Re: Best Recordings of Beethoven Missa Solemnis op. 123
I was pleasantly surprised by the December 1940 Toscanini Missa Solemnis broadcast as restored by Pristine Classical. As with the 1939 Beethoven cycle, Toscanini's interpretation was more urgent and flexible here than the 1953 broadcast, plus the sound has a remarkably wide range. The Westminster Chorus sounds rather distant but we have a fine vocal quartet anchored by Alexander Kipnis' bass.
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