Furtwangler: The Complete Pre-War HMV Recordings (2 CD, FLAC)

Audio CD
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Biddulph Records
Size: 413 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no
Server:

CD 01
01. Beethoven: Symphony no.5 op.67 – I. Allegro con brio
02. Beethoven: Symphony no.5 op.67 – II. Andante con moto
03. Beethoven: Symphony no.5 op.67 – III. Allegro
04. Beethoven: Symphony no.5 op.67 – IV. Allegro presto

05. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde – Prelude
06. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde – Liebestod

07. Wagner: Parsifal – Prelude to Act III
08. Wagner: Parsifal – Good friday music

CD 02
01. Furtwangler: Symphonic Concerto: II – Adagio Solemne

02. Tchaikovsky: Symphony no.6 – I. Adagio – Allegro non Troppo
03. Tchaikovsky: Symphony no.6 – II. Allegro con Grazia
04. Tchaikovsky: Symphony no.6 – III. Allegro molto Vivace
05. Tchaikovsky: Symphony no.6 – IV. Finale: Adagio Lamentoso

The best restorations of two immortal performances!

I can still remember a “discography” in the old High Fidelity magazine from my college days (late 1950s) which, after running down all the available recordings of Beethoven’s “Fifth,” went on to say that by comparison to the then current crop Wilhelm Furtwangler’s 1937 78rpm recording with the Berlin Philharmonic was the reading of a grown man compared to the more or less promising efforts of a bunch of young boys! His World War II performance is even more intense, but the nobility of the 1937 reading was never surpassed. On disc 2 you will find the best transfer out there of the Tchaikovsky Pathetique,” another legendary Furtwangler performence which even Arturo Toscanini admired. This set is essential to any fan of the 20th Century’s greatest German conductor. Even the fillers are worthwhile.