Wilhelm Furtwangler Conducts the Comp Beethoven

There's no need for me to praise Furtwaengler's Beethoven: that would be stating the obvious.One of the great ironies is that all of his recordings, not just his Beethoven, are monaural, sometimes in good sound, sometimes not. But having nothing in stereo by him is a tremendous loss to anyone who appreciates his greatness.I realize this could be said of more than a few great conductors, particularly Toscanini who's usually pitted against Furtwaengler, though it's hard to understand how a perceptive listener couldn't appreciate the genius of both. There is no better OTELLO than Toscanini's.But a RING in stereo by Furtwaengler is the one recording I wish existed.

Furtwangler is one of the best Beethoven interpreters I've been fortunate enough to hear. There is the story of Adolph Hitler requesting him to conduct the 9th Symphony (showcasing German Greatness),to which Furtwangler declined. After some additional "persuasion", he reluctantly did so, breaking into tears during the 4th movements "Ode to Joy". These recordings, during the 1950's, with various Philharmonics rebuilding in post-war Europe, include more than a few gems.

This is a good collection of Furtwängler's interpretations with surprisingly good sound quality. I can really hear the improvement of the remastering in the infamously noisy recording of Symphony, for instance. It's not miraculous by any means, but it certainly helps.My sole complaint with this collection is that it does not always use Furtwängler's best performances. This is understandable given the poor audio quality of some of those performances, but it leads to a collection that is not entirely representative of Furtwängler's skill as an interpreter of Beethoven.In spite of this, I think that this is a good collection for someone just getting into either Furtwängler or Beethoven. I would also recommend it for anyone who wants a cleaner version of Furtwängler conducting Beethoven's 2nd.

I really love these Symphonies and the way Furtwangler conducts them. If you really care about the audio quality and reduced audience noise, these may not be the copies for you. I also enjoy Thielemann's cycle, they provide the audio quality I prefer for the car.

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New versions of this CD set have very bad quality recordings of Symphony number two. I tried to replace my copy with a second set and found the same problem on that set. About a year ago I bought a set I gave my Dad and that copy had a much cleaner sound of Symphony number two. So I don’t understand the change. All other symphonies are mono, but very clear quality.Amazon was amazing in its support and I was allowed to keep both flawed sets.

Sound quality was very poor, despite the "24/96 remastering". I'm sure they did their best with what they had, but what a shame!

great find furtwangler conducting beethoven ,recording very good ,performances are wonderful as is the playing of the top orchestras here ,so a terrific buy .thanks and best wishes

Furtwängler fue el director que mejor profundizó en el misterio filosófico y estético de la música de Beethoven (en el "estancamiento" romántico de su música, cómo él mismo definió, entendido como éxtasis estático), y las diversas grabaciones de sus sinfonías, en directo y en estudio, son de referencia absoluta. Sobre esta edición, mítica ya, destacar el buen procesado del sonido, teniendo en cuenta los años en que se hicieron las grabaciones y que algunas son en directo. Lo peor sería que estas grabaciones merecerían una presentación más lujosa, pero por el precio que cuesta es correcta.

If you are a Beethoven fan and admirer of Furthwangler, like me, then you cannot afford not to have this. The compilation contains all of Beethoven symphonies plus several overtures, recorded live at different venues with Berlin and Vienna Symphony Orchestras, and an overture with Hamburg Orchestra. All individual works appear to be selected with Furtwangler's best post-war live performances and best recording possible combinations. All these can be had at a bargain price!The sound quality is very fine except Sym. #2 and Overture Leonore 2 recorded in 1948 and 1947. Leonore 2 is so outstanding and powerful that I still enjoy it with poor sound. Sym. 9 was recorded live at the Lucene Festival. It has acceptable sound, but I prefer his version at the Bayreuth Festival.If you want a full picture of Furtwangler's Beethoven, get this package and his war-time live recordings (Music and Art America, and GD), plus his Sym. #9 at the Bayreuth Festival. Then you are all set.

Scatolina arrivata rottaI cd sono molto belli, anni 52-54.Interessante la differenza con i bellerrimi degli anni 1942-44

Ce coffret est passionnant.D'abord parce que l'interprète est Furtwängler mais aussi parce que s'y trouvent des enregistrements pas toujours faciles à trouver.Si je dois donner deux exemples de grande satisfaction je vous conseillerais la 5ème mais surtout la 3ème qui m'a beaucoup impressionné.Elle est d'un tempo beaucoup plus lent que d'autres enregistrements du grand chef et l'émotion qui s'en dégage m'a laissé sans voix.En ce qui concerne la technique c'est une restauration en 24bit96hz .Je sais qu'il y a de grandes polémiques entres spécialistes sur la qualité de certaines restaurations mais là je ne puis juger .Cela étant dit, il y a un plus indéniable...Le reste.....Voilà furtwängler m'a encore surpris....Vous pouvez vous lancer sans risque d'être déçu.Furtwängler est éternel comme les diamants.