We have reason to remember another great conductor in 2014, as he would have turned 100 years old this August: Ferenc Fricsay. His career was cut short by his all-too-early death in 1963, but his interpretations in Salzburg set standards of excellence. This was certainly the case with the German-language stage première of Frank Martin’s Le vin herbé. This production is now available as a historic live recording. Fricsay makes a strong impression with his confident sense of style in this unusual musical idiom for the tale of Tristan and Isolde. Julius Patzak and Maria Cebotari sing the main roles – both very different from those in Richard Wagner’s opera, but sung no less expressively here. In contrast to Wagner, too, this opera has a balanced overall ensemble, and the Chorus of the Vienna State Opera under Fricsay gives an audibly committed performance.