This recording from the Bavarian State Opera 1950 has been available in one form or another for decades. Rarely does everything come together in one performance as it does here.Knappertsbusch is on fire throughout. He builds the performance from a tension-filled prelude to an ecstatic resolution nearly four hours later while never sounding lethargic or routine. He supports and inspires his cast from beginning to end.Neither Treptow nor Braun had the most beautiful voice although both are more than adequate. The two of them trade off each other, one hurling out a bold statement, the other taking it up and leading it to a passionate conclusion. Braun's rage and high Bs in the first act are incandescent while Treptow begins more carefully, finally challenging Isolde towards the end of Act 1. The big Act 2 duet is magnificent; since Knappertsbusch makes no cuts in this performance we get to hear the entire progression from sexual passion to idealized unity. Treptow really comes into his own in his Act 3 ramblings while Braun closes the opera with an ethereal Liebestod, the perfect summing up of all that has come before.The rest of the cast is equally great. Klose sings Brangäne's Watch as beautifully as I ever hope to hear it while also giving her character more profile than one normally hears in the role. Schöffler is a heartbreaking Kurwenal while Frantz justifies his reputation with his memorable Marke. One cast correction: Paul Kuën sings the offstage voice of the Young Sailor at the beginning of the opera, not Fritz Richard Bender.The sound is excellent: warm, clear, the pitch of the tape correct throughout the performance. All Tristan und Isolde lovers should have this recording in their collections.