Barbirolli: Mozart & Wagner

The programs for Sir John Barbirolli's 1964 concerts in Manchester included music from Tristan und Isolde, Der fliegende Hollander, the Siegfried Idyll and Mozart's Symphony No.40. They were both delayed commemorations of the 150th anniversary of Wagner's birth. According to Frances Graham in the Manchester Daily Express, Sir John explained that, ''there were not enough top-flight Wagnerian sopranos to go round. We decided to wait until January 1964 - the middle of our 1964 season - for our celebration. We also wanted to wait for Finnish soprano Anita Valkki.'' It was a worthwhile wait. Miss Valkki's singing must have come as a revelation to even the most experienced Wagnerian.