Speakers Corner / Decca - SXL 6465  - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl -

AAA 100% Analogue  - Limited Edition -  Audiophile Mastering - Pressed  at Pallas 

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head 25 Years pure Analogue

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) : Complete Incidental Music to Goethe's Egmont, Op. 84 :
- Pilar Lorengar (soprano), Klaus-Jurgen Wussow (narrator), George Szell conducting the Vienna Philarmonic Orchestra (1969)
Schubert (1797 - 1828) : Incidental Music to Rosamunde (excerpts) :
- Pierre Monteux conducting the Vienna Philarmonic Orchestra (1969)

Beethoven composed Egmont between October 1809 and June 1810. The subject of the music and dramatic narrative is the life and heroism of 16th-century nobleman Lamoral, Count of Egmont from the Low Countries. It was composed during the Napoleonic   Wars when the First French Empire had extended its domination over vast swathes of Europe 

Schubert wrote Rosamunde in 1823. The story concerns the attempt of Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus, to reclaim her throne.   

It is a happy state of events to see two great masters unite in a glorious work and thus fulfil every wish of the thoughtful connoisseur. “Beethoven has proved that he alone, among many composers, was certainly the one to comprehend the tender and at the same time powerful poem deep in his innermost soul : every tone which the poet struck resounded in his heart like a string tuned at the very same pitch and vibrating at the same rate, and so the music was created which now threads its way and binds all together like a brightly coloured ribbon woven from brilliant tones." Such were E.T.A. Hoffmann's enthusiastic words about Beethoven's Egmont; indeed very little else needs to be added, except that this recording has been newly pressed and is now available on the DECCA label once again. The chambermusic-like directness of the interpretation and the fact that the   individual instrumental groups are easily identifiable will be appreciated by the perceptive listener. On top form, Pilar Lorengar sings her vocal part with playful lightness and dramatic expressivity. The speaking role is performed by the famous actor and member of the Burg Theater, Klaus-Jürgen Wussow, whose clear and dignified recitation throws a literary bridge to the music.     

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the original analogue studio tapes through to the cutting head and was pressed with virgin vinyl at Pallas