Here Wagner scholar Deryck Cooke offers an extensive audio appreciation of the composer"s magnum opus Der Ring Des Nibelungen for the novice as well as experienced listener. His model is none other than arguably the greatest stereo recording of the work- that of Sir Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic for Decca. The 193 musical examples Cooke sites here were either extracted originally from those sessions or specially recorded for this production. For all Wagner acolytes Cooke"s introduction is indispensable.