Diese Aufnahme ist bezaubernd schön: Deutsche Grammophon's 1964 Recording of The Magic Flute

Authors

Aaron Dalton

Keywords

Deutsche Grammophon, Firm, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zauberflöte, Performances, Sound recordings

Abstract

Singing speaks most eloquently for itself in real time and doesn't fall into words on paper very easily," writes a former voice teacher of mine. "It is either beautiful or it isn't. If it's beautiful, words aren't adequate. If it isn't, words about it have to be either false or cruel." Why, then, would I offer the following dissection of what I believe to be the greatest recording of arguably the greatest opera? And how, with a glut of Magic Flute recording on the market (I aborted my tally at over forty casts on dozens of labels), can I presume to identify one particular recording as the greatest among them? After all, if you believe my teacher's claim above, would not even the most rapturous hyperbole prove inadequate?

Recommended Citation

Dalton, Aaron (2004) "Diese Aufnahme ist bezaubernd schön: Deutsche Grammophon's 1964 Recording of The Magic Flute," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 43: Iss. 3, Article 19.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol43/iss3/19