Furtwangler Beethoven 9 Coda Comparison (ALL VERSIONS)

[heldenbariton]

Thanks so much for this video. We are all Furt's fans.

[mingweicello]

Bayreuth 54 is the definite one!

[Invisus944]

dear lord, sorry about how the font on the toscanini portion turned out

[barnaby1988]

@Invisus944 Thanks a lot for the video! Do both the 1942 Berlin recordings exist on CD? I know one can get the 'war recordings' which includes one performance of the 9th.

[Sinfoniette]

I find the codas of the1954 Bayreuth rehearsal #1 and the full performance of the same year to be the most powerful interpretation. And to be honest, in some interpretations (April 9 42 Berlin performance) the breakneck speed just overdoes the majesty and it sounds almost clumsy. (although I dare not say that to any Furtwangler recordings)

[Maestrojosh87]

@Sinfoniette I wholeheartedly agree. You can hardly hear the music at that tempo.

[Music2Die4]

I thought the Prestissimo was a Furtwangler signature. But the key part is the maestoso, just prior to that. This is where Furtwangler really nailed it.  In all examples. It gives the B-9 a sense of ultimate climax and majesty.

I can't stand interpretations that treat the Maestoso as an afterthought. A blatant example of such interpretation is whenever Erich Leinsdorf did it. A couple examples on YouTube.

[themfromspace]

So there are both 5.30 AND 5.31 1953 recordings of this performance... interesting. From the one's I've heard (most if not all on this list excepting the 5.30.53 performance) I think the complete 1954 Bayreuth performance is the strongest, both in the final coda and overall.