Search - Beethoven, Furtwangler, Berlin Philharmonic :: Symphonies 4-7 (1943-44)

Remastered from records originally made in 1943 and 1944, these performances, one of them live, are truly from another age. Wilhelm Furtwängler was always famous for the freedom of his interpretations combined with scrupulous attention to the score, and these two discs illustrate both qualities. Though he meticulously follows Beethoven's markings, he does not hesitate to go beyond them when he feels the music demands it. He has the daring, hardly fashionable today, to change the tempo along with the mood and character, to speed up with mounting dynamics and intensity, then slow down as tension relaxes. The miracle is that these liberties always feel organic and justified, spontaneous, balanced and controlled. Also extraordinary is his ability to create big, sweeping lines as well as lovingly attend to details. In the fast movements, he favors leisurely, deliberate tempos, taking plenty of time for poised transitions, but keeps the slow ones moving, no matter how calm and serene. The Trios are all much slower than the Scherzos; in the Seventh Symphony he preserves the pulse at a third of the speed. He achieves enormous grandeur, for example, in the Fifth Symphony; the Finale's sweep is overwhelming. The Pastoral Symphony is wonderfully expansive, lyrical, singing, evoking the peace and sunshine of Beethoven's beloved countryside, as well as the jagged lightening and crashing thunder of the storm. The rhythm in the syncopations of the Fourth Symphony is firm as granite; the Finale is brilliant. (The label lists the Fourth and Seventh Symphonies in reverse order.) The record shows its age in the old-fashioned violin fingerings of the otherwise wonderful orchestra: the sound is a bit strident, the extreme dynamics require a finger on the volume control, and, except in the Pastoral, the middle and low strings tend to disappear. But no matter--these are unique, incomparable performances. --Edith Eisler