Track Listing

1. Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60: Adagio - Allegro vivace
2. Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60: Adagio
3. Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60: Allegro vivace
4. Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60: Allegro ma non troppo
5. Symphony No. 6 in F major ('Pastoral'), Op. 68: Allegro ma non troppo
6. Symphony No. 6 in F major ('Pastoral'), Op. 68: Andante molto moto
7. Symphony No. 6 in F major ('Pastoral'), Op. 68: Allegro
8. Symphony No. 6 in F major ('Pastoral'), Op. 68: Allegro
9. Symphony No. 6 in F major ('Pastoral'), Op. 68: Allegretto

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34915 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 1995-05-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Bruno Walter was always a most persuasive advocate of the gentler Beethoven--at least, that's what everyone thought until his stereo Beethoven cycle was remastered onto CD, revealing a much stronger musical profile than had been suspected. But that just made the cycle's best performances sound better still--and here they are, together on one midpriced CD! It's amazing that a man in his 80s, as Walter was when these performances were recorded, could take what was essentially a pickup orchestra and turn in performances of such power and authority. Walter and the Columbia Symphony had a genuine chemistry between them--they play these two symphonies as if they had been making music together for years. --David Hurwitz

Amazon.com
Bruno Walter recorded the Beethoven symphonies in stereo for Columbia in 1958-59, taping No. 9 in New York and Nos. 1-8 in Los Angeles with orchestras of freelance and studio musicians who rose magnificently to the occasion. Walter was in his eighties, but that didn't stop him from grabbing these works by the throat; there is no mincing around, no effusive lingering over phrases, and no ponderous trudging either. The even-numbered symphonies are sunny and outgoing, full of the warmth the conductor exuded during his Indian-summer years in the studio. Yet the drama of the odd-numbered works is not slighted. Walter's account of the Fifth, for example, is an intensely expressive one in which lyricism and thrust are in perfect balance--an evocation of stormy Romanticism at its best. The recordings have held up extremely well; the sound on these 20-bit CDs is spacious yet detailed, with amazing presence and solidity. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews

The Fourth isn't that great, But the Sixth is the best ever
I have been a devoted follower of recorded classical music since 1963. In those 37 years, there are only two major orchestral works which have had the same almost unanimously-recommended rcording for that entire period of time: The Richter/Kondrashin recording of the two Liszt Piano Concertos, and the Walter recording of Beethoven's Sixth. It is unlikely there will ever be a better recording than this. Every tempo is perfectly judged, every orchestral strand is beautifully blended. The sound is warm and sweet, although perhaps less detailed and vivid than modern recordings. For almost every work in the basic repertoire, a new recording comes along at least once a decade which sheds some new light or produces unexpected insights and emotional responses. But for the Beethoven Sixth, the Walter seems to be the last word. The performance of the Fourth is less successful in my opinion - somewhat scrappy and harsh, which is almost unheard of for Walter. But the primary work here is the Sixth, and this is the definitive recording.

excellent sixth!
You must have it. I mean, you cannot fulfill the world of the Beethoven's sixth without trying to listen to this performance. Here are gentle voices of birds. Also you can see water, trees with green leaves, and whatever you wish to see or hear when you think of nature.

Brono Walter recorded three versions of the symphony; with VPO in 1930s', the other orchestra in 1940s' and the performance in 1958 on this CD. In addition, this version alone is in stereo, the other two are in mono. Some say, however, the first one (with VPO) is the best, though it doesn't have good quality. I personally think you should have both; 1936 version and 1958 version.

As for the sixth, I also recommend Bohm with VPO. But in comparison in the last movement, Walter's is better, that's to say, Walter's performance on this CD is the best of all !

As far as I'm concerned, I would say the fourth is not bad. But it's not so good that I can't highly recommend this performance at all. You should have this CD for the sixth. That's all.

A charmed moment in Walter's late Beethoven
Both these recordings of the Beethoven Fourth and Sixth were made in Hollywood in 1958, the same time that Walter was turning in rather slack and unfocused readings of the other symphonies. Here he recovers some of the dash and intensity that marked his 1930s Pastorle with the Vienna Phil. The Columbia Sym. plays with energy and inflection, even though Walter's tempos are on the leisurely side.

As is generally acknowledged, he found magic in every movement of the Pastorale, which will surely stand as the best of the romantic versions of this symphony (far more charming than Bohm's often recommended but unsmiling recording on DG). The Fourth is in the same mode, with more incisiveness than his Eroica, Fifth, or Seventh. But Walter is somewhat less alert here; the result is another mellow performance of good if not superb quality.

Newcomers might suppose, hearing these performances, that the rest of Walter's Beethoven must be of equal stature. It's not, but we can be grateful for this charmed moment in his old age. Look to his Bruckner, Mozart, and Mahler for similar inspiration.