Best Historical Recordings

[allegroamabile]

I would like to compile a list of notable historical recordings (pre-1955). Here are some that I would like to add.

Wilhelm Furtwangler's 1952 recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 with the Vienna Philharmonic. It's remarkable how he makes the music "come alive" in the opening Adagio while other conductors such as Szell conduct it in such a sterile manner.

Arturo Toscanini's 1952 recording of Wagner's Siegfried Idyll with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Toscanini captures the Wagnerian style perfectly in this performance.

Horowitz and Toscanini's 1940 recording of Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2. Horowitz plays the last movement with so much elegance.

Arturo Toscanini's 1946 recording of Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony. A very, very passionate interpretation.

Dimitri Metropoulos's 1940 recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra.

[pml]

The real question is whether any of these recordings could possibly be made available without being subject to a CR block - and the answer elsewhere seems to be firmly in the negative, owing to the US situation. So I see little value in compiling a wishlist which it may be impossible to implement; but by all means, these are good recordings. ;-)

Cheers Philip

[vinteuil]

Before 1955 there are almost too many great recordings—including almost every one of Alfred Cortot, all of Dinu Lipatti's, Toscanini Beethoven cycles, Elisabeth Schumann's recordings, a few of Maria Callas's, many of Pau Casals' (including the cello suites), some of Roger Désormière's, and many of Ralph Kirpatrick's, too name just a few. And—duh—Caruso.

DG is releasing a wonderful series of recordings from the 1950's, including Hindemith, Kirkpatrick, Furtwängler, etc.

[sbeckmesser]

Arturo Toscanini's 1946 recording of Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony. A very, very passionate interpretation.

As good as this performance might be, it has a massive and absolutely inexcusable cut in the last movement. Toscanini was nowhere near a purist, as he is sometimes portrayed, when it comes to reproducing a printed score.

There are quite a few more modern and far better-sounding performance that are as equally committed to this music, and perform it with far greater fidelity to Tchaikovsky's intentions (Tilson-Thomas, Pletnev, Jurowski etc.). The Pletnev is notable for using the orchestral string layout that was the international standard at the turn of the last century (divided violins, cellos left, violas right). Many musical points are made by this layout that are inaudible otherwise.

--Sixtus

[allegroamabile]

To defend Toscanini a bit, he did cut a rather lengthy and stagnant section to move to a more energetic part that mantains the drive and emotional impact of the music (aesthetically speaking). It is an awkward cut, and other conductors such as Stokowski have had a habit out of removing some sections of the Manfred.

[sbeckmesser]

To defend Toscanini a bit, he did cut a rather lengthy and stagnant section to move to a more energetic part that mantains the drive and emotional impact of the music (aesthetically speaking). It is an awkward cut, and other conductors such as Stokowski have had a habit out of removing some sections of the Manfred.

As I see it, the task of the performing musician is to make the piece "work" as written (taking into account, of course, the unnotated aspects of contemporary performance practice, like cadential trills in Baroque music). One in any case should not cut out chunks one doesn't like, regardless of the reason. Otherwise the overall structure of the piece as planned by the composer can fall to pieces and you end up oftentimes with a piece that is more incoherent than the original, since an essential part of the musical argument has been lost (e.g. cut performances of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Symph, Wagner's Tristan, or the finale of Mozart's Jupiter symphony where the repeat of the development is usually excised). Others have succeeded where Toscanini has failed.

--Sixtus

PS: If one must have Toscanini doing Tchaikovsky, then his performances of the Pathetique are far more interesting -- as well as uncut.