Considering the mid-20th century vintage of these recordings by
Fritz Busch and the
Danish Radio Symphony, the sound quality is surprisingly good for live recordings of the time, and the interpretations of
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, "Choral," and what is actually the Leonore Overture No. 2, Op. 74a (misidentified on the tracklisting and in the liner notes as the Leonore Overture No. 3) are curiously modern in their briskness, directness, and lack of sentimentality. Recorded in 1950 and 1949, respectively, the symphony and the overture are down-to-business performances, with little of the era's tendency to exaggerate
Beethoven's intentions as mystical revelations through the excessive use of rubato and overly reverent tempos.
Busch was no sentimentalist, and his
Beethoven is serious, efficient, and clear-headed; in a sense he lived by the letter of the score, rather than by the self-indulgences of other less careful conductors. Because of the pains he took to play these scores as accurately as possible and because the recording is remarkably clear mono that has been digitally mastered and apparently cleaned of tape hiss, this performance is quite enjoyable and recommended for anyone who already knows several great performances. However, anyone coming to these works for the first time should seek better sounding modern recordings before giving this historic reissue a spin.