Ferenc Fricsay - Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Brahms: Double Concerto (1996)

The Brahms double concerto is simply in a class of its own with all musicians solely concerned with getting to the essence of the music and the way they play is simply sublime. I would also place this version of the Beethoven triple concerto above the celebrated EMI performance by Karajan, Oistrakh, Richter and Rostropovich which I also have. Fricsay and his soloists put the music first in a way true musicians know how to without having to resort to any gimmick of any kind . Here,tempi, orchestral dynamics and balance seem to happen in a most natural ,simple manner ,allowing the music to flow to the point of timelessness. The result of course is simply overwhelming. Anybody who has heard the legendary recording of the Mozart concertos Ferenc Fricsay recorded with Clara Haskil as a soloist will know what I mean. I hope that the recent release of the Fricsay edition which I have just bought, will go a long way to redress the balance and expose the art and genius of this much underrated conductor who in my humble opinion was the equal to the Furtwanglers, Toscaninis of this world but again Fricsay was more interested in making great music than being world famous.
The recorded sound which dates back to the early sixties is simply stunning.
So,to put it in a nutshell, this has to be a definitive version of these works and a desert island recording as far as I am concerned.