When the "Unfinished" was first released in the mid-fifties coupled with Beethoven's Fifth, the critic C. G. Burke proclaimed in "High Fidelity" magazine that the sound on the record was so good that it would be a standard until "the next apocalyptic revolution of the phonograph." Three "apocalyptic revolutions" later this record is still around and doesn't sound half bad either. No one would confuse it with the latest SACDs, but it's good enough to provide musical pleasure, albeit in pure stereo. Hearing it provides a great reminder of how much we have progressed in sound reproduction since the introduction of stereo over fifty years ago. Munch's performance is good but not exceptional. As was standard practice at the time, no exposition repeats are observed in either score. I prefer the Nott performance on Tudor most probably because of it's completely different take on the over-familiar score - almost elegiac.
The "Great C Major" was recorded about three and half years later, and is a better recording in three front channels. Again, not state-of-the-art, but more than sufficient to convey the force of the music in Munch's dynamic performance. Tempos may be a somewhat faster than customary, but they worked for me; I found the performance to be sensitive and exhilarating. For those who are interested, Nott's performance on Tudor appears to be ready for imminent release.
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