Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beethoven from a different era, 19 April 2002
Listening to Furtwangler conduct Beethoven reminds one that there was an era in which music-making came before money-making. Furtwangler's interpretations are highly individual, but they are never self-serving or pompous, like those from many conductors who believe their own "historical" discoveries, metronomic readings, & blatant tamperings to be of greater import than the message of the composer. Yes, Furtwangler's Beethoven is individual, extremely so, but the overwhelming difference is that the message of Beethoven's music is never obscured---his readings are fraught with a preternatural dignity and power that is not achieved by intellect or passion alone, but the refinement of both. As to the individual symphonies themselves, this set includes the famous recording of the 9th that was made at the re-opening of the Bayreuth Festival in 1951, and arguably one of the greatest classical recordings ever made. The 3rd symphony's funeral march has seldom been shrouded in darker weeds of mourning; the 5th shakes the very foundation of earth; ah, and the 7th! Is not the 7th the most beautiful of Beethoven's symphonies? This is better heard than described. The set is rounded off with an exceptional account of the 6th, a fine 1st, and, unfortunately, a 2nd & 8th that suffer from horrible sonic limitations. All things considered, the beauties far, far outweigh the faults here, and make for an unique, and incredible listening opportunity.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great performances , 29 Aug 2007
This is a well received and highly regarded Beethoven Symphony cycle by Wilhelm Furtwangler, one of the most notable conductors from the 20th century. The recordings, which it should be noted are all in mono, are from several different orchestras and venues from a period ranging between 1948 and 1954, and as such there will inevitably be some concerns with respect to the uniformity of the interpretations.
This variety of performers and recording dates may not entirely please the Beethoven purist, and I admittedly tend to prefer more consistency in a collection of music presumably intended to be presented as a complete cycle, but this set does date from another generation so could be considered to fall into the category of `historic recordings'.
The recordings, despite being of mono quality, are generally good but obviously should not be expected to match those made in more recent times. However none of this should detract from the appreciation of these interpretations by one of today's most respected conductors who was active up until the year of his death in 1954.
Of particular note in this set is the live recording of the 9th symphony which was performed for the re-opening of the Bayreuth Theatre in 1951 and is generally considered to be one of the best interpretations of the 9th, although of course there is an ever increasing number of recordings to choose from.
Not what I would call a true symphony cycle in the strictest sense, but a recommended collection nevertheless, and a valuable set which I consider to be `historic' recordings.
I have provided a track list showing the recording dates, venues and performers.
CD1
Symphony No. 1 and No. 3
Orchestra: Wiener Philharmoniker
Venue: Musikvereinssaal (Vienna)
Performance date:1952
CD2
Symphony No. 2 (live recording)
Orchestra: Wiener Philharmoniker
Venue: Royal Albert Hall (London)
Date: 1948
Symphony No. 4
Orchestra: Wiener Philharmoniker
Venue: Musikvereinssaal (Vienna)
Date: 1952
CD3
Symphony No. 5
Orchestra: Wiener Philharmoniker
Venue: Musikvereinssaal (Vienna)
Date: 1954
Symphony No. 7
Orchestra: Wiener Philharmoniker
Venue: Musikvereinssaal (Vienna)
Date: 1950
CD4
Symphony No. 6
Orchestra: Wiener Philharmoniker
Venue: Musikvereinssaal (Vienna)
Date: 1952
Symphony No. 8 (live recording)
Orchestra: Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Venue: Konserthus (Stockholm)
Date: 1948
CD5
Symphony No. 9 (live recording)
Orchestra: Bayreuth festival Orchestra & ChoirCWiener Philharmoniker
Venue: Bayreuth Festspielhaus (Festival Theatre), Bayreuth (Germany)
Date: 1951
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Elisabeth Hongen (contralto), Hans Hopf (tenor), Otto Edelmann (bass).
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mystical Beethoven: an interesting historical document, 30 Jul 2007
There are probabaly hundreds of thousands of different ways of interpreting Beethoven's symphonies, from the rather pompously-named "authenic" or "original" instrument approach that is currently very fashionable, to the granite-like certainties of Klemperer. Furtwangler was an intensely spiritual and philosophical man, probably a great human being and certainly gifted with a particular form of bravery and patriotism that saw him mercilessly used by the Nazi propoganda machine after he had decided to stay on in Germany. His Beethoven is HIS Beethoven: interpretations that come from the core of his being as it was thrilled by his contemplation of the greatness of the music he uncovered. It often sounds improvisatory but the evidence from his players is that the speedings up and slowing down, the special phrasings, the momentous underlinings were all carefully prepared and rehearsed. Everyone who loves Beethoven should hear his music played like this - at least once. The sound on these discs is often constricted monaural, which is one of the reasons for the middling star-rating of this review. Also, the very individual interpretations suggest that you would want to buy this set for an occasional "outing" for a well loved symphony rather than as the medium through which you would be advised to learn the music. Great artistry, poor sound and mystical experience.
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