- Jaap van Zweden
VAN ZWEDEN +
WAGNER’S RING CYCLE
THE EPIC JOURNEY BEGINS
Wagner’s visionary Der Ring des Nibelungen
(The Ring of the Nibelung) is one of the greatest
works of art. Centred around a ring which offers
its bearer ultimate power and the attempts of
various people to acquire it, the Ring cycle explores
the relationship between love and earthly power
and the themes of yearning and loss, all within a setting of medieval legend. With a superb international cast, including Matthias Goerne as Wotan and Michelle DeYoung as Fricka, Das Rheingold marks the thrilling start of a four year journey for Jaap van Zweden and the Hong Kong Philharmonic to perform and record Wagner's epic Ring cycle.
“Altogether a promising start to the cycle” – The Guardian
Wotan, Gemahl, erwache!
VAN ZWEDEN + WAGNER’S RING CYCLE
THE EPIC JOURNEY BEGINS
About Jaap van Zweden
Amsterdam-born Jaap van Zweden has been Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012, and is also Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Honorary Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of the Radio Chamber Philharmonic. Prestigious orchestras with which he has worked include the Chicago and London Symphony Orchestras, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, and the New York and London Philharmonic Orchestras. He made highly acclaimed débuts with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Jaap van Zweden’s recording activities have included the complete Beethoven (Residentie Orchester), Brahms (Netherlands Philharmonic) and Bruckner (Netherlands Radio Philharmonic) symphonies, and his Wagner repertoire – in addition to the Ring cycle – features Lohengrin, Parsifal and Tristan und Isolde, and includes staged performances of Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera.
About the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is now regarded as one of the leading orchestras in Asia. With a history stretching back to 1895, it became fully professional in 1974. Its annual schedule of activities focuses on the great symphonic repertoire, and also includes commissions of new music, pops concerts, opera (staged and in concert) and a very extensive education, outreach, and community engagement programme. Since Jaap van Zweden became Music Director in 2012, the orchestra has toured to various cities in China, to Taiwan, and to Europe, the highlight of which was the filming of a sold-out concert from the Musikverein hall in Vienna. In addition to recordings for Naxos featuring Tan Dun and Bright Sheng, each conducting their own compositions, the orchestra is recording for Naxos the first-ever performances by a Hong Kong or mainland Chinese orchestra of Wagner’s four-opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung.
as WOTAN
as FRICKA
as FREIA
as LOGE
as FROH
as DONNER
as MIME
as ERDA
as ALBERICH
as FASOLT
as FAFNER
as WOGLINDE
as WELLGUNDE
as FLOSSHILDE
VAN ZWEDEN + WAGNER’S RING CYCLE
THE EPIC JOURNEY BEGINS
WAGNER - The Ring of the Nibelung
8.558184-85 [2 CDs]
“This double CD will make a brilliant gift for music
and opera lovers.”
– Limelight Magazine, ★★★★★
iPad App: Wagner’s Ring Cycle
“For a Wagner fan, this is probably the very best way to understand and absorb the ground-breaking emotional building blocks found within the Ring cycle.”
– www.classicalmusicmagazine.org
WAGNER - His Life and Music
NA0141
“an excellent introduction to Richard Wagner, whose life and music still stir controversy today”
– Nancy Crowder-Chaplin, Sound Commentary