The evening of July 29th, 1951, when this concert took place, was a very momentus occasion, and you can tell by this bold performance.

That night was the inaugural re-opening of the Bayreuth Festival following the Second World War. Political tensions were still high, and this was a chance for German culture to redeem itself, and erase the Nazi influences of the past. For Furtwangler, performing Beethoven's 9th in public was considered a communal experience, and that certainly comes through in this great performance

Had this recording been made 6 or 7 years later it would have been in stereo, but this monaural recording is still of very high standards.

Jean-Yves Duperron