Provisional designation in astronomy and Tristan und Isolde: Difference between pages

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'''''Tristan und Isolde''''' is an [[opera]] in three acts by [[Richard Wagner]]. It was composed between [[1857]] and [[1859]], and received its first production in [[Munich]] on [[June 10]], [[1865]].

The '''provisional designation''' of comets and asteroids are similar to each other: they both follow a pattern set in [[1925]] by the [[Minor Planet Center]] of the [[International Astronomical Union|IAU]].

== Sources ==

==Historical designations==

In the principal parts of this opera Wagner followed the romance of [[Gottfried von Strassburg]], which in turn is based on the story of [[Tristan]] and [[Isolde]] from [[King Arthur|Arthur]]ian legend.

At first, astronomers strove to assign symbols to the minor planets, in the tradition of the symbols used for the major planets:

* [[1 Ceres]] a stylized sickle

* [[2 Pallas]] a lozenge with a crossed handle

* [[3 Juno]] a Venus mirror crowned by a star (later became a star with a crossed handle)

* [[4 Vesta]] a sacred fire altar (modern astrologers use a stylized flame in a hearth, in at least two different versions: see [http://www.astrologicallyspeaking.com/vesta.htm here] and [http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/hiero/astrolog.htm here])

* [[5 Astraea]] an inverted anchor<!--- seen [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1850AJ......1...74F here] --->

* [[6 Hebe]] [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1848MNRAS...8R..81H a cup]

* [[7 Iris]] [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1847MNRAS...7..299H a semi-circle with an interior star]

* [[8 Flora]] [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1847MNRAS...8....1H a flower]

* [[9 Metis]] [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1849MNRAS...9...67G an eye and a star]

* [[10 Hygiea]] [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1850AJ......1Q.151H a serpent crowned by a star]<!--- see also http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1850MNRAS..11....1D --->

* [[11 Parthenope]] [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1850AJ......1Q.151H a fish crowned by a star]<!--- see also http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1850AJ......1..134G --->

* [[12 Victoria]] [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1850MNRAS..11....2H a star and laurel branch]<!--- see also http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1850AJ......1..134G and http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1850AJ......1Q.151H --->

* [[13 Egeria]] (never did receive a symbol)

* [[14 Irene]] [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/MNRAS/0011//0000150.000.html a dove carrying an olive-branch, crowned with a star]

* [[15 Eunomia]] a heart crowned by a star

== Critical reception ==

[[Johann Franz Encke|Encke]] made a major change in the ''Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch'' (BAJ) for [[1854]], published in [[1851]]; in that yearbook he took the liberty to introduce encircled numbers instead of symbols. This was not quite like today's scheme, however: he began the numbering with Astrea which was given the number (1) and went through (11) Eunomia. Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta continued to be denoted by their traditional symbols. This innovation was immediately seized upon by the astronomical community at large. [[Benjamin A. Gould|Gould]], in [[1852]], proposed to use circles containing the number of the asteroid ''in the chronological order of its discovery''.

Many Wagnerian critics of the time claimed that the musical portion of the opera attained the highest summit of all music; on the other hand, an equally influential group of critics, centered around [[Eduard Hanslick]], condemned the work as being incomprehensible.

The new symbolic system was designed to relieve the growing confusion and restore the original intent of the symbols: a quick shorthand way of referring to solar system bodies. In the BAJ for [[1855]], the numbering of the minor planets began with (5) Astrea and went through (15) Eunomia. Ceres through Vesta continued to be listed using their old symbols until the BAJ for [[1867]], published in [[1864]].

== Significance in the development of classical music ==

Three additional asteroids were nevertheless given symbols:

* [[28 Bellona]] [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1854AN.....38..143. the whip and lance of Mars' martial sister]

* [[35 Leukothea]] [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1855AN.....40..373K an ancient lighthouse]

* [[37 Fides]] [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1856AN.....42..107L a latin cross]

The very first chord in the piece is the so-called ''[[Tristan chord]]'', often taken to be of great significance in the move away from traditional [[tonality|tonal]] [[harmony]]:

According to [http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/zentral/ari/minor.planets/mp-signs.htm Webster's ''A Dictionary of the English Language'', G. & C. Merriam & Co., Springfield (Ma), USA, p. 1780 (1884)], four more asteroids were also given symbols:

* [[16 Psyche]] A sugar loaf (?) crowned by a star

* [[17 Thetis]] A siren (?) above a star

* [[26 Proserpina]] (At first erroneously assigned the name 32 Pomona) A circle around a star with a handle sticking up (?)

* [[29 Amphitrite]] An upturned crescent crowned with a star

[[Image:Wagner Tristan opening.png]]

There is no evidence that these symbols were ever used outside of their initial publication in the Astronomische Nachrichten. Several different notation and symbolic schemes were used during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The present form (number followed by name) is first found in the ''Astronomische Nachrichten'' (AN) for [[1911]].

'''Sound samples'''

Initially, new numbers were assigned by the editors of the AN immediately upon receipt of the announcement of a new discovery from an observer. In [[1892]] a system of provisional designations was introduced by the AN. A definitive number was subsequently given by the editors of the BAJ to those objects for which reasonable orbital elements had been computed.

* [[Image:Audiobutton.png]] [[Media:Wagner Tristan opening.midi|Sound sample of these bars]] ([[MIDI]] file)

* [[Image:Audiobutton.png]] [[Media:Tristan und Isolde beginning clip.ogg|Recording of these bars]] ([[Ogg Vorbis]] file)

== Characters ==

The provisional designation scheme consisted initially of a year and a single letter: e.g., [[333 Badenia|1892 A]], [[163 Erigone|1892 B]], etc., omitting the letter 'I'. In old publications, it is common to see 'J' as the omitted letter instead of 'I' &mdash;the sequence going [[340 Eduarda|1892 H]], 1892 I, [[342 Endymion|1892 K]], etc. Modern usage would consider 1892 I to be the same as [[341 California|1892 J]] and it is this latter designation which is recorded.

*Tristan ([[Tenor]])

In [[1893]], the 25 available letters proved to be insufficient and a series of double letter designations was introduced: e.g. [[367 Amicitia|1893 AA]], [[368 Haidea|1893 AB]], etc., again omitting the letter 'I'. The sequence of double letters was not restarted anew each year, so [[379 Huenna|1894 AQ]] followed [[378 Holmia|1893 AP]] (for example). In [[1916]], the letters reached [[830 Petropolitana|ZZ]] and, rather than starting a series of triple-letter designations, the double-letter series was restarted with [[831 Stateira|1916 AA]].

*Isolde ([[Soprano]])

*King Marke ([[Bass (musical term)|Bass]])

*Kurwenal ([[Baritone]])

*Brangaene ([[Mezzo-soprano]])

*Melot (Tenor)

*A shepherd (Tenor)

*Helmsman (Bass)

*Voice of a young sailor (Tenor)

*Male and Female Chorus

== Story ==

In the double-letter scheme it was not generally possible to insert new discoveries into the sequence once designations had been assigned in a subsequent year. The scheme used to get round this problem was rather clumsy and used a designation consisting of the year and a lower-case letter in a manner similar to the old provisional-designation scheme for comets. For example, [[6484 Barthibbs|1915 a]] (note that there is a space between the year and the letter in order to distinguish this designation from the old-style comet designation [[C/1915 C1|1915a]]), [[886 Washingtonia|1917 b]]. In [[1914]] designations of the form year plus Greek letter were used in addition.

{{spoiler}}

During [[World War I]] the active observers at Simëis in the [[Crimea]], deprived of official designations for their discoveries, assigned their own. The designations came in two forms: year + Greek capital sigma + letter(s); Greek capital sigma + number. The Greek capital sigma is indicated as SIGMA. Other designation schemes used at Simëis and other observatories also existed in parallel.

==Modern=Act systemI===

The basis of the modern system retains features of the older system. The key components include:

Isolde and her handmaid, Brangaene are quartered aboard Tristan’s ship, being transported to King Marke’s lands in Cornwall where Isolde is to be married to the King. The opera opens with the voice of a young sailor singing of a “wild Irish maid”, which Isolde takes to be a mocking reference to herself. In a furious outburst she wishes the seas to rise up and sink the ship, killing all on board. Her scorn and rage are directed particularly at Tristan, the knight who is taking her to Marke. She sends Brangaene to command Tristan to appear before her, but Tristan refuses Brangaene's request, saying that his place is at the helm. His henchman, Kurwenal, answers more brusqely, saying that Isolde is in no position to command Tristan, and reminding Brangaene that Isolde’s previous husband, Morold was killed by Tristan.

#The year of the observation

#(a blank space)

#A letter indicating the half-month of discovery (see table, below)

#A number for a comet, a second letter for an asteroid (I omitted, but Z is used!)

#Comet numbers continue indefinitely, but for an asteroid, a peculiar subscripting notation continues, assuming the first pass through the alphabets had implicit subscript 0. The second pass through uses 1, third 2, etc.

Brangaene returns to Isolde to relate these events, and Isolde sadly tells her of how, following the death of Morold, a stranger called Tantris had been brought to her, found mortally wounded in a boat, and that she had used her healing powers to restore him to health. However she discovered that Tantris was actually Tristan, the murderer of her husband, and had tried to kill him with his sword as he lay helpless before her. However Tristan had looked not at the sword that would kill him, but into her eyes, and this had pierced her heart. Tristan had been allowed to leave, but had returned with the intention of marrying Isolde to his uncle, King Marke. Isolde, in her fury at Tristan’s betrayal, insists that he drink atonement to her, and from her medicine-chest produces the vial which will make this drink. Brangaene is shocked to see that it is a lethal poison.

Comets are prefixed with C/ D/ P/ X/ depending on the type of comet orbit (or if it is now e'''X'''tinct). Asteroids can be prefixed with A/ but usually are not.

At this point Kurwenal appears in the women’s quarters saying that Tristan has agreed after all to see Isolde. When he arrives, Isolde tells him that she now knows that he was Tantris, and that he owes her his life. Tristan agrees to drink the potion, now prepared by Brangaene, even though he knows it may kill him. As he drinks, Isolde tears the remainder of the potion from him and drinks it herself. At this moment, each believing that their life is about to end, they declare their love for each other. Their rapture is interrupted by Kurwenal, who announces the imminent arrival on board of King Marke. Isolde asks Brangaene which potion she prepared and is told that it was no poison, but a love-potion. Outside, the sailors hail the arrival of King Marke.

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"

|'''first half of month'''

|A=Jan

|C=Feb

|E=Mar

|G=Apr

|J=May

|L=Jun

|N=Jul

|P=Aug

|R=Sep

|T=Oct

|V=Nov

|X=Dec

|-

|'''second half'''

|B=Jan

|D=Feb

|F=Mar

|H=Apr

|K=May

|M=Jun

|O=Jul

|Q=Aug

|S=Sep

|U=Oct

|W=Nov

|Y=Dec

|-

|I=omitted

|-

|Z=unused

|}

==Examples=Act II===

In the year [[2004]], the first asteroid discovery of January 1 would be named '''2004 AA'''. Then the naming continues through '''2004 AZ''', followed by '''2004 AA₁'''. Partly for technological reasons ([[ASCII]] limitations), the subscript is often "flattened out", so 2004 AA₁ is written '''2004 AA1'''. The next discovery is '''2004 AB1''', then '''2004 AC1''', etc. Eventually one could get to something like '''2004 AA276''', BUT only if the calendar date has not passed to January 16. At that point, the system jumps onward to 2004 BA.

A nocturnal hunting party leaves King Marke’s castle empty except for Isolde and Brangaene, who stand beside a burning brazier. Isolde several times believes that the hunting horns are far enough away to allow her to extinguish the flames, giving the signal for Tristan to join her. Brangaene warns Isolde that one of King Marke’s knights, Melot, has seen the looks exchanged between Tristan and Isolde, and suspects their passion. Isolde, however, believes Melot to be Tristan’s most loyal friend, and in a frenzy of desire extinguishes the flames. Brangaene retires to the ramparts to keep watch as Tristan arrives.

The large outer solar system object [[90377 Sedna]] had the provisional designation 2003 VB₁₂, meaning it was discovered in the first half of November 2003, and that it was the 302^nd object (B->2 + 12*25 = 302) discovered during that time. [[28978 Ixion]], originally 2001 KX₇₆, was discovered in the latter half of May [[2001]], and was the (X->23 + 76*25 = 1923) 1,923^rd object discovered during that time.

The lovers, alone at last and freed from the constraints of courtly life, declare their passion for each other. Tristan decries the realm of daylight which is false, unreal, and keeps them apart. It is only in night that they can truly be together, and only in the long night of death that they can be eternally united. Brangaene is heard several times throughout their long tryst calling a warning that the night is ending, but the lovers ignore her. Finally the day breaks in on the lovers, Melot leads Marke and his men to find Tristan and Isolde in each others arms. Marke is heart-broken, not only because of his betrayal by his adopted son, Tristan, but because he, too, has come to love Isolde.

Comet discoveries work similarly using only a single letter. '''2004 A1''' is the first comet of January 1-15. '''2004 A2''' is the second, and so forth.

Tristan now asks Isolde if she will follow him again into the realm of night, and she agrees. Melot and Tristan fight, but at the crucial moment, Tristan throws his sword aside and is mortally wounded by Melot.

Many objects originally seen as asteroidal may develop clear tails and become comets. In that case they retain their asteroid designation with two letters, but gain the comet prefix C/ D/ or P/ as appropriate.

==Packed=Act designationsIII===

Clearly the system isn't sorted well, so a 'translation' is used for indexing long lists. First, the year is written out using a single letter code for the century (18 = I, 19 = J, 20 = K, and so on; the first century would theoretically be 00 = A) and the last two digits in clear. Thus 2004 AA starts off as '''K04'''.

Next, the implicit subscript becomes explicit and is inserted between the letters so the first pass sorts before the second pass. Thus 2004 AA becomes '''K04A00A''', 2004 AA1 becomes '''K04A01A''', and so on. The use of a two digit field (00 through 99) would have originally been enough, but in the late 1990s so many discoveries resulted that a hexadecimal-like notation had to be adopted for the tens, where A=10, B=11, etc. This first occurred with [[(17810) 1998 FM100|(17810) 1998 FM₁₀₀]]. Thus 2004 AZ99 becomes '''K04A99Z''' and 2004 AA100 becomes '''K04AA0A'''. This can continue through Z=35, so 2004 AZ359 becomes '''K04AZ9Z'''&mdash;the highest possible packed designation in this scheme.

Kurwenal has brought Tristan home to his castle at Kareol in Brittany. A shepherd pipes a mournful tune and asks if Tristan is awake. Kurwenal says that only Isolde’s arrival can save Tristan. The shepherd says he will keep watch and pipe a happy tune to mark the arrival of any ship. Tristan now wakes and mourns that he is again in the false realm of daylight, once more driven by unceasing unquenchable yearning, until Kurwenal tells him that Isolde is coming. Tristan is overjoyed and asks if her ship is in sight, but only the shepherd’s sorrowful tune is heard.

The beginning of the 2000s led to 360 passes through the alphabet requiring a further adaptation. This first occurred with [[(62643) 2000 SH360|(62643) 2000 SH₃₆₀]]. The scheme adopted was to set a=36, b=37, etc. This also sorts well in ASCII but loses the all-capitals and might cause case problems. This system currently ends at the equivalent of 2004 AZ619 with z=61. The highest count reached as of 2004 was [[2000 SA372|2000 SA₃₇₂]]. Thus, 2004 AA360 becomes '''K04Aa0A''' and 2004 AZ619 becomes '''K04Az9Z'''.

Tristan relapses and recalls that the shepherd’s tune is the one he heard when his father and then his mother died. Once again he rails against his desires and against the fateful love-potion until he collapses in delirium. At this point the shepherd is heard piping the arrival of Isolde’s ship, and as Kurwenal rushes to meet her, Tristan in his excitement tears the bandages from his wounds. As Isolde arrives at his side, Tristan dies with her name on his lips.

Comets are 'packed' similarly, but rarely create problems as the objects now are often discovered first appearing as asteroidal. They are packed such that a zero takes the place of the missing letter at the end. Thus 2004 A22 becomes '''K04A220'''. Were comet discoveries to "roll over" past 2004 A99 ('''K04A990'''), the same system would assign 2004 A100 as '''K04AA00''' all the way to 2004 A619 as '''K04Az90'''.

Isolde collapses beside him as the appearance of another ship is announced. Kurwenal sees Melot, Marke and Brangaene arrive and furiously attacks Melot to avenge Tristan. In the fight both Melot and Kurwenal are killed. Marke and Brangaene finally reach Isolde and Marke, grieving over the body of his “truest friend” explains that he has learnt of the love-potion from Brangaene and had come, not to part the lovers, but to unite them. Isolde appears to wake but, in a final aria describing her vision of Tristan risen again (the “Liebestod”), dies of grief.

==[[Asteroid moon]]s==

The pattern follows that established for the major planets. The prefix "S/" indicates a natural satellite, then follows the year (using the date when the discovery image was acquired, not necessarily the date of discovery). A one letter code identifies the planet (J, S, U, N, P for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, respectively; it's not clear what the letters for the remaining planets should be), and then a number identifies sequentially the observation. For example, [[Naiad (moon)|Naiad]], the innermost moon of Neptune, was at first designated '''S/1989 N 6'''. Later, once its existence and orbit were confirmed, it received its full designation, '''Neptune III Naiad'''.

== Influence of Schopenhauer on ''Tristan und Isolde'' ==

With minor planets, the planet letter code is replaced by the minor planet number in parentheses. Thus, the moon of [[(45) Eugenia]], discovered in [[1998]], was at first designated '''S/1998 (45) 1'''. In [[2003]] it received its full name, '''[[(45) Eugenia I Petit-Prince]]'''. The Roman numerals specify the discovery sequence, like with '''[[(87) Sylvia II Remus]]''', which is actually closer to [[(87) Sylvia]] than [[(87) Sylvia I Romulus]].

Wagner was introduced to the work of the philosopher [[Arthur Schopenhauer]] by his friend [[Georg Herwegh]] in late 1854. The composer was immediately struck by the philosophical ideas to be found in “Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung” ([[The World as Will and Idea]]), and it is clear that the composer and the philosopher had a very similar world-view. By the end of that year, he had sketched out all three acts of an opera on the theme of Tristan and Isolde, although it was not until 1857 that he began working full-time on the opera, putting aside the composition of [[Der Ring des Nibelungen]] to do so.

Wagner said in a letter to [[Liszt]] (December 1854): “Never in my life having enjoyed the true happiness of love I shall erect a memorial to this loveliest of all dreams in which, from the first to the last, love shall, for once, find utter repletion. I have devised in my mind a ''Tristan und Isolde'', the simplest, yet most full-blooded musical conception imaginable, and with the ‘black flag’ that waves at the end I shall cover myself over – to die.”

By 1857 Wagner was living as the guest of the wealthy silk merchant [[Otto von Wesendonck]], and during the composition of ''Tristan und Isolde'' was involved with Wesendonck’s wife, Mathilde, although it remains uncertain as to whether or not this relationship was platonic.

Nevertheless, the twin influences of Schopenhauer and Mathilde inspired Wagner during the composition of ''Tristan und Isolde''. Schopenhauer’s influence is felt most directly in the second and third acts. The first act is relatively straightforward, consisting mostly of an exposition of how Tristan and Isolde come to be in their current state. However the second act, where the lovers meet, and the third act, in which Tristan longs for release from the passions that torment him, have often proved puzzling to opera-goers unfamiliar with Schopenhauer’s work.

Wagner uses the metaphor of day and night in the second act to designate the realms inhabited by Tristan and Isolde. The world of Day is one where the lovers must deny their love and pretend they do not care for each other, where they are bound by the dictates of King Marke’s court: it is a realm of falsehood and unreality. Tristan declares in Act 2 that under the dictates of the realm of Day he was forced to remove Isolde from Ireland and to marry her to his Uncle Marke. The realm of Night, in contrast, is the representation of intrinsic reality, where the lovers can be together, where their desires reach fulfillment: it is the realm of oneness, truth and reality. Wagner here equates the realm of Day with Schopenhauer’s concept of [[Phenomenon]], and the realm of Night with Schopenhauer’s concept of [[Noumenon]]. This is not explicitly stated in the libretto, however Tristan’s comments on Day and Night in Act 2 and 3 make it very clear that this is Wagner’s intention.

In Schopenhauer’s philosophy, the world as we experience it is a representation of an unknowable reality. Our representation of the world (which is false) is [[Phenomenon]], while the unknowable reality is [[Noumenon]]: these concepts are developments of ideas originally posited by [[Kant]]. Importantly for Tristan and Isolde, Schopenhauer’s concept of Noumenon is one where all things are indivisible and one: and it is this very idea of one-ness that Tristan yearns for in Acts 2 and 3 of Tristan und Isolde. Tristan is also aware that this realm of Night, or Noumenon can only be shared by the lovers in its fullest sense when they die. The realm of Night therefore also becomes the realm of death: the only world in which Tristan and Isolde can be united forever, and it is this realm that Tristan speaks of at the end of Act two (“Dem Land das Tristan meint, der Sonne Lich nicht Scheint”).

Tristan rages against the daylight in Act 3 and frequently cries out for release from his desires (Sehnen): it is also part of Schopenhauer’s philosophy that man is driven by continued, unachievable desires, and that the gulf between our desires and the possibility of achieving them leads to misery. The only way for man to achieve inner peace is to renounce his desires: a theme that Wagner explores fully in his last opera, [[Parsifal]].

== Recordings of Tristan und Isolde ==

Tristan und Isolde has always been acknowledged as one of the greatest operas, and has a long recorded history. In the years before the [[Second World War]], [[Kirsten Flagstad]] and [[Lauritz Melchior]] were considered to be the prime interpreters of the lead roles, and mono recordings exist of a number of live performances with this pair directed by conductors such as [[Thomas Beecham]], [[Fritz Reiner]], [[Artur Bodanzky]] and [[Erich Leinsdorf]] . Flagstad recorded the part for EMI near the end of her career under [[Wilhelm Furtwangler]], producing a set which is considered a classic recording. Following the war the performances at [[Bayreuth Festival|Bayreuth]] with [[Martha Modl]] and [[Ramon Vinay]] under [[Herbert von Karajan]] (1952) were highly regarded, and these performances are now available as a live recording. In the 1960s the soprano [[Birgit Nilsson]] was considered the major Isolde interpreter, and she was often partnered by the Tristan of [[Wolfgang Windgassen]]. Their performances at Bayreuth in 1966 were captured by Deutsche Grammophon, although some collectors prefer the pairing of Nilsson with the Canadian tenor [[Jon Vickers]], available in “unofficial” recordings from performances in Vienna or Orange. Karajan did not record the opera commercially until 1971, and his set is still controversial for the use of a lighter soprano voice as Isolde, paired with an extremely intense Vickers, and for the unusual balance between orchestra and singers favoured at that time by Karajan. By the 1980s recorded sets by conductors such as [[Carlos Kleiber]], [[Reginald Goodall]] and [[Leonard Bernstein]] were mostly considered to be important for the interpretation of the conductor, rather than that of the lead performers. The set by Kleiber is notable since Isolde is sung by [[Margaret Price]], who never sang the role on stage.

There are many recordings of the opera, some of the most popular being listed below:

* [[Karl Elmendorff]] conducting the Bayreuther Festspiele Orchester with Gunnar Graarud as Tristan and Nanny Larsen-Todsen as Isolde, 1928 (Columbia Records, mono, rereleased in 2003 on CD by Naxos)

* Thomas Beecham/Fritz Reiner conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior, 1936 – 1937 (EMI, mono)

* Wilhelm Furtwangler conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra with Kirsten Flagstad and Ludwig Suthaus, 1953 (EMI, mono)

* Karl Bohm conducting the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra with Birgit Nilsson and Wolfgang Windgassen, 1966 (Deutsche Grammophon, stereo)

* Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with Helga Dernesch and Jon Vickers, 1972 (EMI, stereo)

* Carlos Kleiber conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle with Margaret Price and Rene Kollo, 1982 (Deutsche Grammophon, stereo)

=== Video ===

* ''Tristan und Isolde'' [[Conductor]]: Karl Bohm. ORTF orchestra. Soloists: Brigitte Nilsson, Jon Vickers; 1973, at the Theatre Antique, Orange, France. Despite some technical problems and limited commercial distribution, it is still the finest video recording for its powerful performance (as of 2005-11-21).

* ''Tristan und Isolde'' [[Conductor]]: [[Daniel Barenboim]], Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Staged and Directed by: [[Jean-Pierre Ponnelle]], Soloists: René Kollo, Johanna Meier, Matti Salminen, Hermann Becht, Hanna Schwarz, Unitel 1983, [[Laserdisc]] Philips 070-509-1

==External links==

*[http://www.tip.net.au/~jgbrown/Tristan/discography/ Discography of ''Tristan und Isolde]

* [http://aa.usno.navy.mil/hilton/AsteroidHistory/minorplanets.html When Did the Asteroids Become Minor Planets?]

*[http://www.scarp.plus.com/TristanundIsolde.html ''Tristan und Isolde'' libretto] from the Wagner Libretto Page

* [[Benjamin A. Gould]], [http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1852AJ......2...80G ''On the symbolic notation of the asteroids''], Astronomical Journal, Vol. 2, Iss. 34, p. 80, [[1852]]

* [http://www.richard-wagner-postkarten.de/postkarten/tri.php Richard Wagner - Tristan und Isolde]. A gallery of historic postcards with motives from Richard Wagner's operas.

* [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/info/OldDesDoc.html New- And Old-Style Minor Planet Designations] (Minor Planet Center)

[[Category:PlanetaryOperas scienceby Richard Wagner]]

[[Category:German-language operas]]

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