Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6

Muffled sonics, but better than average

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 09/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I ordered this CD and received the Beethoven Fifth and Sixth, all right, but not remasteringts of Furtwangler's wartime concerts from 1943 and 1944. The jacket states that these readings come instead from after the war, a single concert on May 25, 1947. If that's correct, then the review below is misleading. It got me to buy this CD, but fortunately the performances here are also quite good. The sound is muffled, but at least all hiss, pops, and ticks are gone, and most of the shrillness in the high ragisters (a common fault with AM radio broadcssts, old and new) has been rolled off. Compared to Music and Arts' version of Furtwangler's wartime Beethoven, this issue sounds better, less thin and screechy.



All in all, given how satisfying the interpreations are--worthy to stand beside Furtwangler's best, especially in the Pastorale--I'm happy I made the purchase."

Furtwangler is Still the Best Beethoven Connductor!

Ralph J. Steinberg | New York, NY United States | 01/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Opus Kura once again presents the best in engineering of historical material. The Pastoral has a fullness an warmth to the 1944 sound that no other issue possesses. Some may question the added reverberation (no doubt done by the Russian engineers), but I personally find it minimally intrusive. The lack of harshness in the sound allows one to hear this performance for what it is, simply the most loving, flowing interpretation ever put on disc. If Bruno Walter's warm in this work was of a genial, smiling nature, then Furtwangler's is of an awe and reverence, much as Beethoven himself experienced whenever he went to the country. The Pastorale is not normally one of my favorite Beethoven Symphony, but as presented here, it cannot fail to warm the heart and soul.

Now for the Fifth.

Again, this is the finest-sounding issue ever of the 1943 broadcast. At times, it is hard to believe its vintage. The question is: How does this compare to the classic 1937 HMV Fifth? There is no question that this is the more urgent and spontaneous rendition, espcially in the Finale, with tremendously powerful trombone thrusts and a Coda Presto faster than any other counductor, including Furtwangler, ever took. Some may find it hysterical, when compared to the HMV reading; I used to find it so, in poorer-sounding transfers. Now, I'm not sure which Fifth I prefer. I am happy to have both of them. Soundwise, however, I would give this one first place as a fatihful representation of the Berlin Philharmonic under the greatest conductor of the last, and probably this Century as well.

GET THIS ISSUE AND PREPARE TO BE REDUCED TO TEARS!"