Outstanding Recording, a must have for Beethoven fans
By vader_is_back
Bruno Walter's rendition of Beethoven's 6th symphony is perhaps the greatest ever recorded, even when you conside that the Columbia Symphony Orchestra was not on the same level the major American and European orchestras of the day. Though on this disc, one hardly notices the fact many considered the CSO to be lesser orchestra.
Walter's reading of the score comes off sounding like a piece of literature or poetry, but that is a great thing and perfectly blends with the music to creat a benchmark recording. George Szell and Wilhelm Furtwangler also recorded memorable renditions of the 6th symphony, with George Szell's recording having a superior orchestra.
Furtwangler's legendary performance is not readily available and was done in mono, so Walter's only real competition comes from George Szell. Given that both Szell and Walter recordings are available for bargain prices on the Sony label, you could easily get both. In fact George Szell's entire Beethoven cycle is something to consider buying, as its well worth the bargain price and most of it is still available. Though I would still encourage you to get this recording as well.
The 4th symphony on this disc is good, but there are better. You are mainly getting this disc for the 6th symphony, with the 4th as a nice bonus. I recommend looking elsewhere if you want a benchmark 4th, though Walter's recording did just fine for me. I have Osmo Vanska's entire Beethoven cycle, and have compared his 4th to that of Walter's and its a trade off between better playing / sound quality and superior conductor.