Historic recording
magellan | Santa Clara, CA | 09/28/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Someone once said that Beethoven's symphonies 1 & 2 sound more like Haydn than Haydn himself. This is perhaps not too much of an exaggeration considering they were basically Beethoven's homage to his mentor, before he broke with the Classical style completely in the 3rd symphony and never looked back, thus officially marking the start of the Romantic period in music.
Walter's versions are well worth your consideration, especially if you have the more commonly seen recordings by Sir George Solti or von Karajan for comparison. But Walter's recordings certainly stand on their own. Worth adding to your collection."
CORIOLAN OVERTURE TRIUMPHANT
TIMOTHY C. WINGATE | OTTAWA CANADA | 10/12/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It is to be expected that Bruno Walter and his band of musical Californians (essentially the LAPO with very gifted freelancers) would do a consummate job with all of Beethoven's symphonies. But it is in the interpretation of the composer's tone poems - or overtures - that one becomes aware of the greatness of these recordings.The Coriolan is one of Beethoven's most incisive and thought-out compositions and Walter gets it down absolutely right. The pluckings by the lower strings at the end are truly harrowing and the swell and sway of his conducting are an example - or should be - to all armchair and real conductors alike.There is a school of conducting thought that discounts Walter's recordings as "sentimental", "slack", "too languid" - the irrepressible and manic-depressive Otto Klemperer even had the impertinence to criticise Walter in print and on video. One has to but listen to any of Walter's Beethoven - the "Eroica" and "Pastorale" symphonies, Leonore Nr. 2 Overture or Brahms - the 1st and 3rd symphonies or Mahler - the 4th (NYPO) and 9th symphonies and "Das Lied von der Erde" or Mozart - the "Haffner" and "Jupiter" symphonies, "Cosi fan Tutte" and "Zauberflote" overtures or Wagner - "Prelude and Good Friday Spell" from "Parsifal", "Flying Dutchman" Overture and "Lohengrin" Prelude - to know that his musicianship was complete and his interpretive skills unequalled and unweakened even when in his eighties, as is the case here.Walter's interpretations of the overtures are unequalled and, when used as fillers for his Beethoven symphonic cycle, a capsule comment on his timeless conducting art.Timothy C. Wingate, Ottawa CANADA"
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1