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Keiberth Ring Cycle
Posted by Ignatius on November 27, 2025, 4:30 pm
Regarding Lee Denham’s review of the ‘55 Keilberth set of ‘Der Ring’, I fully agree with his verdict and Ralph Moore’s summation “Solti/Decca for beginners, Keilberth/Testament for connoisseurs, with Krauss ̓53 as the pick of the bunch.” (I also secretly enjoy the rather unfashionable Karajan.) However, a huge stumbling block for me has always been the price! Nearly GBP100. Not including shipping, which for me (far away in sunny South Africa) makes it near-unaffordable. Testament also offers no download option. I’ve ‘downloaded’ it from Youtube, but of course would like to have the set on my shelves. I always keep an eye out for a second-hand copy, but they are snatched up post-haste!
Re: Keiberth Ring Cycle
Posted by Ralph Moore on November 27, 2025, 6:35 pm, in reply to "Keiberth Ring Cycle"
Thanks for your comments, Ignatius; I do indeed understand the barrier those prices and shipping represent to collectors who, unlike us privileged reviewers, have to foot the bill for their pleasures. I did once find a used copy of "Siegfried" but they are as rare as hen's teeth, for obvious reasons. YouTube can come to the rescue but it's not the same.
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Regarding Lee Denham’s review of the ‘55 Keilberth set of ‘Der Ring’, I fully agree with his verdict and Ralph Moore’s summation “Solti/Decca for beginners, Keilberth/Testament for connoisseurs, with Krauss ̓53 as the pick of the bunch.” (I also secretly enjoy the rather unfashionable Karajan.) However, a huge stumbling block for me has always been the price! Nearly GBP100. Not including shipping, which for me (far away in sunny South Africa) makes it near-unaffordable. Testament also offers no download option. I’ve ‘downloaded’ it from Youtube, but of course would like to have the set on my shelves. I always keep an eye out for a second-hand copy, but they are snatched up post-haste!
They are scarce indeed, and often at crazy prices. YT comes to the rescue often, it's actually staggering how much material there is at the click of a button. The last 10 or so years I've also been hunting through charity shops, and have bought many great CDs at insanely low prices, so overall I can't complain too much! It also depends what equipment you use. On a proper Hifi setup I still prefer CDs, but with decent headphones and through my PC's onboard sound processing equipment, I'm quite happy to listen to YT videos.
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