Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Hans Pfitzner, Johannes Brahms :: Beethoven: Leonoren-Ouvertüre No. 3; Hans Pfitzner: Symphonie C-Dur; Brahms: Symphonie No. 4

FURTWANGLER!!!

Toma Manojlovic | belgrade,serbia | 01/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Finale of Brahms' Fourth in this performance is simply beyond words.The only potential rival version to this one is Furtwangler's war-time recording of the piece.Both are,of course,essential purchases.The importance of this particular interpretation,though, can not possibly be overemphasized.Beautifull,passionate way in which he sculpts the phrases,that overwhelming feeling of "rightness" of his interpretative choices and insights,typical for his art-and his art alone-is magnificently displayed in this performance.The playing of VPO is remarkable,to say the least.

In short,one of Maestro's finest achievements,one of his high-points that will never be surpassed."

A must have for Furtwangler admirers

Henry Goodwin | 04/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD released by Orfeo contain Furtwangler's live recording from Salzburg Festival (1948-1959). The sound quality are much worse than his studio recording in the same period, but the restoring engineers did a good job removing some disturbances and noises. The dynamic range is thus narrower.

The Leonore No 3 overture was recorded live before the finale of Fidelio in July 31, 1948. It is a very exciting performance by VPO, Furtwangler was on fire and in complete control. You can even hear him humming mumbling while conducting in this recording.

The short Pfitzner symphony is also well performed.

The main item on this disc is The Brahms's 4th from 1950 with VPO. I think this is the best Brahms 4th Furtwangler ever recorded. The sound is comparable to 1943 war time performance, but in this performance all four movements are equally heartfelt and they flow really well.

"