Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, George Frederick Handel :: Recordings 1942-1944, Vol. 1

Information for Furtwangler collectors

Wayfarer | CA, USA | 05/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are looking at this item, you probably do not need to be convinced of the musical worth of these performances. So I'll refrain from commenting on the quality of the recordings here, and instead try to list details about them which might help you check for overlaps with other CDs.



Please note that the Coriolan and the Beethoven Symphonies here are the same performances present on the Music and Arts 4CD set [ASIN: B00001W09Z]. I'm not sure how the quality of this remastering compares with that one.





1. Symphony no 39 in E flat major, K 543

27m : 54s Staatsoper, Berlin 2/8/1944



2. Coriolan Overture in C minor, Op. 62

8m : 57s Alte Philharmonie, Berlin 6/30/1943



3. Symphony no 4 in B flat major, Op. 60

35m : 29s Alte Philharmonie, Berlin 6/30/1943



4. Symphony no 5 in C minor, Op. 67

33m : 8s Alte Philharmonie, Berlin 6/30/1943



5. Symphony no 7 in A major, Op. 92

37m : 34s Alte Philharmonie, Berlin 11/3/1943



6. Concerto for Violin in D major, Op. 61

43m : 26s Alte Philharmonie, Berlin 1/12/1944



7. Concerto grosso (12), Op. 6: no 10 in D minor, HWV 328

17m : 29s Staatsoper, Berlin 2/8/1944



8. Symphony no 9 in C major, D 944 "Great"

50m : 16s Alte Philharmonie, Berlin 12/8/1942



9. Der Freischutz, J 277: Overture

10m : 51s Staatsoper, Berlin 3/21/1944"

Not the best quality

Mr. Fredric J. Einstein | 05/19/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"DG used Russian 15 IPS dubs of the original Magnetophone recordings to master this series (as they did for their 33 CD collection which was released in Japan during the early 1990's. Thus, the fidelity of the DG series is compromised.



In contrast, a French label Tahra used the original MASTER Magnetophone tapes to make their set of these recordings. Thus, the Tahra set is of MUCH MUCH higher fidelity than these. In fact, the Tahra series sounds as though it was recorded in the 50's or 60's in terms of fidelity."

Our finest moments...

Mike | California | 05/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My review will not differ one jot from the previous reviewers, although I would like to add that Furtwangler's performance of Beethoven's Corolian Overture is one of the finest pieces of recorded music, representing mankind at its creative pinnacle."