Furtwängler Wartime Beethoven

Jed Distler

Artistic Quality:

Sound Quality:

The visionary power, dramatic potency, and titanic flow of Furtwängler’s wartime Beethoven symphony performances add up to listening experiences demanding as much as they reward. This is especially true in the 1944 Vienna “Eroica”, the 1943 Berlin Fourth and Fifths, and a 1942 Berlin Ninth that pushes Beethoven’s radical contours to their expressive limits. By contrast, this 1944 “Pastorale” paints a more foreboding, lugubrious outdoor landscape than the conductor’s equally heavy-gaited, but more flowing post-war Vienna commercial recording. Maggi Payne’s technical reconstructions appear to draw upon the same superior sources tapped for previous releases on Tahra and Deutsche Grammophon. The Ninth, though, resembles an earlier single-disc Music & Arts release in less impactive sound than Tahra’s transfer. The booklet notes derive from John Ardoin’s detailed and frank commentaries in his critical discography devoted to the conductor. Sonic reservations aside, these performances matter.


Recording Details:

Reference Recording: Gunter Wand/NDR Orchestra (RCA)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN - Symphonies Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9; Coriolan Overture; Leonore Overture No. 3

Search Music Reviews

Search Sponsor

  • Insider Reviews only
  • Click here for Search Tips

Visit Our Merchandise Store

Visit Store
  • Benjamin Bernheim Rules as Met’s Hoffmann
    Benjamin Bernheim Rules as Met’s Hoffmann Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; Oct 24, 2024 Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann is a nasty work. Despite its
  • RIP David Vernier, Editor-in-Chief
    David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com’s founding Editor-in-Chief passed away Thursday morning, August 1, 2024 after a long battle with cancer. The end came shockingly quickly. Just a
  • Finally, It’s SIR John
    He’d received many honors before, but it wasn’t until last week that John Rutter, best known for his choral compositions and arrangements, especially works related