Universal's sublabel Eloquence releases Furtwängler's complete Decca recordings
Universal Music Australia’s sublabel Eloquence, known for its affordable historical recordings, is to release a 3-CD set titled “Wilhelm Furtwängler: The Decca Legacy” on the 10th of this month. The collection features Furtwängler’s recordings made for the Decca label during his later years. It includes two studio recordings made at London’s Kingsway Hall and Vienna’s Musikvereinssaal, as well as a famous live recording on 29 October 1951 in Kongreßhalle, Deutsches Museum.
For seasoned music enthusiasts and Furtwängler fans, these classic recordings will be familiar. For newcomers, even though Furtwängler did not have extensive collaboration with Decca, these post-war recordings are still excellent representations of the maestro’s artistic style and charisma. They showcase meticulous studio rehearsals as well as the vibrant energy captured in live recordings. For example, the renowned recording of Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, recorded in London, was engineered by the famous recording engineer Victor Olof (who worked closely with Thomas Beecham and also produced legendary recordings such as Bruno Walter’s Das Lied von der Erde on Decca) and took four days to complete. The production and packaging of this release continue to maintain the consistent quality of Eloquence. The tapes have been remastered and restored from Universal’s own archives, and the packaging retains thick jewel case format. The accompanying booklet includes recording information and features an article written by renowned British music critic Rob Cowan.
Most of the contents included in this release have been previously issued as individual albums, but many of them are difficult to purchase
First editions of the content included in this set are all Decca vinyl (excluding 78 RPM, which is not within the scope of this discussion). The first edition of the live performance in Munich consists of two Decca Eclipse vinyl records, catalog numbers ECM 684 and ECM 685, released in March 1973. The first edition of the London studio recordings is Decca LXT 2586, released in June 1951. The first edition of the Vienna studio recordings is Decca LXT 2905, released in March 1954. Furthermore, this release by Eloquence is not the first time the copyright holders have compiled Furtwängler’s complete Decca recordings. Decca previously released a 4-LP set in 1986, which had high-quality pressing but limited distribution.
Clockwise: Decca eclipse ECM 684, Decca eclipse ECM 685, Decca LXT 2905 and Decca LXT 2586
4-LP set released in 1986
At this point, I have listened to the entire set of recordings, and the sound processing is clean and natural, without noticeable volume boosts or noise. For example, the live recording from Munich sounds more natural compared to budget or pirate labels that have previously released this recording on CD, such as Virtuoso, Memories, Membran, Archipel, Andromeda, Urania, etc. It also surpasses Tahra, Orfeo, M & A, and the Japanese edition of Decca in terms of clearer and cleaner sound, despite being slightly less refined in production compared to Pristine Classical’s handling. However, it does not have any impact on the enjoyment of the recordings.
Other versions of the live recording in Munich
Paper sleeve edition released by DG in 2019
Some of the content of this set overlaps with the set released by DG, another label under the Universal umbrella, in July 2019. The DG edition consists of 34 CDs and 1 DVD, encompassing Furtwängler’s complete recordings from DG and Decca. However, the DG set is currently highly priced, even surpassing the cost of the new Warner 55-CD edition, and it is basically out of stock. Considering that the recent paper sleeve packaging editions by DG are not of exceptional quality in terms of production, and some of Furtwängler’s DG recordings have been published excessively with varying quality, this new Eloquence set is recommended for collectors who do not have or only have a limited number of Furtwängler’s Decca recordings. Established Furtwängler enthusiasts can also consider adding this set to their collection as per their discretion. Upon completion of this article, the pre-order price on Amazon US is only $22.99, and it is expected to be reasonably priced at major online music retailers in Chinese markets. Please note that the society does not provide surrogate purchasing services.
Trailer by Eloquence (YouTube):