Josef Greindl
Josef Greindl, with a voice mellower and less cutting than those of Gottlob Frick or Kurt Böhme, nonetheless became a dominant presence in the heaviest German bass roles during the 1950s and 1960s. A wide vibrato bothered some listeners who were sensitive to such matters, but Greindl was a savvy enough artist to subdue the effect in all but the most sustained passages and he was a canny presence. His Hagen exuded evil, while his Sarastro had a warmth and dignity that clarified the role as few others did. His occasional ventures into Italian opera largely took place in Germany and primarily at a time in which Italian opera was sung there in the vernacular. Greindl sang the leading bass roles in two essential Ring cycles preserved on disc, first under Furtwängler in 1953 and under Clemens Krauss at Bayreuth in 1954. Studies with bass Paul Bender, a former leading artist in Munich, and Wagnerian soprano Anna Bahr-Mildenburg prepared Greindl for his debut as Hunding in a 1936 Krefeld production. From 1938 to 1942, the young bass was engaged at Düsseldorf. In 1942, Greindl began a long association with Berlin, first at the Staatsoper (until 1949) and thereafter at the Berlin's Städtische Oper. His debut at the Bayreuth Festival came as Pogner in 1943, but his prominent years there began in earnest in 1951. Concentrating his career in Europe, Greindl spent only one season at the Metropolitan Opera: in 1952, Heinrich and Pogner sufficed for his New York opera appearances. Later, however, he sang in Chicago, where his Daland and Alvise (in Italian, of course) were heard at the Lyric Opera in 1959. San Francisco heard him only in 1967 when his King Marke was described as "wobbly," although his Baron Ochs opposite Régine Crespin's Marschallin was found more satisfactory. In Berlin, the bass was much admired for his Boris Godunov. In the latter years of his Bayreuth affiliation, he abandoned Pogner for Hans Sachs, managing the tiring tessitura and enormous length of the role with skill and creating a positive portrait of the master cobbler. In 1973, Greindl was appointed a professor of singing at Vienna's Hochschule für Musik.
© TiVo
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Wagner: Götterdämmerung
Martha Modl, Ludwig Suthaus, Josef Greindl, Orchestra Sinfonica Di Roma Della RAI, Wilhelm Furtwängler
Oper - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana · Die Verkaufte Braut Excerpts
Walther Ludwig, Anny Schlemm, Paul Kuën, Josef Greindl, Fritz Lehmann, Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Klassik - Erschienen bei G.O.P. am 29.08.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Götterdämmerung by Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler, Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Josef Greindl
Oper - Erschienen bei Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording am 18.04.2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Loewe: Ballads and Lieder
Karl Ridderbusch, Richard Trimborn, Josef Greindl, Hertha Klust, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jörg Demus
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Die Jahreszeiten
Elfride Trötschel, Walther Ludwig, Josef Greindl, RIAS Symphonie-Orchester, Ferenc Fricsay
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1952
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Winterreise, D.911
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 19.02.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anthologie du lied (Mono Version)
Erna Berger, Kim Borg, Josef Greindl
Klassik - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Winterreise
Brasilianische Musik - Erschienen bei Preiser Records am 10.10.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Mozart: Duos d'opéras (Mono Version)
Anny Schlemm, Josef Greindl, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Die Schöpfung: Keilberth / Cologne RSO
Chorwerk (für den Chor) - Erschienen bei Andromeda am 01.09.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Josef Greindl singt Carl Loewe Balladen
Klassik - Erschienen bei Preiser Records am 12.09.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best of Wagner's Götterdämmerung
Max Lorenz, Astrid Varnay, Josef Greindl
Oper - Erschienen bei Past Classics am 17.02.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carl Loewe Drei Balladen: Archibald Douglas - Der Nöck - Edward (Album of 1951)
Klassik - Erschienen bei Casta Diva am 31.12.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Airs d'opéras (Mono Version)
Josef Greindl, Wolfgang Windgassen
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Deutsche Barockmusik: Serie A. Heinrich Schütz (Mono Version)
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Choruses (Mono Version)
Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Heinz Tietjen, Max Lorenz, Wilhelm Pitz, Chor der Bayreuther Festspiele, Josef Greindl, Elisabeth Schärtel
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lebendige Vergangenheit - Josef Greindl
Klassik - Erschienen bei Preiser Records am 04.09.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Back from the Shadows No. II
Margot Guilleaume, Gertrud Pitzinger, Walter Geisler, Josef Greindl, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, NDR Sinfonieorchester
Klassik - Erschienen bei Tahra am 01.06.2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Wagner: Götterdämmerung
Ludwig Suthaus, Josef Greindl, Sena Jurinac
Oper - Erschienen bei Past Classics am 30.11.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo