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BEETHOVEN Coriolan Overture, Op. 62
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, "Erioca", Op. 55
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Coriolan Overture: Recorded 27-30 June 1943, Alte Philharmonie, Berlin
Symphony No. 3: Recorded 19-20 December 1944, Musikvereinsaal, Vienna
Wilhelm Furtw�ngler, conductor
Producer’s Note:
These two wartime recordings, as John Ardoin poined out in his essential guide to the recordings of Wilhelm Furtw�ngler, really do capture the conductor – and his musicians – at a higher level than perhaps any other time in his career. They sit along other classic concert recordings Furtw�ngler made during the darkest days of the 20th century as perhaps definitive readings of the music of Beethoven. Naturally therefore both have surfaced on a number of previous issues, yet never with the fidelity and level of realism to be heard in these new XR remasters.
Of the two, the Coriolan shows perhaps the rougher edges – the sound is full, clear and superbly dynamic, but things start to fall apart at the uppermost frequencies when the music is at its loudest.
The Eroica on the other hand is a revelation, and I had to double-check when returning to it for final tracking that I’d not accidentally substituted a much later recording when initially restoring it. But no, it’s definitely the 1944 VPO performance, which Ardoin dates across 19th and 20th December, with the unmistakeably strident brass, but also with a fullness, richness and clarity that previous issues have barely hinted at.
A truly essential Eroica for all – even if it’s already in your collection from a previous release elsewhere.
Andrew Rose
FLAC