Furtwängler Coriolan most lively! Special transfer of Beethoven's Coriolan 1943, Berlin Philharmonic

At this channel the Coriolan is the second piece of a series of Furtwängler recordings by the Reichsrundfunkgesellschaft (RRG). Analogue copies of the original RRG tapes were broadcasted in the 1990s. These broadcasts have been recorded with either high quality cassette or VHS recorders. I decided to avoid any digital "improvements". This approach gives you an impression of the full and warm sound of the Berlin Philharmonic under Furtwängler's baton and - even more important - brings the message of the conductor's reading better to you than CD based uploads do.
To take old tapes as source for transfers has not only advantages over transfers from CDs. There is a regrettable reduction of dynamics by the FM broadcasts in the 1990s. Sometimes the recordings are faulty in different respects, e. g. short interferences of reception or tape hiss. With digital tools it is often easy to correct these faults. The problem is that such activities reduce quality, above all the liveliness. It is a myth that digital manipulations do not affect quality.
A final remark to the pizzicati at the end of Coriolan (1943). If you listen to a recording with three pizzicati after the long pause at the end, you have a copy of the copy the Russian label Melodya made from the original RRG tape. Melodya added the last two pizzicati electronically and they added reverberation too. The original RRG tape has only one pizzicato after the pause. Why the last two are missing nobody knows.
The transfer makes no use of any digital manipulations (filtering, equalization etc.), because (with my equipment) they all reduce liveliness (even if sound comes better).
Some tips for listening this upload best: Remember that the computer is not designed for music reproduction. If you just listen without bothering many things will reduce the quality of what you want to enjoy, hence your enjoyment itself. I recommend the following steps:
1) FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT: set the volume control of the computer at 100% (less means less details, less brilliance, less dynamics etc.). Control volume by using the volume control of KZbin below the video at left side. Even better you take external speakers and control the volume with the amplifier.
2) If you have a powerful computer with good sounding speakers use the 1080pHD option of KZbin. In case of a weak computer choose 480p. Or try 720p that is a good compromise.
3) Close all computer programs you do not need at the moment. If you can switch off the screen do so.
4) I recommend Google's Chrome browser for music videos.
5) If you own a good Hifi system connect your computer with it. Best via a good USB digital-to-analogue converter and an audiophile USB cable.

[@sallykoep]

This performance has been called 'borderline deranged' (Alex Ross, New Yorker May 2, 2019) but I think it's magnificent. The dramatic opening with its long pauses is masterful, both in Beethoven's score and Furtwangler's interpretation. To better understand the music, understand the anguish and the drama of the opera's story. Furtwangler extracts a power from Beethoven that few conductors can. Bravo!

[@steve.schatz]

Bravo my friend. You are truly performing a service to music. Much appreciated by music lovers all over the world. Thank you.

[@LivingPast_GreatMusicians]

+Steve Schatz Comments as yours I enjoy very much because they give me evidence that at the other end of the line there is someone who is able to understand what I do. Clicks or even likes cannot do this. Thank you. Soon will come Beethoven´s 4th from the same concert.

[@philiprutter1]

I had the joyful experience of talking my wife into listening to THAT recording, via you, headphones; of the 4th. She positively jumped out of her seat at the shift at 3:49 - turned with a big grin and said "Well, allrighty then!!" Highly gratifying. Thank you! :-)

[@skisunfb]

The best thing about Furtwängler's version of Coriolan (besides it's unbelievable intensity and magical transitions to the lyrical melody) is the timpani roll he added to the final crescendo leading to the climax (not written in the score!), which is genius and so appropriate because it goes hand in hand with what the thunderous tympani throughout. One of the truly great interpretations by this master.

[@allaabr3374]

I feel so much love... Thank you.

[@douglasmurphy6214]

this is art at the highest level furtwanglers wartime beethoven shows him conveying the message while in the midst of all the chaos his reading of the 9th from 1942 is profound

[@wcstevens7]

Music...The only really true international language.......Thank you for your hard work and dedication.

[@barney6888]

Furtwangler does it again. Amazing.

[@vladimirorivas7020]

Superb. The best Coriolan. Very good remastering.

[@srenfrederiksen1633]

Furtwängler's Beethoven sounds awesome!

[@matthewzisi300]

I wonder if whoever recorded it thought it was over at the pizzicato. Sometimes, when you're performing in front of people unfamiliar with the piece, and there's an ending with pauses, they clap at the first pause because they don't realize there's more to come. It becomes crucial for the performer to give some sort of physical cue (i.e.--hands raised over piano, intense stare--in the case of an orchestra, outspread arms of the conductor) to show the audience that "No! We're not done yet!" Anyway, still a great recording and great performance! Thanks for sharing.

[@piroozhariri138]

Yes, this is an annoying problem. And it cannot be asked by the conductor or a solist to shorten the pause so that an unfamiliar and hasty listener will not start clapping !! By the way, why are those who do not know a piece are rushing so much to clap? Why don't they wait for others to start clapping?

[@hiroyukiohara_official]

This is the ultimate!

[@伊木喜一]

なんというCoriolanなんだ！戦時下の絶望的状況下でのみ奏でられうる決死の音楽。感動した。

[@47suitsfrequency72]

Best version.

[@Grima21]

This is wonderful! Thanks so much! Amazing quality for 1943!

[@emjdeckwitz6949]

no wonder Carlos Kleiber was an admirer.

[@renato45222]

I minorati mentali che fanno il pollice verso. Aveva ragione Eco su certi esiti della rete. Di questa ouverture, di relativamente breve durata, Furtwangler fa un capolavoro di livello poetico pari a quello delle Sinfonie. Forse, solo Furtwangler poteva riuscire a consegnarci questo Coriolano. Un gioiello sugli infiniti gioielli di questa lettura: il passaggio dal primo tema al secondo e la successiva ripresa del primo. Perchè qualcuno tra i più dotati direttori di oggi non se la studia, battuta dopo battuta, questa esecuzione?

[@primostendardi5779]

I direttori se lo studiano, altroché! Però si rendono conto che Furtwängler è irraggiungibile. Non basta adottarne i tempi ed altro, ci vorrebbe - ed è impossibile - il suo carisma, la sua sensibilità rabdomantica nel cogliere lo spirito del tempo e trasfonderlo nell'orchestra. La immane tragedia del suicidio europeo è ancora percepibile nelle registrazioni di quegli anni. Solo con Furtwängler.

[@beethovenini8127]

beautiful roman panorama

[@marionkiker1125]

Furtwängler, Beethoven’s conductor.

[@alirezaseyyed-ahmadian7743]

Unglaublich!

[@miguelfrontanalfonso]

Unique!

[@richardresseguier1]

Numéro one

[@天音悦子]

心。 否定と肯定。人は否定的になるより、肯定的な方がいい。何でもかんでも肯定的では正しい生き方は出来ない。しかしながら、一端、自分を否定したがその後直ぐに肯定と結びつける。それが、自分の精神にやさしいとわたくしは考えています…。

[@richardresseguier1]

The best

[@氷川丸太郎]

Which venue was this concert performed? The old Berlin Philharmonic hall? Each sound is much transparent and brilliant rather than the old day's recording released during World War II.

[@LivingPast_GreatMusicians]

Yes, it took place in the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, 27. - 30.June 1943.

[@mikeq7134]

A technical note. How were they able to record, amid the bombing. Did they do it early in the morning, for instance?

[@HL-xi7sz]

This concert took place a few months before things turned bad for Berliners, there was no major bombing of Berlin until November 1943 and anyway the subsequent raids were done at night.

[@walterstelios]

Si sentiva alla pubblicità di Petrus

[@vladimirorivas7020]

This supreme Coriolan is drama from the first note to the last. Toscanini's version, on the other hand, is too fast and plain. It happens nothing. And I admire him, too.

[@renato45222]

Forse qualche imbecille di tecnico credendo il primo pizzicato come l'ultima nota ha cancellato gli altri due. Complice il sublime rallentamento che purtroppo si può solo intuire. E' un finale meraviglioso, è l'acme dell'intera ouverture, è un vero peccato che sia troncato così. Incredibile!

[@eugeniomezacalvillo8259]

You are right!

[@user-unetaro]

フルトヴェングラーの録音を聴いていていつも思うんだが、戦時中の録音は演奏にハズレが少ないと思う。当時のオーケストラのメンバー達は出征せずに済んだ代わりに社会的な負い目も大きかったそうで、そこから来る強いプレッシャーがフルトヴェングラーの才能と化学変化をおこして数々の名演を生んだのかと思うと複雑な感情になるね

[@Vinsalat_Zoraltebbs]

This is available on the internet and CD direct from the original tape, WITHOUT your intervening FM distortion, crap cassette or VHS tape transfer, and youtube crap lossy compression. Also, ALL youtube videos 360p or bigger use EXACTLY THE SAME AUDIO (heavily compressed lossy MP3 or AAC). AND you imagine that presenting this on youtube means great sound! It's perfectly obvious you have no idea what you're talking about. (Oh, and of course this is a great performance.)