Great Recordings Of The Century - Beethoven: Symphony no 9 / Furtwangler, Schwarzkopf

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
No single performance will ever tell us everything we need to know about a masterpiece like the Beethoven Ninth, but this one comes close. The inspired intensity of everyone involved--at the postwar reopening of the Bayreuth Festival in 1951--comes across very vividly in this new transfer. Just hear the way Furtwángler evokes the atmosphere of chaos coalescing into order at the opening of the first movement and you can tell a superior musical and spiritual consciousness is at work. Except for the poor first horn, whose bloopers are the main detriment, the orchestra, soloists, and chorus (recorded clearly but at a heavenly distance) all hold up their parts extremely well. The solo singers are particularly convincing. This is a very special recording, recognized as a classic when it was first issued and still indispensable. --Leslie Gerber

Great Recordings Of The Century - Beethoven: Symphony no 9 / Furtwangler, Schwarzkopf, Music, Otto Edelmann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Hans Hopf, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Orchestral & Symphonic, Romantic Symphony, Symphonic

Average customer rating:

Forget the coughing this emotional reading is RAW!!!!

A Moving Performance of Beethoven's 9th

A word of caution for newcomers

Very passionate

The 9th to Own!!

Great Recordings Of The Century - Beethoven: Symphony no 9 / Furtwangler, Schwarzkopf

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000GCA7
Release Date: 1999-01-12

Tracks:

Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125 'Choral': Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125 'Choral': Molto vivace
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125 'Choral': Adagio molto e cantabile - Andante moderato - Adagio
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125 'Choral': Presto - Allegro ma non troppo - Allegro Assai - Allegro assai vivace - alla marcia - Andante maestoso - Allegro - Allegro energico, sempre ben marcato - Allegro ma non tanto - Poco adagio - Prestissimo

Amazon.com essential recording

No single performance will ever tell us everything we need to know about a masterpiece like the Beethoven Ninth, but this one comes close. The inspired intensity of everyone involved--at the postwar reopening of the Bayreuth Festival in 1951--comes across very vividly in this new transfer. Just hear the way Furtwángler evokes the atmosphere of chaos coalescing into order at the opening of the first movement and you can tell a superior musical and spiritual consciousness is at work. Except for the poor first horn, whose bloopers are the main detriment, the orchestra, soloists, and chorus (recorded clearly but at a heavenly distance) all hold up their parts extremely well. The solo singers are particularly convincing. This is a very special recording, recognized as a classic when it was first issued and still indispensable. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Forget the coughing this emotional reading is RAW!!!!.......2007-06-05

That's right...you will be treated to a few momentos of respiratory ailments in the crowd, and if you can look past the sometimes flat and muddled mono mix of the recording, and I highly recommend that you do, then this recording will knock you off of your feet. I am a child of modern acoustic flair, being quite fond of the capabilities of SACD recordings, and at first the mono mix left me a bit cold. But within a matter of minutes that all faded into utter inconsequence as I became possessed by this transcendent reading of the ninth. There are a few flubs here and there and a few points during the third movement momentarily dispell the magic. BUT and I stress that explicitly...I have yet to hear a ninth with as much raw power and energy as this one. I've listened to some passages from more modern, polished versions of this symphony and despite their vastly superior sonics they completely pale in comparison to the visceral impact of this reading. You would be missing out on something quite special if you were to pass this one up in favor of better sonics. Trust me the mono makes no difference whatsoever...this reading is absolutely inspired.

A Moving Performance of Beethoven's 9th.......2007-03-10

This is an historically significant performance. The re-opening of the Bayreuther Festspiele in '51 was an occasion of great joy for music lovers in Germany, for whom the Festspiele was (and still is) a beloved annual event. My own grandmother was a regular attendee of that era, so having this recording is personally very meaningful to me. Certainly there is not a more appropriate piece of music for celebrations on a grand scale than Beethoven's 9th symphony. And that's exactly what this very exuberant performance is: it's a grand celebration. It is not without flaws though, notably the problem with the first horn mentioned by another reviewer. And of course, it's no SACD studio recording, it's mono and it's live, so there is noise. But this really doesn't matter: it's a tremendously moving performance that vividly captures the joy of the occasion. And also it's Furtwängler conducting, who many consider the foremost interpreter of Beethoven's symphonies in the modern era. So this CD is really a must-have for lovers of Beethoven's symphonies. This one along with the Furtwängler Performs Beethoven cycle put out by Magic & Arts.

A word of caution for newcomers.......2007-01-29

PLEASE NOTE: I am reviewing this recording as an *audiophile* and as someone immersed in *historically informed performance*. If either or both of these things puts you in a decidedly different aesthetic camp from mine, then *disregard* the rating I have given it. I do not mean to offend those who love this recording.

I will not argue with those who think this is "magnificent" or "passionate," but I think it is misleading, and even a disservice to people browsing for a recording of this symphony, to call this "essential" and "indispensable" (Amazon) or "the 9th to own" (below). It is a remarkable recording, but I think it would be a shame if someone knew this symphony only or primarily from this recording.

As everyone mentions, this was an historic occasion: the reopening of the Bayreuth Festival, and for some a symbol of Germany's cultural rebirth after the war. It was the last time Furtwängler was at Bayreuth. If one contemplates these things while listening to this recording, it is indeed easy to be swept up by it. I respectfully suggest that knowledge of its context has prompted some to attribute to it a sort of mystical greatness that it really does not possess.

EMI has done what seems like a very respectable job remastering this recording, and it probably sounds as good as it ever will. The peculiar acoustic properties of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus and orchestra pit also give it an interesting character. But this is a live, mono recording from 1951. What makes it special is the sensation of "listening back in time." The recorded sound itself, jumbled and indistinct, cannot even be compared to what can be achieved with modern recording techniques.

As for the performance, Furtwängler may be considered by many to be without peer for his insight into this music, but this is simply not my Beethoven; nor, I believe, is it Beethoven's Beethoven. Furtwängler's "insight" borders on unlistenable in the third movement: 19'32". For me, this kills the performance all on its own. Parts of it actually sound as though they are being played in "slow motion," and sometimes it seems that Furtwängler has slipped into his own private meditation and forgotten he is leading a performance. The cringe-inducing brass section, however heartfelt their efforts, does not help matters.

Collectors and those with an historical interest in the political, social and artistic events surrounding this recording will want to own it, but I think this would be a poor choice for one's first or only recording, legendary though it is.

I highly recommend John Eliot Gardiner's version on Archiv for an articulate, driven, and, in its own way, every bit as passionate alternative to lumbering late Romantic interpretations.

Very passionate.......2007-01-29

This recording is famous beacuse of its sense of event. Musically speaking, it is out of control and very passionate. But it will sweep you away with fiery intensity. Do be aware of the horn bloopers. If you are looking for a standard Symphony No. 9, this is probably not the recording for you. I would personally recommend Fricsay and the Berlin Philharmonic as the best over all recording.

The 9th to Own!!.......2006-07-12

I would not hesitate in any way to recomend this incredible interpretation of Beethoven's final work to any listener or any musician. Aside from the wonderful job in remastering we have one of the more interesting accounts of this work ever done.

The opening movement has a very great sense of hushed intensity in the strings...and once the first thematic bits of material are introduced the whole performance never lets up. Sadly, there are some very bad horn moments throughout but what is here is all Furtwangler who outshines Szell...Karajan, and Klemperer put together...sadly too few people realize how fine Bohm was and if you need a Stereo version go to the last reading Bohm did of the 9th on DG.

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