Not to be confused with Weingartner's classic 1935 Columbia account with the Vienna Philharmonic and a distinguished team of soloists including Richard Mayr, which last saw life in the EMI Great Recordings of the Century series, this 63-year-old recording was made in the Columbia Studios, Petty France in London. Though it does not dim the grandeur of Beethoven's vision and testifies to the consistent truth for which Weingartner strove, the sound, though no doubt good for its day does call for a good deal of tolerance, even if it is better than I had remembered. All the same, the acoustic is cramped and dry and side-turns occasionally involve changes in perspective. The transfer was made in 1978 and is, I believe, the same as that included in the complete Weingartner LP set brought out in Japan some years ago. The finale is sung in English and though it is good to hear Muriel Brunskill on CD, readers would be well advised to wait for Weingartner's later version which, like Solomon's Beethoven concertos and sonatas, must surely come on CD before long.'