[SACD-R][OF] Beethoven - Symphonie No.9 - (Wilhelm Furtwangler, Philharmonia Orchestra; Elisabeth Schwartzkopf - Elsa Cavelti - Ernst Haefliger - Otto Edelman) - 2004 (Classical Orchestral, Choral)

Tahra’s 1st SACD is a reissue of their ‘signature’ CD that won the Gramophone Award in 1995. It was remastered at 24bit/192kHz so it is not a pure DSD recording. This is arguably the best performance of this piece by this conductor, maybe by any conductor.
This gigantic vision of the 9th., interpreted by Furtwängler, already existed but in heavily filtered sound quality, unworthy of the original recording of 1954 Lucerne Festival. It is Furtwängler’s last perfomancer, his last will & testament, 3 moths before his death.
Amazon review by Derek Lee:
This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ~ The Lucerne Festival (Audio CD)
In my opinion Furtwangler is the greatest conductor on record, possibly the greatest recording artist. At his best, he touches a plane of spiritual exaltation that is simply unmatched. Here is perhaps the finest demonstration of that fact. After this concert he told his wife that “this time, I had 1 foot in the next world”, & he certainly was not underestimating his achievement. His interpretations of Beethoven’s 9th were always special, as it was a piece that he attached almost religious significance to, but here he achieves a peace, a serene sense of triumph, that I have not heard anywhere else. If by the end you don’t feel closer to God, then perhaps classical music is not for you.
From a more pragmatic standpoint, Furtwangler brings all the elements of the score together with illuminating detail. This is one of the very few recordings of the 9th were everything makes sense & falls into place. Added to this, the recorded sound is excellent, about as good as you can expect from mid ’50s mono, & the performance is superlative, absolutely the best I have ever heard, from the orchestra, choir & soloists. Perhaps this should not be your 1st exposure to the 9th (that honor should go to the great ’51 Bayreuth 9th, which has an almost unbearable sense of joy), but by all means treat yourself & buy this, what is the most profound music you are ever likely to hear.
Allmusic review:
Long hailed as one of the all-time greatest performances of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, “Choral,” Wilhelm Furtwängler’s August 22, 1954, recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra is suffused with intense emotion, not least because this valedictory event preceded the conductor’s death by a little over three months, and the performers were all acutely aware of his failing health. Even so, there is great strength and energy in the playing, as well as pain, longing, and tenderness, and Furtwängler obviously displayed sufficient stamina and lucidity to inspire his musicians to give their all. The performance was recorded live at the Lucerne Festival, so naturally there are some imprecise attacks, a few roughly played passages, and plenty of rubato that is decidedly old-fashioned and excessive by modern standards. Furthermore, there are lots of audience noises, which are most intrusive during the softest passages, so this is far from a perfect-sounding Ninth. All the same, this is a remarkably translucent rendition for an ADD recording, with great clarity in the woodwinds, a penetrating edge in the brass, and reasonably focused playing in the strings, despite a generally lush tone. The cohesive quartet of soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, contralto Elsa Cavelti, tenor Ernst Haefliger, and bass Otto Edelmann works quite well, and the Festival choir is one of the better sounding choral groups in mid-twentieth century recordings of the Ninth, so the Finale is a resounding success, though mostly because of Furtwängler’s ecstatic interpretation and the orchestra’s wide range of expressive power, from the sotto voce of the first appearance of the famous “Ode to Joy” theme to the towering conclusion. Taken altogether, this is one of Furtwängler’s finest recordings ever, and it clearly deserves a permanent place in the catalog, one of the key reasons why it is regularly reissued.

Elisabeth Schwartzkopf - soprano; Elsa Cavelti - contralto; Ernst Haefliger - tenor; Otto Edelman - bass

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