Definitive recordings

Some of the musical masterpieces have found interpretations that feel like definitive and without any room for further improvement. Here are some of these in my view:

1. Ludvig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.5, E Flat, Op. 73, Emperor - Edwin Fisher/Wilhelm Furtwangler


This is a piece of a miracle. Incredibile sound for a 78, best beethovenian conductor, an inspired pianist with an extremely responsive orchestra. The result an Emperor for which the right words aren't invented yet.

2. Ludvig van Beethoven - Symphonies Nos. 4&6 - Bruno Walter


Walter's recording of Beethoven 6th is doomed to be unsurpassable while his 4th is still one of the best.

3. Ludvig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 9, D Minor, Op. 125 'Choral' - Wilhelm Furtwangler

The symphony of the symphonies in the recording of the recordings.

4. Johannes Brahms - Symphonies Nos. 2&3 - Bruno Walter

Walter seems to have had inside information on the making of these symphonies as he manages to reveal the core of Brahms feelings and intelect with utterly convincing power.

5. Hector Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14 - Charles Munch

Munch is, without a shadow of a doubt, the owner of the most amazing version of this beautiful French symphony.

6. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Don Giovanni, K 527 - Gottlob Frick, Luigi Alva, Graziella Sciutti, Piero Cappuccilli, Joan Sutherland, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Eberhard Wachter, Heinrich Schmidt, Giuseppe Taddei / Carlo Maria Giulini

The ultimate Don from a conductor that knows the secrets of Music and has the ability to reveal them with a cast that is as close to perfect as possible.

7. Giuseppe Verdi - Messa da Requiem - Christa Ludwig, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Nicolai Gedda, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Carlo Maria Giulini

The undefineabe of the relationship between man and his Creator. See a full review here

8. Robert Schumann - Symphony No. 4, D Minor, Op. 120 - Wilhelm Furtwangler

The emotional power, the fiery struggle and yet the flow and logic of a torrenting river. Unsurpassable.

9. Ludvig van Beethoven - Violin Concerto, D, Op. 61 -Itzhak Perlman / Carlo Maria Giulini

Hear a passionate and victorious spirit (Perlman) in a suffering and meditative body (Giulini).

10. Ludvig van Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos. 3,4 & 5 - Claudio Arrau / Otto Klemperer

The ultimate Beethoven piano concertos in an unearthy class of their own which only Furtwangler Fisher partnership managed to reach before. See full review here.

The greatest interpretations of Brahms symphonies

I was never able to set apart the music from the man in the case of Brahms. Everything I listen to has to sound like it's coming from the big warm heart and profound genius of the big man, cause he was a big man. I see his face a the end of his impressive stature and I can't imagine anything not being of gigantic dimensions. His laugh should be loud and sonorous, his joy could throw an entire city into celebrations, his sufferings and upsets should be like a fiery storm forming on top of a mountain, threating everything below. The symphonies themselves show a man that lived intensely and with an impressive richness of feelings and thoughts. And they take charge of his creative powers in a "winner takes all" kind of competition and sometimes two most dissonant ideas follow each other quite often at an amazing pace. It is no easy task to make this luxurious life come forward with logic and power. And yet, the last century saw some amazing achievements in this difficult task.

Symphony no. 1, C Minor, Op. 63
In my mind there are only two contestants in all 4 symphonies with some others worthy of mentioning for each symphony. As much as I would like to think only of Walter as THE Brahmsian conductor I couldn't possibly let aside Furtwangler. The two giants of last century are as different as you could possible imagine yet their results speak about the great man in the same exquisitely comprehensive manner. While Walter goes to the root of his heart Furtwangler drills deep into his mind. Yet both manage to express with amazing power, detail and command the portrait I desribed in the introduction. I prefer Walter as the interpret of the soul in its full expression but you have to listen to Furtwangler to see how feelings are formed in the brain. Both of them will grab you and immerse in the see of human struggle with its passions like no others. A very good version comes from Klemperer, a little more cerebral and not so inclined to abandon. If you would like to see how all these things form and mix with each other you have to listen to Celibidache's version as he's as usual able to throw light on the darkest corners of creation.

Symphony no. 2, D Major, Op. 73
In this symphony Walter has no competition. This pastoral symphony could have been composed for him. Everything is right and you can feel the internal strangth of the music pulsating and giving life to things. Furtwangler is again a good choice as well as Celibidache. Just take care that Celi's dissecting abilities aren't as rewarding this time, as you'd prefer the beauty of the whole and of the great lines.


Symphony no. 3, F Major, Op. 90
The bearer of what is probably the most famous of Brahms' pieces, its third part (featured in the movie "Goodbye again") it's a very difficult one as you have less space and no particular predominent idea to guide you. It's telling without too much involvement what's happening in one man's head as he contemplates the view form his window, waiting for the sun to come up and try to make sense out of things. The guy is still Brahms so expect some strong feelins to emerge yet none of them leads to action and they die in the arms of the next one. Walter is again my favourite for this symphony, the third part is absolutely superb and overall, everything sounds so right. I wouldn't pick Furtwangler this time and if you want an alternative badly, then you might try Szell or Reiner.

Symphony no. 4, E Minor, Op. 98
The 4th symphony sounds like it knows is the last. Walter plays it almost the same way and a good part of the dynamics and the fluent energy that make the first three symphonies cornerstone versions, just lack here. It is still a good account yet not on the same class as the others. Anyway, this is the moment where Furtwangler comes into play and takes this symphony at the height of Brahms' genius. His view is so romantic and of so larger than life dimensions that you have no chance left than to believe that this is one of the great symphonies of humankind. Also a good option here is Klemperer. This time his landmark granitic sound and cerebral approach does a lot of good and does a lot of justice to this great composition.

To wrap up it is obvious by now that I would encourage everybody to have at least to sets of Brahms' symphonies. The one of Walter's from Sony and any of Furtwangler's two currently on the market. Of course there other places to go if you don't find these fullfilling yet keep them close to you as you owe it to yourself to hear what these guys have to say.

Ideal cycle of Beethoven Symphonies

I open the listing with one of the centerpieces of my music world: the symphonies of Ludvig van Beethoven. As you probably already know there is no complete set from any conductor that could satisfy the 'supreme' measure, yet each symphony found supreme interpretations in one or more recordings. I will present my favorites here but be aware that I still have to listen to some of the 'famous' versions.


Symphony no. 1, C Major, Op. 21For this fresh and serious enthusiastic symphony I prefer Karajan in his '63 cycle (the best of his sets, as everybody agrees). The sound is great, the Berliners are in fabulous form and Karajan founds the best approach to it, getting it close to perfection (Bruno Walter is the alternative if you want to see a more mature and self-conscious teenager within this symphony).

Symphony no. 2, D-dur, Op. 36
Here again, Karajan is the best although I find Walter's added haviness and thoughtfulness much more appropriate than the in the first symphony and as a matter of fact I like his second part better. But overall, Karajan stays ahead with a unity of conception and of sound that is unsurpassed. You sure want to stay away from Klemperer who thinks much to seriously about this symphony than the bars bare it.

Symphony no. 3, E flat major, Op. 55, 'Eroica'
With this symphony we get to the cornerstone of Beethoven's symphonic cycle and to the most difficult of all, in terms of finding THE recording. However it found its master interpretation, in my opinion, in the hands of Bruno Walter. You'd prefer the Sony 20-bit mastering reissue for the better sound, yet no matter what the support the interpretation is the asolute Eroica. Close, but not close enough for me, come Klemperer, and, from a different angle, Bohm. We might want to listen to Giulini too, yet the desert island recording is that of Walter's, no doubt about it.

Symphony no. 4, D-dur, Op. 60
This is one symphony whete I have a real problem choosing between two versions. On one hand you have one of Furtwangler's versions, with the Berliners from 44, which at the time I first heard it was short of a miracle. I never believed that it can be played like that. The emotional intensity, the darkness of the opening and the gradual yet always intense exit from that darkness is something that you have to hear to believe. On the other hand there is Walter's redemption, the best for many, which is humanity itself with an unbreakable inner logic and beautiful phrasing and conception. I can't live without any of them.

Symphony no. 5, C, Op. 67
Undoubtedly the shiniest star of this wonderful galaxy in terms of popular acceptance, it is probably one the most difficult to get right. It's pretty straightforward as far as the message goes and it has to be extremely powerful without being screamy. That is why a 'conceptualist' like Klemperer doesn't get it quite right, making it too heavy. The three versions I have to pick all the time are: Furtwangler's 1944 version in Berlin, Karajan 63 version and the super-famous Kleiber version. It's hard to pick one yet I'd go first for Furtwangler because nobody else cand unravel what he can with such a diabolic power and insight. Close comes Kleiber and his incandescent yet highly ideatic redemption and in a close third Karajan, extremely powerful and intense with amazing playing from the Berliners. The fourth musketeer would be Walter who brings forward things missing elsewhere yet without the fire and the pure power that make this symphony what it is.


Symphony no. 6, F, Op. 68, 'Pastoral'
This is one with no dispute in my mind. There is no version that comes close to Walter's Columbia version. There a lot of them that are beautiful and worth hearing (Bohm, Furtwangler, Klemperer) but none comes as close to perfect as Walter does. Is Dionissian in the absolute sense and all the fluids and energies of nature work together in the most wonderful way.

Symphony no. 7, A, Op. 92
I'll go again for Walter, although Kleiber, Karajan, and Furtwangler cannot be left aside by any means. The reason is energy, marveleous connectivity between parts and a touch of darkness that makes the apotheotic dance in the end to be the most Beethovenian on record. It comes on the same cd with his equally great 4th so it's a treat.

Symphony no. 8, F, Op. 93
Two choices here with an unexpected third. First start from quite different premises yet the restults are most rewarding. Karajan takes 'classic' style and gives it Beethovenian proportions. With, again, a wonderful orchestra the result is so convincing that makes it a must choice. Walter has a more genteel manner and sees the Viennese heritage yet the result is beautifull. It's truly almost impossible to choose. An excellent version, smartly detailed comes from Ormandy. Backed up by beautiful strings it is a version definitely woth having.

Symphony no. 9, D, Op. 125
Here again I have no doubt for the favorite. Although debated with at least another reading from the same conductor, Furtwangler's Bayreuth version is for me The Ninth Symphony. The first time I have listened to it was scintillating. Everything made sense, all the 'thematic characters' were perfectly defined in a drama of larger than life proportions. You get immersed in the straggle of humanity with its own destiny in the most profound and revelatory way possible with a development that makes you think for a moment that you could've written the 'Ode to joy'. No other version manages to transcend the form and the content to another dimension. Furtwangler does this with ease and power, which I think it is his signature.

As you probably saw already if you make me recommend just one set I would probably go for Walter's, although Furtwangler's EMI set and Karajan's 1963 DG set would be up for considerations. If you want fabulous sound, or it is your first time you approach this music than you go for Karajan; if you think of Beethoven as the genius that had a fight with his destiny than I'd say Furtwangler, and if you think Beethoven is a man that understood more and loved humans for what they are and for what they are not than you better go for Bruno Walter. It's very unlikely you won't be satisfied.