So you're not a fan, huh? LOL!
I found Korngold's own piano renditions of Wagner's music fascinating - and surprisingly listenable considering the massive orchestral forces usually required to do justice to Wagner's music. One hears stories of Korngold playing his scores on the piano for his orchestrators while giving them their marching orders and I could never imagine what that must have been like until now.
As for the adapting, I enjoyed the "readers digest" aspect of this CD much as I did the CD showcasing the fellow whose name currently escapes me's similar treatment of Gilbert and Sullivan's work for "Topsy Turvy". Korngold's music is so unlike Wagner's to my ears that the former's take on the latter can't help but interest me. But, then, I'm a bit odd.
Everyone on the internet commenting on this CD has said some form of, "If you want REAL Wagner, check out the operas," to which I can't help but reply with a resounding, "DUH!" I don't deny that the appeal of the "Magic Fire" CD is limited to a niche of a niche, but that doesn't mean it isn't a worthwhile purchase. The acronym YMMV might have been invented to describe "Magic Fire", and my mileage - not that anyone asked, of course - worked out just fine.
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