Solti has, of course, re-recorded this symphony recently for Decca (D229D2, 6/81) and those who seek brilliant, modern digital sound need read no further, for Solti's interpretation of the work has not radically changed. This earlier analogue recording was considered demonstration-worthy in the sixties and it still sounds marvellous. The detail in the second and third movements gives great pleasure and overall the performance finds a most satisfying balance between refinement and drama. The internal positioning, especially of the voices, is that bit more distant in the earlier recording, and in that respect more believable in concert-hall terms. Overall the performance is very satisfying, even if perhaps the emotional feeling in the finale is relatively secular (where with Klemperer's 1963 version—HMV SLS806, 8/71—there is a greater spiritual quality). But the choral contribution has a rapt intensity that is the more telling when the recording perspectives are so good, with no loss of focus on the chrome tapes which match the discs so closely that it is almost impossible to tell the difference.
IM