Beethoven Symphonies 1 & 3 Eroica

"Furtwängler was unconventional," says Daniel Barenboim, an ardent admirer of the great German conductor, who was born in Berlin in 1886 and died in 1954. "He took musical liberties and spontaneities not because of some kind of personal preference, but because the musical structures required it. He was far more than the 'master of the moment' that he is so often called. That is what most impresses me about him: his extraordinary freedom in his responsibility before the work."

The music of Beethoven has been described as Wilhelm Furtwängler's first and last love. His organic, yet lucid conception of the composer's symphonies is exemplified in his 1952 studio version of the Symphony No 3, 'Eroica', coupled on this gatefold double LP with the Symphony No 1. The recordings have been newly remastered from the original tapes.