Customer Reviews

Furtwangler Conducts - Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 9 / Leonore, No. 3 & Coriolan Overtures, Opp. 62,72b

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

These are phenomenal examples of Furtwangler's art in very fine transfers. I can't imagine any serious Beethoven collection being without them. With that said, these are all live concert readings in fairly rough sound, despite M&A's fine efforts. These readings really put most of their counterparts in EMI's Furtwangler Beethoven set in the shade. However, for the average listener, it will be necessary to come to terms with your willingness to choose between the inspired readings here versus the better sound of later Furtwangler performances elsewhere. Here is a brief summary of this set's contents, plus a few recommended alternatives.

Disc 1: The 1944 VPO Eroica is an incredibly white-hot reading - quite simply one of the greatest Beethoven performances ever recorded. I first owned this on a miserably transferred Vox Turnabout LP that was so sharp that the Eroica was virtually in E major instead of E flat. M & A's transfer is correctly pitched and is the finest I have heard. However, I think that most listeners may derive more pleasure from the beautiful sound of the 1952 BPO version found on Tahra 1054/7. The performance is less intense, but the sonics are vastly superior. It is also far more committed than the studio reading on EMI.

This 1943 BPO Coriolan Overture is the greatest statement of the score ever to reach my ears. What extraordinary passion and commitment! The 1944 VPO Leonore Overture is superb - it's even finer than the reading in the 1950 complete Fidelio with Patzak & Flagstad.

Disc 2: This 1943 BPO 5th has been my benchmark ever since first hearing it on a Unicorn LP. The crescendo from the Scherzo into the Finale here has to be heard to be believed - it is one of the grandest moments in all of recorded Beethoven. This 5th is also available on Tahra 272, coupled with a superb 1945 Pastoral conducted by Hermann Abendroth. The Tahra transfer is a little better, but the difference is very slight. I only play this 5th once in awhile, so as not to diminish the impact of its rather "over the top" interpretation. For more frequent consumption, I tend to play the 1937 Berlin studio (on Biddulph 006) and the magnificent 1954 BPO on Tahra 1054/7. The live 1947 BPO (on deleted M&A) is also fascinating, if a shade eccentric. All in all, the 1954 BPO on Tahra offers the best combination of inspired playing and satisfying sound.

I am rather ambivalent about this 1944 BPO Pastoral. It's VERY dramatic, but perhaps a bit too much so for the nature of the work: parts of it feel too slow, while other are a trifle hectic. The VPO studio EMI is much mellower and has better sound. The 1954 BPO on Tahra 1054/7 offers what I feel is the best trade-off: a great performance in extremely good sound.

CD 3: This 1943 BPO is THE great Beethoven 4th in my view. The 1943 BPO 7th is Furtwangler's most dramatic account - it's my favorite. However, the more measured EMI studio account is also very fine, and the sound is vastly superior.

CD 4: This stunning 1942 9th is the most dramatic reading ever. The Adagio is Furtwangler's most expansive - what incredibly rhapsodic playing! The Scherzo is magnificent. In the Finale, the extended chord before the "Turkish Music" is wonderfully inspired. The choral work is intensely committed, and the soloists are excellent (except for Tilla Briem's high notes). As with the 5th in this set, I can't listen to this performance very often - it's almost painful in its raw power. The great live 1951 Bayreuth on EMI has a much better soprano (Schwarzkopf at her very best), far better sound, and perhaps a more optimal balance of mind and heart. Both, to my mind, are absolutely mandatory listening, along with the weightier, more meditative 1954 Philharmonia from just 3 months before Furtwangler's death (best heard on Tahra 1054/7).

This M&A set is a vital component of any representative Beethoven collection. It also features notes taken from John Ardoin's "The Furtwangler Record," although Ardoin's comments on the Leonore III in this set are curiously omitted. But I am sure that anyone interested in Furtwangler will want to have the whole book anyway.

If this is not a five star set, then you should deduct two stars from every other recording on Amazon.

Unless you are a period instrument purist or a digital diehard (or maybe someone who dislikes passionate musicmaking), there is little excuse for not buying this set on the spot. Ok, so maybe, as some previous reviewers stated, the performance practices are probably not the same as in Beethoven's time, and the recordings lack the pristine sound quality of Conductor X or Y's most recent bland cycle, and.....WHO CARES! If you are the type that buys music for these reasons, then I will say a prayer for you.

I'd like you to try a little experiment, turn the volumn up on your speakers(if you have speakers), go to the sound samples area and try out the fourth movement of the fourth symphony. Even though we are limited to a minute of music, it is amazing how much drama and intensity Furtwangler brings out of this even numbered and therefore supposedly lightweight symphony. Most conductors can't even approach this on the more dramatic odd numbered symphonies.

The third and ninth symphonies on this set are most likely the greatest perfomances ever recorded, and the rest are near this level. The sound quality is excellent for 1940's recordings and more than sufficient to bring out the quiet moments as well as the big climaxes. One note of caution however, once you become accustomed to these perfomances all other beethoven recordings will start to sound like MUZAK.

These are quite simple some of the very best perforamces of the Beethoven symphonies (and overtures) that I have ever heard, Furtwangler makes the symphonies almost terrifying -- perhaps appropropriate for their wartime setting. These are somewhat heavy performances, and sometimes the humor and high spirts of Beethoven is lost (most notably in the Pastoral). Nevertheless, these are absolutely unique recordings that will make you listen to familiar music in a new way and hear things you have missed before. This is a great investment, no matter how many collections of the symphonies you have.

As to the sound, unless you are totally allergic to older mono recording, these are very good recordings for the time with relatively little dimness in recorded sound and generally lacking any sort of congestion in louder passages, yes, modern sound would be great, but the ear quickly adjusts. If you have any interest in Beethoven, these disks are worth having.

Ferocious, passionate, desperate, monumental... these are just a few of the words I would use to describe the "Furtwangler Conducts Beethoven" series offered here by Amazon.com and the Music & Arts label. Technically reconstructed by musical engineers using state-of-the-art equipment, Furtwangler's musical offerings from wartime Germany sound as fresh and inspiring as any interpretation of Beethoven I have ever heard. Although debate seems to have been raised concerning the quality of these Furtwangler pieces, true audiophiles who remember the age of vinyl will find a bit of charm in the occasional pop and minimal static displayed on some of the tracks. Accolades to the technical staff who re-mastered these pieces!

Furtwangler remains a bit of an enigma to audiences both inside and outside of Germany. His role as one of the most respected conductors in National Socialist Germany still elicits uncomfortable reactions from fans of classical music. Torn between dismissing him as a pawn of a totalitarian state or a musical genius who transcended the political era in which he flourished, Furtwangler fans have been comfortable to let the ambiguous conductor occupy a sort of ideological gray era for the past 55+ years, neither lauded nor condemned. Thankfully the staff at the Music & Arts label, and purveyors of classical music the world over, have decided to finally let the music do the talking! A resurgence in Furtwangler's work has insured that many more offerings of the conductors work are to come - hopefully from the controversial "war years" that marked the apex of his career.

The "Furtwangler Conducts Beethoven" CD introduces itself with Furtwangler's titanic offering of Symphony #3. Recorded in 1944 in the heart of Hitler's Third Reich (by then already reeling from massive Allied bombing raids and catastrophic reversals on the Eastern Front), Furtwangler manages to sum up the desperate urgency of the German people in their moment of national distress. On that night, Symphony #3 clamored, stomped and devoured everything in its path. I have, quite simply, never heard such a ferocious, awe-inspiring interpretation of this Symphony. It is unparalleled.

The comprehensive liner notes indicate that Furtwangler was obsessed with Beethoven Symphony #5 in C minor, and here we are offered an interpretation from June of 1943. Yet again Furtwangler pushes the work to new heights. The boldness of the opening musical volley paves the way for a fiery, ground shaking, thunderous reading of a piece that Furtwangler obviously felt was meant to bombard audiences into submission! Critiques of Furtwangler's work have suggested that the frightful stress and strain of the instrumentation detracts from the work - but that is exactly why Furtwangler shines brightest when conducting Beethoven! It is as if the God of Thunder himself has descended to deliver bouquets of lightning!

Symphony #9 in D minor represents what could be considered the most moving track on this 4-disc collection. Fittingly, it is also the last selection on the last disc. Furtwangler fluctuates between driving his instruments (and undoubtedly musicians as well) to the edge of exhaustion, to then turning back from the chaotic abyss to allow the subtle, sweeping portions of the work to lull you into safer places. It is recommended that you not listen to this track while driving, as you are likely to swerve off of the road! Recorded in March of 1942, before Stalingrad and El Alemein, before the monstrous firebombing raids of precious Hamburg and Dresden, Furtwangler seems to have understood the steep precipice upon which his entire country teetered.

The other selections on "Furtwangler Conducts Beethoven" are just as moving and just as powerful as the tracks I have mentioned. The tracks have been carefully selected and best typify Furtwangler's fiery brand of conducting. No fan of either Furtwangler, or even Beethoven, can afford to neglect the selections offered here by Music & Arts. Although the historical background of the tracks adds a unique dimension to the work, Furtwangler's interpretation of Beethoven is truly, truly timeless and transcends both the war and the era in which he flourished. Submerge yourself in this work, and you will forever listen to music differently.

Since I was a kid, I could hear people speak about Furtwangler's wartime performances (notably the Berlin 9th) with whispers, and I knew they must be something special. For years I had to make do with the 1951 Bayreuth 9th on LP...great, but not quite the same.

Imagine my delight when I came across this set giving me just what I had dreamed of. I bought it immediately and saved it for the most special occasions. You must always listen to it (the 9th) in your bed, in the dark; you'll think the air force is dropping bombs on you. I typically listen to it at 3 am after after some frazzling experience which puts me in the mood to appreciate Furtwangler. He summons all the anguish that the deaf Beethoven would have felt when composing this work, and he pours out his soul in trying to communicate this message to his countrymen. The way the recording overemphasizes the brass and tympani adds to the excitement, especially in the first movement (the best). Yet when the chorus comes in at the end, the effect is angelic. Truly an experience to leave you overwhelmed for days afterwards.

(The 3rd and the 5th have a similar effect. The 6th is less successful, being a light-hearted work performed under trying circumstances.)

Furtwangler is much more interesting when interpreting a humanist like Beethoven than a bombastic fool like Wagner. Beethoven provokes him to confront and re-examine his own mystical philosophy, and the result sheds new light on both composer and conductor.

I cant understand why the music editor has not put this on his list of Essential Furtwangler.

...even if this is the only CD of Beethoven's Orchestral Works you ever buy.
Even though they are in mono, old, noisy, with pitch variations at places (but still remarkably good transfers), for many of the works here it's safe to say that you have not really heard them unless you have experienced these recordings.
Four of the works (4,5,6,7) are great performances, but there are other great ones out there as well.
However, the recordings of the ninth (BPO Mar'42) and third (VPO Dec'44)symphonies as well as the Coriolan and Leonore III overtures are definitive and unique, and each of them is by itself worth the price of the whole set. The only downside to getting them is that it might become hard to be attentive to most other recordings afterwards.

No words can do full justice to this music. No other reading of Beethoven has come close to eclipsing these historic and timeless performances. This version of Beethoven's ninth symphony is arguably THE GREATEST MUSIC EVER COMMITTED TO RECORD!

I have learned to be content with two bootlegs of the March 22, 1942 Berlin performance of the ninth symphony, but it is ridiculous in this day and age for this particular recording not to have been sonically enhanced and made more generally available until now.

The atmosphere is vividly unsettling in its documentation of a Nazi audience reveling in its full glory at the very peak of its power. In retrospect, it seems as though Furtwangler is trying to give Beethoven an apocalyptic voice with which to warn the Berlin hierarchy. It is tempting to describe Furtwangler as a prophet unfolding the rise and fall of the Third Reich in the span of an hour. Even more amazing is that underneath this epic drama, Beethoven still manages to describe the soul of humanity more eloquently than any other artistic expression or philosophical explanation.

It is literally impossible to exaggerate the greatness of this music. The intensely cathartic ending brings the shock of silence. After the final chromatic note hangs interminably in the void, and the violently orgasmic climax has been achieved, you find yourself "whiting-out" from the inside and staring into the eyes of God, and leaving any sanguine person completely vulnerable and exhausted.

The recording of the ninth symphony is as much a monument to life itself as it is the supreme legacy of two towering artists (Beethoven and Furtwangler). It is with the music contained on these CDs that posterity will verify the legends that envelop the conductor.

If you consider yourself to be appreciative of "great" music, you should feel obliged to purchase this set and cherish it as the centerpiece of your collection for the rest of your life.

Furtwangler's interpretations of Beethoven were unique, and these documents of his wartime performances in Germany are astounding, full of unspeakable sublimity and fury. This 4-disc set includes live recordings of 6 of the 9 symphonies -- 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 9 -- plus two overtures. All of the symphonies are with the Berlin Philharmonic, except the 3rd, which is with Vienna. The booklet includes 27 pages of fantastic commentary by John Ardoin, from his book THE FURTWANGLER RECORD (1994), including quotes of Furtwangler himself on Beethoven. Ardoin lists the available live Furtwangler recordings of each symphony, and situates the current one vis a vis the others (the recent EMI Great Conductors release includes a 1953 3rd and a 1944 5th never before released -- see my review). Ardoin holds this December 1944 3rd by the VPO to be Furtwangler's best. This March 1942 BPO recording of the 9th is perhaps the most powerful, but Ardoin maintains that the well-known 1951 Bayreuth performance is better balanced, attaining a more spiritual culmination, less infused with anger (see my review of the EMI recording).

Perhaps the most fantastic moment of all is the transition to and opening of the final movement of the 5th, which Ardoin calls a "sunburst of sound." It is a cosmic triumph! This is the sort of realization that Furtwangler's idiosyncratic passion can produce, and it is more than worth getting past the imperfections of the mono sound and periodic coughs to experience this powerful music with such vision and soul.

I have listened to quite a few cycles of Beethoven's symphonies over the years, but I must say that there is something truly special about Furtwangler's. Just to set the record straight, these are monophonic recordings made during the 1940's in Nazi Germany, so the sound quality is certainly not up to modern standards, and I thus wouldn't recommend this as a starter or first set of Beethoven's symphonies (for that, I would heartily recommend Karajan's mid-70's or '63 set, also with the BPO). However, the sound is quite good for the period. It has been extremely well-restored -- the sound is surprisingly full and rich on a good sound system, and I find that, given the fact that the frequency range is necessarily compressed, it actually sounds clearer than some modern recordings if you are using sub-par audio equipment (for instance, if listening through a boom-box or small computer speakers).

But what makes these performances truly wonderful is their **passion**. Part of this is no doubt due to the historical setting of the recordings, recorded in the grand concerthall in Berlin during the last days of the Third Reich. One can clearly sense the emotion, the odd mixture of yearned-for liberation and impending doom that permeates these performances, particularly in the oft-praised Eroica symphony.

But these recordings are much more than mere historical curiosities -- Furtwangler is a marvellous Beethoven conductor in the grand German tradition, and these discs are a true bargain for the price. There are other sets of Furtwangler Beethoven recorded in the 1950's that boast slightly better sound quality, but with a few exceptions (the EMI Great Recordings version of the 9th comes to mind) these are his best performances on record, IMHO. Highly recommended!!

There is a lot of critical gibberish on the internet and in the media regarding performances of Beethoven's work, especially the symphonies and piano sonatas. I urge you to ignore these revisionist opinions and listen to this remarkable collection. In my opinion, Wilhelm Furtwangler is the greatest, most consistent interpreter of Beethoven ever. These recordings are remarkable for their freshness and vitality even after all these years. Furtwangler has a sense of motion and purpose that is everwhere evident in these recordings, but especially in the Third, Seventh and the Ninth. Personally, I prefer the 1951 Furtwangler recording of the Ninth with the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra but this recording has an emotional intensity not found in that later version and it is very much worth owning. I recommend this recording to anyone who is interested in a singularly profound interpretation of Beethoven's symphonies.