I’ve been banished from the living room and so the home theatre by the lemur practicing for a dance recital.  As a result I’m listening, on my iPod, to Solti’s recording of The Ring, which I was introduced to nearly four decades ago.  Listening to Das Rheingold again today after a long lay off I’m struck by how utterly brilliant it is.  Gustav Neidlinger’s Alberich is a marvel.  He’s singing lyrically not snarling or barking and it sounds quite lovely.  Solti’s command of rhythm is astonishing.  One could dance to this!  And has John Culshaw’s sound engineering ever been bettered?

Still wonderful as it is it’s having much the same effect as Proust’s madeleine.  I first heard this recording (on vinyl of course) courtesy of the man who taught me Applied Maths for ‘A’ level .  He was a rather sad old chap but he introduced me to Wagner, Quad electrostatic speakers and gin.  He’s long dead of course.  So it goes.