The Ring of the Nibelungs

I am currently studying the score of das Rheingold and going through as many different recorded interpretations of this work as I can. The plan is that I will eventually go through the entire Ring cycle part by part. I have never read a commentary on the Ring that I have been entirely happy with, so I thought I would write one myself. That takes time - a lot of time.

I really don't understand the average record critic. It's not surprising that professional musicians think so little of them. Richard Bonynge recently said in a radio interview that when critics praise him it is usually for the wrong reasons and when they criticise him likewise. What a pity there are no reviews of the performances of reviewers. In most cases, they deserve scathing rebukes.

Before a conductor performs the Ring cycle they will have spend countless hours studying the score - until it haunts them in their sleep. They will have spent years, sometimes even decades pouring over the music over and over. They will have studied recordings of the work carefully.

Compared to this, music critics take a superficial listen and then pronounce their papal judgement on the spot. In reality, your ability to judge a performance is only as good as your knowledge of the music. Sadly, in the case of most critics this knowledge is pretty facile. Often, they don't really know the score that well because they have never studied it properly. Little wonder that professional musicians find many of these critics to be utterly infuriating.

However, there is still room for good quality criticism based on careful study and analysis. The trouble is that this a very difficult task. The more you study the score, the more your view of it evolves and then you start to hear things in performances that you never knew was there. As I say, your judgement of a performance/interpretation is only as good as your understanding. But what if you understanding was constantly in evolution? That's difficult, but no reason not to do it.

In any case, please don't expect a part by part commentary on the Ring to appear overnight. It will take weeks, if not months. And so it should.