Hi-Rez Highway

Posted by TGR (A) on July 05, 2007 at 11:35:55

In Reply to: RE: Beethoven 5th Review (4 SACD's compared) posted by SnaggS on July 05, 2007 at 03:35:40

I did a detailed comparison of 4 5ths on SACD - Vanska, Karajan 62, Masur and Kleiber and preferred them in that order (an eye opener, given the iconic status of the Kleiber), but also listened to the Szell which I have on RBCD. Listening to Szell while reading a score is like watching it come alive, and had I had the Szell on SACD it would likely have been first choice in my own SACD shootout.

I also own a RBCD of a Furtwangler 5th, and to me the "story" he is telling is all about himself. While Szell shows how the opening sequence morphs into the entire symphony, Furtwangler goes to great pains to separate it out from the logical flow of the musical argument and therefore misses the entire point. I know many love Furtwangler's way with Beethoven, but I find him to be an instrusive presence. I dislike his way with the Eroica even more than I do with the 5th.