CD-733: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" in D minor, Op. 126 - Beethoven

Restorer's notes: The original CD issue of this transfer, from which I worked, sounded precisely like what it was - a rather mediocre recording from a radio broadcast, riddled with surface noise and other problems. Over many days I've worked to both dramatically improve sound quality, helped greatly by the fine control of EQ wielded by the XR processing technique, and to reduce or remove many of the surface glitches and scratches. The result is a huge improvement over the original, and though the recording will always betray its origins, I hope that today's listener will soon adapt to the limits of sound quality and enjoy this quite superb performance.

Bruno Walter's 1947 Beethoven 9th

When this performance was first released (on Bruno Walter Society LP No. BWS-742 in 1980) critic Mortimer H. Frank wrote in Fanfare:

I have always felt that Bruno Walter was at the height of his powers during the years 1941-54. Certainly his recordings from that period reveal a more flamboyant, disciplined, and energetic conductor than the Walter who - during his last years (1957-61), when he was in his '80s and recovering from two heart attacks - rerecorded in stereo with an inferior ad hoc orchestra the bulk of his basic repertory. Indeed, the Walter of those years sometimes sounds like a pale, timid imitation of what he once had been.

At his best, Walter was a conductor of taste, temperament, and power - a far more dramatic and intense performer than his surviving discs often reveal. This is well illustrated in this newly released Beethoven Ninth, recorded in concert on November 13, 1947. Not only is this performance vastly superior to Walter's 1959 stereo edition, it surpasses his earlier (and tauter) New York Philharmonic recording of the score still available on an... Odyssey disc (32160322E). Those who never heard Walter in his prime may be shocked by this London performance in which the first movement has a fiery, tough tension at times suggestive of Toscanini. With stabbing, powerful accents, crashing fortes, and uncommon vigor, Walter insistently presses forward in a reading of thrilling drama and power.

The Scherzo (with neither of its repeats observed) dances with demoniac fervor, although its "trio" would have been more effective at a slightly faster trempo. Walter was always a master of the slow movement, and this account, with its long, reverential lines, is almost identical to the one he recorded in 1949 with the New York Philharmonic. The finale is magnificent - grand, noble, and well integrated. Not being rushed, its main theme emerges with apt stateliness, but there is considerable excitement when appropriate: especially compelling is Walter's headlong rush into the orchestral double-fugue that follows the Turkish march.

Obviously, this disc is not for the general collector*. But its documentary value remains uncalculable, and anyone interested in Bruno Walter must hear it. Like Walter's 1941 Fidelio (available from the Metropolitan Opera Guild)... this Beethoven Ninth reveals a conductor of trenchant kinetic urgency. Those who have doubted Walter's greatness may well change their view after hearing it.

And John Rockwell wrote in The New York Times:

The Beethoven is a fine example of Walter's conducting before his final, slower period. The musicmaking is fiercely intense, and although the orchestral playing and singing aren't really competitive with the best versions of this symphony, it should still be a source of fascination for both Walterians and for those interested in performance style in London just after the war...

Taken from the Music and Arts sleevenotes

*As mentioned above, the original sound quality was pretty abysmal - I would suggest that this comment is rather less valid following the considerable remastering work which has produced this present release.

Find out more:   Second movement: Molto vivace CD covers to print:   CD-writing cuesheet: [What's that?]

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