Wilhelm Furtwängler: Das Vermächtnis / The Legacy

Reviewer T. Fisher has said it all in his excellent review so I will keep mine short. BUY IT!Hours and hours of Furtwangler! Sure, some of these recordings have been available for years on various labels, commercial and non-commercial, and with many released in dismal sound. But never has their been an assortment of good and bad Furtwangler like this.My first reaction upon receiving this massive collection was where to begin. I took Glinda's advice...the best place to start is always the beginning. Or something like that. I guess I'll have to dig that movie out again. But good advice so I started with the first box and am now working my way upward...only to cheat along the way to give a listen to the operas. The Mozarts are fine as is the Weber, Beethoven and Verdi, DAMNATION is tinny and shrill in some places but still listenable if Berlioz is your cup of tea. But then again it is probably more Furtwangian.The complete RING DES NIBELUNGEN never sounded better. It certainly puts the EMI re-re-re-release to shame. For one thing it isn't filtered into a muffled mess. The TRISTAN UND ISOLDE is the best transfer I've heard of this recordings as well. Both these EMI transfers were shown the door. They are early fifties recordings and still have their limitations but are highly listenable in these transfers. The good certainly outweighs the bad by several counts in this set.I also like the way the CDs were divided in separate boxes. The discs fit nicely, not tightly, into their cardboard sleeves and can be easily removed. If not, dampen the inner side of your index finger with a damp cloth. Your finger will slightly adhere to the outer edge of the CD . Just roll it out. Works on any cardboard sleeve set except those horrid new Sony sets,,,but that's another story. Must remember to get a patent on this before someone else finds out.The outside box is nice a sturdy and displayable. Of the 109 discs, I had only two defects One was a very tiny visible scratch and the other looked like a needle point spot of black ink on the play side. Can't help it if I'm a perfectionist. Amazon gave me a discount on the discs when I contacted them. Now that's service!This is a can't lose bargain for any Furtwangler fan. Buy it and run barefoot through these amazing performances. I'm still in Heaven.

The Furtwaengler Legacy 107 CD set that I purchased from snoozegirls is the very best CD purchase I have ever made. Furtwaengler, who has for many years been my favorite conductor, died in 1954. But his influence in the classical music world is felt to this day through recordings, many of which were made of live radio broadcasts. Indeed, Furtawnegler societies exist that have sought to preserve this great conductor's very insightful and emotionally charged interpretations of such composers as Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Schubert, Bruckner, and Wagner.I have been listning to all of the Furtwaengler performances of the Brahms symphonies, concerti, and orchestral variations for the past few weeks. The conductor's interpretations of these works just draws you in from beginning to end. For example, the Brahms violon concerto in D, with Menuhin as soloist, will have you on the edge of your seat throughout. Menuhin's initial entrance in the first movement is especially poignant against Furtwaengler's lush and spontaneous handling of the orchestra. The performance continues in a like manner throughout the concerto. Certainly a great collaboration on this famous work.There is such a plethora of music performed here (from Bach and Handel to the 19th century German masters to Richard Strauss and some of Furtwaengler's own compositions) that it is really impossible to even begin to describe it all. But I will assert that one could be content to listen to ONLY these 107 CDs for some years and never once feel at a loss for outstanding interpretations of great music.Just a word about the sellers. The Beethoven 4th paino concerto was defective in my set. I informed the seller (snoozegirls) about this and a replacement was immediately sent to me from Germany. thank you, snoozegirls, for the excellent service AND the excellent price!