Symphony 9

Philharmonia Orchestra (Artist), Beethoven (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Beethoven
• Audio CD (October 1, 1996)
• Label: Tahra France
• ASIN: B000003O7E
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #698,431 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Furtwängler parle de la Neuvième Symphonie

2. Symphony No. 9 in D minor ('Choral'), Op. 125: 1. Allegro ma non troppo - un poco maestoso

3. Symphony No. 9 in D minor ('Choral'), Op. 125: 2. Molto vivace - presto - molto vivace

4. Symphony No. 9 in D minor ('Choral'), Op. 125: 3. Adagio molto e cantabile - andante moderato

5. Symphony No. 9 in D minor ('Choral'), Op. 125: 4. Presto

6. Symphony No. 9 in D minor ('Choral'), Op. 125: 4. Allegro assai

7. Symphony No. 9 in D minor ('Choral'), Op. 125: 4. Allegro assai vivace - alla marcia

8. Symphony No. 9 in D minor ('Choral'), Op. 125: 4. Andante maestoso - allegro energico - prestissimo

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Many independent labels have issued Wilhelm Furtwängler's valedictory Ninth, but none sound as good as this. Tahra's mastering from the original source (as opposed to the multigeneration tapes used elsewhere) uncovers a previously unsuspected dynamic and color range, and reveals subtler inflections from phrase to phrase. The disc also includes a short snippet of the conductor talking about the Ninth (in German, translations are included). --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Edge-of-your-seat excitement, December 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Symphony 9 (Audio CD)

The French label TAHRA consistently produces mind-boggling results from archive recordings, and this performance of the most popular symphony in the standard repertoire leads the pack. Furtwangler's reading is taut and concise, with a depth of expressing so profound one can imagine him weeping while conducting. The visceral impact of the timpani is worth the price of the cd. Even after repeated listenings, the exhiliration of the fourth movement never wanes. The sound quality is so clear that, despite being a mono recording, you would swear the performance took place yesterday. Perhaps the most exciting and "alive" recording of the work to date.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better own all 3!, October 22, 2001

By 

David Paisley (Lakewood, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Symphony 9 (Audio CD)

Each of the three Furtwangler recordings of the Beethoven 9th are outstanding documents, and I am always hard-pressed to decide which one I like the best. The wartime recording has a certain ferocity that I find fascinating; the 1951 Bayreuth is perhaps the most emotion-laden, in spite of frequent complaints about some clams in the third-horn (NOT first-horn, check the score) solo in the third movement; the tension between audience and performers in the finale is palpable, as the frenzied applause attests. The present recording from the Lucerne Festival is perhaps the most sonically satisfying of the three,and I can't imagine that it was unavailable for so many years (especially since EMI's Walter Legge was not the type to NOT release recordings by the Philharmonia Orchestra. Is it possible Mme. Legge --Schwarzkopf--didn't like her performance? I can't imagine why.) It is also interesting to hear Furtwangler's brief spoken introduction. Arguably the third movement recorded here is the best ever done, by Furtwangler or (so it must follow) anybody else.

Since I first purchased the 1951 recording (the original Angel GROC release) back in 1968, I knew that there was no other Beethoven conductor like Furtwangler. Two more performances of this great work are now available--and every one of them presents another facet of this great symphony. It would be wise to own all three.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No excuse for not owning this!, May 5, 2000

By 

Liam Sinclair - See all my reviews

This review is from: Symphony 9 (Audio CD)

Beethoven's Ninth has attracted many superlatives as a piece of Music that to a great extent we have become numb to it's incredible power as we all think we know this music-that is until you hear this recording!Furtwangler's credentials in this repertoire are of course well known but when you hear this you know why-there is an incredible erupting,molten lava like feel to the whole thing as if this music is just bursting the bounds and exploding in our heads-and yet the centre of the symphony is the most sublime adagio you're ever likely to hear.It's also interesting that Furtwangler elicited this sound not from the Berlin or Vienna Philharmonics but from the Lucerne Festival Orchestra-a tribute to his incredible conducting ability.Furtwangler also died shortly after this performance so it also serves as an incredible valedictory.There is absolutely no excuse for not owning this CD!