Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Weingartner, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra :: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 3 "Eroica" & 8

Yowza -- Magnificent Eroica and 8th in best-yet sound

John Grabowski | USA | 03/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are times when a bargain is a bargain, and times when it's worth spending the bucks. Although these recordings are available on Naxos for less than half the price here, it's worth the splurge to get these Japanese transfers, even though you can't read the liner notes (unless you know Japanese). These are excellent restorations, while the Naxos, while less crackly, sound thin and anemic, with seemingly less dynamic range. As for the performances, these are very fine, well-considered, passionate readings. They betray the belief that old school interpretations were always more eccentric and extreme than today. These readings would not be out of place in any mainstream orchestra today. The difference is the fervor here. Modern musicians just don't feel this music the way these guys (and this is the Vienna Philharmonic, so you can be sure they're all guys) do. The last conductor to electrify musicians this much was Leonard Bernstein, who died more than ten years ago.



The Third is big, energetic and *dynamic*, with brisk tempi that pull you in and the *biggest* and most dramatic reading of the slow movement I've ever heard. Yet the fast tempi yield a flexible and expressive Eroica that pulls me in every time I listen to it. Listen to the boyant, joyous scherzo--with some of the most thrilling hornwork I've ever heard in the trio section. We feel the musicians are on a voyage of self-discovery, almost like they are making up the music as they go along, something you never hear with orchestras today, worried about period political correctness and a host of other technicalities. This is one of the greatest pre-WWII Eroicas, surpassed only by Furtwangler, and maybe not even that--I keep changing my mind on this one; maybe it's a case of apples and oranges. But it's the Eighth that has one of the most exciting development sections I've ever heard, in the first movement. It may surprise some listeners today what a "loose" band the VPO was back then, before the note-perfect executions heralded by the modern recording process, but it just adds to the feeling of spontaneity. The orchestra is well-balanced and has that light-but-powerful sound that is a hallmark even today.



As I said, these (and many of Weingartner's other) recordings are available for less money on the Naxos label, but this is the superior release. Grab it before it goes out or print and becomes an even more valuable collector's item."

Even better than the Naxos Edition!

Ralph J. Steinberg | New York, NY United States | 09/28/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Opus Kura has used extraordinarily full-sounding 78 originals for these transfers, with the result that both the bass and treble are much more extended than in previous issues, together with the dynamic range. The "Eroica" now literally explodes from the speakers. While the Naxos transfers are quite fine, they don't compare to this type of immmediate, powerful sound. The Eighth Symphony receives an extraordinarily spirited and loving interpretation, with a surprising freedom of tempo in the Second and Fourth Movements. The "Eroica" Symphony is one the the two most powerfully dramatic and committed readings in my experience (the other is the wartime Furtwaengler), although Weingartner's Scherzo really beats all the competition.

If your budget allows it, get this and the other Weingartner Vienna Philharmonic Beethoven recordings transferred by Opus Kura."