overture played. Here was a first-class orchestra doing a run-through. I played the James Conlon Mephisto straight after the Solti and, hey, we had a musician making music, not wallowing in his orchestra's virtuosity. I also bought his Bruckner 8 and threw it in the rubbish tin.
In the end, it is, as is often pointed out, a matter of sensibilities, and I appreciate Solti's charismatic personality, I respect his longevity and the fact so many singers and musicians speak highly of him. I speak as a disgruntled iconoclast, perhaps too forcefully.
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