Recordings 1942-1944, Vol. 2 | Arthur Troester, Tibor de Machula, ...

Recordings 1942-1944, Vol. 2 | Arthur Troester, Tibor de Machula, ... | Inspired performances

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Recordings 1942-19...

	Recordings 1942-1944, Vol. 2 Arthur Troester, Tibor de Machula, ... Deutsche Grammophon, 2002 average customer review:based on 3 reviews view larger image
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Furtwängler is the very best

These are wonderful recordings. So clear and note perfect that I cannot find fault with them (Haffler amp and preamp, NAD cd player, KEF 105 speakers). I care nothing, and neither should you, about Furtwängler's modification of tempi, it is always for the sake of improved articulation and clarity.

I have never had so much pleasure for so little money, never gained so much understanding with so little effort (Glenn Gould excepted).

Inspired performances

These live performances were recorded for broadcast during WWII in Germany, and while the sound is not up to modern standards it is surprisingly good for its time. The microphones in the concert hall were wired to a small, windowless control room, where they were primatively "mixed" and the signal sent via telegraph wire to the radio transmitter studio, where it was recorded on early Magnetophone tape recorders. The tapes were captured by the Soviets after the liberation of Berlin and transported to Moscow, where they languished for many years. Some performances were released by the Soviets, but the tapes were eventually returned to Germany and reprocessed in the 1980's.

The microphones used were omni-directional and surprisingly sensitive, and while there is some compression of dynamics, there is a surprisingly good sense of hall spaciousness and resonance for the mono source -- along with the inevitable coughs, rustles, etc. And the sound quality varies, depending on the quality of the tape (some were recorded over several times, and the tapes themselves may have suffered some damage during their years of storage) and the alacrity of the "engineers" in the windowless "control room" in the old Philharmonie, who had to adjust volume both to capture soft passages and avoid overload in the louder ones. As a general rule, the performances with soloists suffer the greatest from congestion and distortion in the climaxes. However, the sound of the Berlin Philharmonic during the war years comes through surprisingly well. DGG has favored clarity above all, and has not filtered out distortion in the string sound, etc. In general, the more "analytical" your sound system is, the worse these recordings will sound. Those who, like me, prefer a more analog-oriented sound will fare better.

The performances themselves are notable for their intensity of expression. Both conductor and orchestra seemed to be playing as though their lives depended on it (as indeed they did, considering how ofter the Nazis threatened to disband the Philharmonic because of Furtwangler's refusal to kowtow, and send all the musicians into the army). Furtwangler, living with the ambiguity of his decision to stay in Germany and minister to the spirit of the German people through music, and the inevitable compromises he made so he could continue his mission, conducted with a controlled fervor rarely matched.

In this volume, the highlights are intense and almost over-the-top performaces of the Schumann piano and cello concerti, the first featuring Walter Geisking and the second the Philharmonic's first chair cellist; a powerful and coherent Bruckner 5th; and the Brahms 2nd piano concerto with Edwin Fischer, in a better transfer than the one on the Music & Arts' release (but still with congested sound in all the tuttis). The surprises are a soaring, perfumed and colorful Ravel Daphnis et Chloe Suite and a terrifying Sibeluis En Saga (nearly ruined by the coughing in the audience). Furtwangler was inordinately fond of Richard Strauss, and there is a strong Till Eulinspiegel, and a performance of Sinfonia Domestica which almost makes sense of that sprawling piece of hash.

Highly recommended despite the variable and limited sound.

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Average quality recordings, great historical significance

These recordings were made in wartorn Berlin by one of the past century's greatest conductors, Wilhelm Furtwangler, who was one of very few international caliber artists who remained in Germany during WWII. Combine Furtwangler's passionate conducting with the sad context of war and you've got an utmost interesting and pertinent package.

Schumann's Piano Concerto is wild and intense as you may expect, and totally unedited as you can hear several of Walter Gieseking's errors. The Cello Concerto is equally intriguing, as well as Brahms' Piano Concerto. This set contains a lot of pieces which are not part of Furtwangler's "standard favourites".

The only drawback is the sound quality. These are live recordings who were made with primitive technology, and we lose much of the dynamics of Furtwangler's volume fluctuations. However, the style and tempi are unmistakenly his.

While most of today's digital recordings are bland and perfect, this boxed set is a good alternative for those who appreciate the historical context of a recording. As much as I enjoy Zimerman/Karajan's interpretation of Schumann's masterpiece on digital DGG, there is something about these old recordings that is so passionately nostalgic that I can't help but listen to this noisy mono recording more often than I listen to other versions I possess. It's also one of very few Furtwangler collections which are properly packaged, in an attractive slim box from Deutsche Grammophon's Dokumente series.

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