【古殿唱片音樂故事】同一個夜晚，兩種歷史：被剪接過的為什麼仍是最好的？——福特萬格勒1951年拜魯特貝九，與它唯一的一套45轉黑膠

【古殿唱片音樂故事】同一個夜晚，兩種歷史：被剪接過的為什麼仍是最好的？——福特萬格勒1951年拜魯特貝九，與它唯一的一套45轉黑膠

古殿殿主

我們聽了七十年的，是一卷剪接過的磁帶

如果問古典樂迷：歷史上最有名的貝多芬《第九號交響曲》錄音是哪一個？多數人會說出同一個答案：威廉·福特萬格勒(Wilhelm Furtwängler,1886-1954)在1951年7月29日，戰後拜魯特音樂節重新開幕當天指揮的《第九》。

這份錄音存世的版本多得驚人。熱愛福特萬格勒成癡的日本研究者加藤幸弘，在他的網站上逐一聆聽、比對這份錄音的每一種 CD，到2011年為止就整理出四十五種；到了今天，破五十種絕對沒有問題。這還只是 CD，若再加上 LP 時代英、法、德、美、義、日等各國的首版與再版四十種上下，總數早已接近百種，而且還在增加。很少有一場音樂會，被這樣一次又一次地重新出版。

但這七十年來被稱為「現場實況」、被一代代樂迷奉為聖典的那份錄音，其實不完全是那一晚的演奏。

2008年，巴伐利亞廣播電台保存的實況磁帶正式發行。唱片說明寫得很直白：大家熟悉的 EMI 版本，音像不同、有明顯的剪接，還用了不屬於7月29日當晚的素材來修補。換句話說，製作人華爾特·李格(Walter Legge,1906-1979)當年交給世人的，是一份經過他親手編輯的《第九》。

照理說，「未剪接的完整實況」出土之後，應該取而代之，成為新的權威。事情卻沒有這樣發展。至今流通最廣、發行版本最多、最常被拿來聆聽與討論的，仍是李格的版本。

「古殿」的看法很清楚：被剪過的《第九》，依然是最能把那一晚傳達給後人的《第九》。這篇文章要解釋為什麼，並從一套很特別的唱片說起：1989年日本 DAM 以原始類比母帶刻製、三張一套的「FOR VIP」盒裝。在這份錄音七十多年的發行史上，這是唯一一次被做成45轉黑膠。

1951年7月29日：一座劇院的重生，一位指揮家的猶豫

拜魯特節慶劇院是理查·華格納(Richard Wagner,1813-1883)為自己的樂劇蓋的殿堂，平時只演華格納。二戰之後，這座聖地因為與希特勒的親密關係而蒙塵，劇院一度被佔領軍接管。直到1951年夏天，劇院才重新開幕，開幕之夜選的卻不是華格納，而是貝多芬《第九》。這有它的淵源：1872年華格納為劇院奠基時，在拜魯特親自指揮的正是《第九》。從此，《第九》成了拜魯特唯一的例外，也是華格納之外唯一能在這裡演出的作品；它並非每年都排，只有在特別值得紀念的年份，才會在7月底作為開幕音樂會登場。

這座劇院本身也是聲音的一部分。它幾乎是全木造的結構，從1876年啟用至今沒有裝設空調，為的是保護原始的木造與聲響。樂池沉到舞台下方並加上頂蓋，就是所謂的「神秘深淵」；低音因此清晰而有形體感，中頻殘響可達約1.55秒。這種設計造就了一個奇特的聲響：編制愈大，音色反而愈細膩輕柔，像室內樂一樣清楚；編制愈小，聲音反而愈有能量。一百多年來，世界上沒有第二座這樣的劇院。

當年站上指揮台的人，是人們心目中德奧「音樂聖殿」的祭司。對福特萬格勒來說，演奏像是一場儀式，不屬於任何特定宗教，卻讓他進入一個深層的文化脈絡；而指揮《第九》時，他投入得比任何時候都深。這位祭司也帶著自己的傷痕。福特萬格勒在納粹時期留在德國，1934年因公開為作曲家保羅·亨德密特(Paul Hindemith,1895-1963)辯護而辭去一切公職；1942年，他在納粹旗幟下為希特勒生日指揮《第九》，那個畫面成了他一生甩不掉的陰影。戰後他出席去納粹化審判，1947年獲判無罪。

據 Warner 唱片解說引述拜魯特之友協會的紀錄，他對1951年的邀約反覆猶豫，答應又反悔，直到確認新拜魯特屬於華格納、而不屬於赫伯特·馮·卡拉揚(Herbert von Karajan,1908-1989)，才終於點頭。諷刺的是，同一個夏天卡拉揚也在拜魯特指揮《紐倫堡的名歌手》與《指環》，李格正是為了錄卡拉揚，才帶著 EMI 的錄音團隊與器材進駐拜魯特。福特萬格勒的《第九》，就這樣被對手的錄音團隊一併錄了下來。

據說演出前幾週，福特萬格勒還對拜魯特劇院的音響效果多所質疑，最後是被李格說服，開幕首日的正式演出才得以錄下。

舞台上的陣容同樣是戰後德語樂壇的精華：女高音伊莉莎白·舒瓦茲柯芙(Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,1915-2006)，兩年後她成了李格的妻子；女低音伊莉莎白·霍根(Elisabeth Höngen,1906-1997)、男高音漢斯·霍普夫(Hans Hopf,1916-1993)，以及男低音奧托·艾德爾曼(Otto Edelmann,1917-2003)。艾德爾曼在同一屆音樂節還唱了卡拉揚的漢斯·薩克斯，這兩場演出讓他躋身戰後一線歌手之列。

樂評家宇野功芳(1930-2016)在本套附冊記下兩則軼事。福特萬格勒走上舞台時叮囑團員，開頭的空五度要「像從虛無之中傳來」；艾德爾曼一開口唱「啊，朋友們」，他便提醒：音樂才剛開始，為什麼這麼用力？宇野說，福特萬格勒再激烈的段落也只用九成五的力量，全部熱情要等到終樂章最後才爆發。一個經歷過禁令、審判與流亡的人，知道什麼時候該保留。

同一個夜晚，留下兩種歷史

那一晚的拜魯特，至少有兩組麥克風在運轉：一組是李格的 EMI 團隊，為唱片而錄；一組是在地的巴伐利亞廣播電台，為現場轉播而錄。兩卷磁帶，後來走上完全不同的命運。

這兩卷磁帶的命運，從當晚就分岔了。據福特萬格勒夫人伊莉莎白事後的回憶，音樂會結束，福特萬格勒回到住處，仍沉浸在演出之中，整個人放鬆而毫無防備。正巧李格來訪，他以謙遜的口吻問：「這次的演出不怎麼理想吧？」沒想到李格回答：「沒有我以前聽過的演出好。」這句話深深刺傷了他。那一夜他輾轉難眠，第二天問魏蘭德·華格納(Wieland Wagner,1917-1966)，對方盛讚那是一場了不起的演出，他仍然不安。開車回家的路上，他突然要妻子停車，獨自走開，半小時後才回來說：「我已經沒事了。」李格口中「以前聽過」的更好演出指的是哪一場，他沒有說；但最合理的解釋，就是前一天的總彩排。EMI 團隊既然在劇院裡錄音，彩排自然也錄了下來；李格心中已經有了一個他認為更好的版本，日後剪接時以它為主體，正是一位製作人順理成章的選擇。後來的比對也與此吻合。

Orfeo 版CD的解說冊裡，留下一張1951年拜魯特排練時拍的照片：福特萬格勒穿著淺色的便西裝，雙手在胸前比劃，像是在向樂團解釋某個段落；樂手們也穿著日常的衣服，有人笑著抬頭望向他。那是正式演出前，沒有燕尾服、沒有觀眾的時刻，也正是李格的麥克風最可能捕捉到他心中「更好的演出」的時刻。

李格的 EMI 版。 李格的評價，加上當時唱片公司對發行現場錄音仍有疑慮，出版計畫就此擱置。李格一直盼著讓福特萬格勒進錄音室重錄《第九》；1954年《第五》錄成了，《第九》卻始終沒有機會。直到福特萬格勒1954年11月過世，李格比較過琉森音樂節與1954年拜魯特的《第九》之後，才敲定發行1951年這一場，並向伊莉莎白夫人取得發行許可。1955年，它以 HMV ALP 1286/1287 問世，全長近74分鐘、佔滿四面，而當時同類唱片通常只用三面；同年9月，日本 Angel 也推出 HA 1012～3。此後半個世紀，它是世上唯一的正式音源；所謂「福特萬格勒的拜魯特第九」，指的就是它。日本樂評家金子建志說得直接：在他高中時代，日本市面上買得到的「福特萬格勒第九」，實質上只有這一個版本。

巴伐利亞廣播版。 2007年初，巴伐利亞國立管弦樂團的大提琴手卡騰朋(Dietrich von Kaltenborn)從友人處得知電台收藏了這份錄音，便帶著 EMI 的 CD 和總譜，到慕尼黑的電台辦公室一探究竟。塵封多年的母帶上記著錄音工程師與「1951年拜魯特音樂節重新開幕的公演錄音」，還有一行「禁止廣播」（NOT FOR BROADCAST）。這份錄音在奧爾森(Henning Smith Olsen)與特雷敏(René Trémine)的福特萬格勒目錄裡都曾被提及，卻從未被證實。同年7月，日本福特萬格勒協會以 WFHC-013 將它發行CD版給會員；2008年再由 Orfeo 以 C754081 正式發行CD版本。Orfeo 說明書指出，EMI 版用了非7月29日當晚的素材修補，一般認為是取自排練錄音。日本研究者的比對走得更遠：兩者的演奏大半並不相同，既然廣播版被認為收錄的是當晚正式演出，EMI 版就很可能是以排練錄音為主體的編輯版。日本福特萬格勒研究者檜山浩介逐處比對咳嗽聲，發現兩版在第三樂章第150小節以後的咳嗽完全一致，可見這一段來自同一場演奏；他的結論是，EMI 版大部分是前一天排練的錄音，也許穿插了一部分正式演出。兩版的長度也透露出差異：廣播版四個樂章約為18分05秒、11分50秒、19分20秒、25分00秒，EMI 版則是17分44秒、11分56秒、19分29秒、24分56秒。這下輪到樂迷困惑了：EMI 版裡哪些是正式演出、哪些是彩排，從此成了爭論不休的題目。金子建志的觀察是，廣播版問世之後，謎團非但沒有解開，反而更加撲朔迷離。

就連最後的掌聲，也沒有一個標準答案。加藤幸弘逐一比對各版本，發現演奏結束後的掌聲至少有五種樣式：有的沒有掌聲；有的在最後一個音的殘響消失時才稀稀落落響起，約九秒後淡出；有的在最後一個音後立刻爆出盛大掌聲，約十五秒；有的在最後一個音上疊著雜音。哪一種才是當晚原本的掌聲，至今沒有人說得清楚。

瑞典廣播的轉播帶。 2021年，瑞典 BIS 又以 BIS-9060 SACD出版了第三個來源：當年經國際聯播、由瑞典廣播電台收錄的轉播帶。BIS 選擇什麼都不動，不修飾聲音、不刪掉停頓、不清除觀眾雜音，要讓聽者像坐在1951年的收音機前。辨認兩種版本最簡單的方法，MusicWeb 的樂評提供了一個線索：廣播版第一樂章1分46秒處，有一聲很明顯的咳嗽，EMI 版沒有。

於是，同一個夜晚，留下了兩種歷史：一種是唱片製作人編輯過的作品，一種是電台忠實記錄的現場。哪一個才是「真的」？

為什麼被剪過的版本，仍最能傳達那一晚

「完整」不等於「傳達」。「古殿」的判斷是，李格版至今仍是這份錄音的正宗，理由有三。

第一，錄音團隊的差距。 1951年的廣播錄音，目的是讓當晚的轉播順利播出，器材與佈局都相對簡單。李格帶來的，則是當時歐洲最頂尖的唱片錄音團隊，錄音工程師是羅伯特·貝克特(Robert Beckett)，他們要做的是一張能放進唱片櫃、經得起反覆聆聽的唱片。李格本人是唱片史上最講究的製作人之一，他的剪接是一位製作人的判斷：哪一個片段最能代表這場演出。剪接是事實，但錄音品質的落差同樣是事實。

第二，聲音裡的細節證明了這一點。 金子建志在2010年為日本 EMI SACD 撰文，把兩個版本放在一起逐小節比對，焦點落在終樂章合唱唱完「在神面前（vor Gott）」的那個延長記號。兩版的長度幾乎相同：廣播版約9.8秒，EMI 版約9.9秒。差別在聲音：廣播版裡小號與合唱沒有凝成一體，撐不起整個和弦；EMI 版第一小號的 A 音從頭到尾保持緊繃明亮，和合唱分處清楚的兩個空間層次，那份光輝正是震撼人的關鍵。金子甚至說，就算有人懷疑 EMI 版在這裡動了音量旋鈕、用電腦把漸強削平，它以小號為核心綻放的光彩，仍不會輸給任何一個版本。

第三，它是被聽得最多、走得最遠的版本。 從1955年到今天，EMI 版以 LP、擬似立體聲、CD、金 CD、SACD、180克黑膠不斷再版，數量遠遠超過廣播版。宇野功芳在1950年代初拿到日本首版時，第一樂章一響，簡陋的音響就讓整間房間充滿精神性的藝術，他說那是他聽到的第一個「真正的《第九》」，此後再沒聽過更好的。半個多世紀以來，世界各地的樂迷就是透過這個版本認識福特萬格勒、認識《第九》的。它的影響甚至延伸到唱片載體本身：一個廣為流傳的說法是，1980年代初 Sony 與 Philips 制定 CD 規格時，卡拉揚向 Sony 社長大賀典雄(Norio Ohga,1930-2011)建議，容量要能完整裝下這份世紀錄音，於是 CD 的長度定為74分鐘，勝過 Philips 提出的60分鐘。

還有一點，是錄音裡的「寧靜」。 對殿主來說，這份錄音之所以偉大，一個關鍵是它的寧靜感。真正的寧靜不是沒有聲音，而是讓更多聲音自己浮現出來，不需要外力加持。過去的錄音技術確實原始，但它記下的聲音，有時反而更有生命力；歡樂主題出現前那段漫長的靜默，拜魯特劇院的空氣、木頭與人群，都被李格的團隊收進了磁帶。

當然，英語樂評並非一面倒。Gramophone 的 Richard Osborne 指出第三樂章的變奏不加速，連樂團的耐性都受到考驗；MusicWeb 則認為1937、1942、1954年的《第九》各有拜魯特版缺少的特質。日本方面，檜山浩介比較兩版後認為，廣播版的音質絲毫不遜於 EMI 版，終樂章合唱的精準度更是前所未有，EMI 版在「vor Gott」結尾突兀的漸強在廣播版裡並不存在，最後的極急板 EMI 版從第9小節才開始加速，顯得凌亂，最後一個音甚至有點走調。不過要注意，這些比較都是在 CD 上進行的：檜山浩介拿來對照的 EMI 版，是東芝 CE28-5577，也就是英國 EMI 第一代數位母帶的 CD，而不是原版 LP，更不是原始類比母帶。比較的基準不同，結論自然也不同；聽過原版黑膠與盤帶的人，對 EMI 錄音的評價往往是另一回事。就連1955年11月號的英國《留聲機》雜誌，在盛讚這是一場名演的同時，也指出 EMI 錄音的弱點：小號在第一樂章不夠突出、到終樂章又太刺耳，合唱回音過大、不夠清晰。這些不同的聲音值得保留。但若問哪一份錄音最能把1951年那個夜晚的意義帶到今天，答案仍是李格的那一卷。

金子建志把這層意義說得最深。貝多芬在席勒的詩裡呼喚的不是「主」，也不是「基督」，而是更普世的「神（Gott）」。經歷過二戰、經歷過希特勒利用貝多芬與華格納之後，1951年的「vor Gott」不再是宗教套語，而是所有演奏者與聽眾共同的祈禱。他說，那份祈禱甚至把李格和整個錄音團隊也捲了進去，而 EMI 版正是那個瞬間「聲音的紀實文獻」。

七十年發行脈絡的幾個里程碑

這份錄音真正的發行史，遠比下面所列複雜得多：英、德、法、美、日各國的 LP 首版與歷次再版，日本東芝EMI 一代又一代的重新發行，CD 時代各家廠牌的復刻與重製，還有樂迷與轉錄者私家整理的版本(「古殿」也自己完成了一份轉錄版本)，加起來接近百種。以 Y. Lee 整理的福特萬格勒錄音目錄為例，光是黑膠就列出約四十種、CD 近三十種，而且清單還沒列完，其中並沒有 DAM 這一套。Y. Lee 的目錄黑膠與 CD 一併收錄，若他知道這套唱片，沒有不列的道理；它缺席，最合理的解釋就是連這位專門的研究者都不知道它的存在。這套唱片的罕見，由此可見。這裡只挑出幾個轉折點，看出它的大致脈絡：一條主線是 EMI 版不斷再版，一條支線是廣播版在半世紀後出土；DAM 這套45轉，正好落在 CD 取代 LP 的轉折點上。

• 1955｜HMV ALP 1286/1287（英國，EMI 版）：英國首版，福特萬格勒過世後才發行；黃色封套用威廉·布萊克的畫作。後來 Otaken TKC301、Naxos 8.111060、Grand Slam GS-2009 等 CD，都是從這套首版轉錄。
• 1955年之後｜各國首版（EMI 版）：法國 Pathé FALP 381～82、德國 Electrola WALP 1286～87、美國與加拿大 RCA Victor LM 6043、義大利 HMV QALP 10116～17、澳洲 HMV OALP 1286～87、阿根廷 Angel LPC 11771～72。法國首版與東芝首版用的是同一組壓模（2XRA 16/19 2N）。
• 1955年9月｜日本 Angel HA 1012～3（EMI 版）：日本首版，宇野功芳的初聽版本。
• 1960年代｜Electrola 擬似立體聲（EMI 版）：Breitklang 處理，日本曾發行盤帶。
• 1960～80年代｜各國反覆再版（EMI 版）：英國 HMV RLS 727（1978，與《第一號》合為兩張一套）；法國 Pathé FALP 30048～49、COLH 078～79；德國 Electrola 與 EMI 的 1C、2C、3C 各系列；日本 Angel 與東芝的 XLP、AA、AB、WF、EAC 各系列，前後多達十四種。
• 1980年代｜第一代 CD（EMI 版）：東芝EMI CC35-3165 是這份錄音的世界首張 CD，用的是英國 EMI 第一次為 CD 所做的母帶；1984年英國 EMI 的數位重製 CDH 7 69801 2 則在80至90年代行銷全球，也是金子建志比對時的參照版本。
• 1980年代 韓國｜Oasis 授權 LP OLAC 0005～06、OLAC 0090（EMI 版）：依東芝母帶製作，保留開場的聲音。
• 1989年1月｜東芝EMI 金CD CE43-5509（EMI 版）：英國 EMI 第一代 CD 母帶的金 CD 版，DAM 附冊提及。
• 1989年2月｜DAM DOR-0162～64（EMI 版）：本套，原始類比母帶刻成45轉，保留開場掌聲與腳步聲。
• 1990年代～2000年代｜各家重製與復刻（EMI 版）：英國 EMI 1997年 ART 重製、義大利 EMI 2000年重製；東芝EMI 2004年24bit 重製 TOCE-55701、2007年重製 TOCE-55975～80 等十餘種；2004年 EMI 版在日本的版權保護期滿，掀起一股追求首版 LP 原味的復刻風：Otaken TKC-301（2005）以澳洲首版 LP 為音源，長期高居日本 HMV 網站銷售榜首；Grand Slam GS-2009（2005）、Naxos 8.111060（2006）、Delta DCCA-0029 都從英國首版轉錄；法國 Tahra FURT 1101～4 據說以1991年購自日本的東芝 CD 為來源；Otaken TKC-309（2007）則用某位製作相關人員持有的備用母帶數位拷貝。Mythos 版還附上1951年拜魯特音樂節節目單的復刻。
• 2007／2008｜巴伐利亞廣播版：2007年7月日本福特萬格勒中心率先頒布 CD；2008年 Orfeo C754081 正式發行。據目錄註記，這卷廣播帶當年曾被禁止播出。
• 2011｜日本 EMI SACD TOGE-11005（EMI 版）：2010年英國 EMI 在艾比路錄音室以96kHz／24bit 重製；母帶是李格剪輯完成後的刻片用生產母帶，保留開場與樂章間的聲音。這是福特萬格勒誕生125週年的紀念企劃，為限定盤。
• 2021｜Warner 180克 2LP（EMI 版）：新製黑膠，33⅓轉。
• 2021｜BIS-9060 SACD（瑞典廣播轉播帶）：不剪輯、不修飾，保留電台與觀眾雜音。

五十多年間，只有 EMI 版；廣播版出現之後，EMI 版依然持續再版。這份清單本身，就是第三個理由最直接的證據。

DAM DOR-0162～64：這份錄音唯一的45轉黑膠

1989年1月，東芝EMI 才剛把拜魯特《第九》做成24K 金 CD；一個月後，第一家庭電器的 DAM 俱樂部卻反其道而行，把同一份錄音刻成了45轉黑膠。附冊裡的理由只有一句：他們深信，唯有純類比的載體，才能真正傳達這場《第九》的真髓。

這是 DAM「VIP45」系列的第11作，也是 DAM 第一張單聲道 VIP 唱片，只給續會的會員，每套都有編號。

不用 CD 母帶，直接用類比母帶。 附冊明言，這次沒有採用各家唱片公司當時流行的數位重製母帶，而是動用原始的單聲道類比母帶（1/4吋，每秒38公分）。1989年2月9日與13日，在東芝EMI 的 Studio TERRA 刻片室，由 Studer A80 放音，Neumann VMS-80 刻片機配上 SX-74 刻片頭與鑽石刻針刻成，不加限幅、不加等化。音響工程師是原清介，刻片工程師是竹內正吾。

保留 CD 剪掉的東西。 開場全場的掌聲、指揮走上舞台的腳步聲、低語人聲，這些在 CD 化時被剪掉的部分，本套都依日本首版黑膠的原樣收錄。古殿實際播放本套第一面，音樂響起之前，先是一段至少1分18到19秒的現場：一開始是觀眾零星的咳嗽聲，接著是指揮走上台的皮鞋聲，然後掌聲湧起，持續了三十幾秒；掌聲平息後，福特萬格勒用德語說了一段話，話音落下，第一樂章那空洞的五度才從寂靜中浮現。這段話說了什麼，宇野功芳在本套附冊裡寫得很清楚：福特萬格勒走上舞台時，叮囑樂團要讓開頭「像是從虛無之中傳來」，於是第一樂章空虛的五度音，就在這句話之後遠遠響起。這一點有個鮮為人知的背景：據加藤幸弘的整理，帶有開演前腳步聲與掌聲的母帶，似乎只有日本持有，也只在日本發行過；Y. Lee 的錄音目錄同樣註記，國際發行的 CD 全部剪掉了這段開場，只有部分東芝版保留，例如1996年的 TOCE 3007 剪掉了，TOCE 55701 則保留，韓國依東芝母帶製作的授權 LP 也保留。換句話說，DAM 刻進音溝的，很可能正是日本獨有的那一份母帶。

被剪掉，或被留下。 綜合各家資料，這一分多鐘在發行史裡的命運大致分成兩種。一種是被剪掉：國際發行的 EMI CD 全部從第一樂章直接開始，連東芝自己的 TOCE 3007、TOCE-14054 也剪了，法國 Tahra 用東芝 CD 轉錄時同樣拿掉。另一種是保留下來的「足音入」版本，全部都是日本專屬的發行：東芝的 LP 與一系列 CD、韓國依東芝母帶製作的授權 LP、Otaken TKC-309，以及2011年只在日本發行的 SACD TOGE-11005，它的側標上就明白印著「足音、喝采入り(足音與掌聲收入)」，把這段開場當成賣點。這些足音入版本為數不少，加藤幸弘逐一記錄時，寫下的都是「演奏開始前的腳步聲與掌聲」，並沒有提到後面還有福特萬格勒的講話。DAM 這套45轉也屬於這一系，但在腳步聲與掌聲之後，確實還收有一段福特萬格勒的德語講話。甚至還有人把東芝 LP 的開場剪下來，接到法國版轉錄的前面。而這段開場與後面的音樂是否出自同一天，至今仍有人懷疑。

不修平母帶的傷痕。 長年保存的母帶，第四樂章和其他樂章之間音色並不一致。DAM 坦白寫在附冊裡，並說他們刻意不用等化器或限幅器去統一音色，因為那樣失去的反而更多。

為什麼是45轉。 用類比母帶刻片時，45轉能刻進音溝的聲音，在物理上就比33⅓轉多。轉速快了約三成五，唱針在同一秒內走過的音溝也長了約三成五，同樣一個聲音就有更寬裕的空間去刻，母帶上細微的高頻、響應與質感保留得更多，轉速越快，播放時的失真與底噪也相對越低。當然，轉速只是前提，最後的聲音還要看刻片師的功夫與後續的每一道製程。DAM 的講究正在這裡：不只是做成45轉，從刻片、後續製作，到壓片與黑膠材料，每一個環節都不計成本。

45轉的代價。 為了高電平刻片，《第九》用掉了五面：第一到第三面各一個樂章，第四樂章分成兩面，第四面停在進行曲（Alla Marcia）之後，第五面從 Andante maestoso 接續到最後的 Prestissimo。聽到這裡，你必須起身、翻面、放針，再讓《歡樂頌》重新開始。

第六面的《第五》，是東芝唱片的起點。 第六面以33⅓轉收錄1954年2月28日與3月1日，福特萬格勒與維也納愛樂在樂友協會大廳的錄音室《第五》，那是他生命的最後一年。這首《第五》，正是李格想讓福特萬格勒進錄音室重錄貝多芬交響曲的計畫中完成的一步；同樣在計畫裡的《第九》，卻永遠沒有等到。把兩者放進同一個盒子，DAM 或許無意，卻恰好收齊了這段故事的兩端。附冊說，1955年東京芝浦電氣開始唱片事業，發行的第一張唱片就是這首《第五》；附冊封底，複製的正是那年9月 Angel 首發時的黃色封套。

實物的樣貌。 白色厚紙盒以黑色哥德字體排出「Furtwängler conducting Symphony No.9 & Symphony No.5 Beethoven」，「9」與「5」是醒目的紅色。六面標籤一律是米黃底的 ANGEL RECORDS，上方印著棕色的福特萬格勒肖像，壓著藍色親筆簽名與「THE GREAT CONDUCTOR OF THIS CENTURY」，中央印著「FOR VIP」與 MONO。這是專為本套設計的紀念標籤。

附冊還收錄了伊莉莎白·福特萬格勒(Elisabeth Furtwängler,1910-2013)夫人的〈福特萬格勒與日本〉、淺里公三的年表、原明美的樂曲解說、渡邊護的《歡樂頌》德日對譯，以及宇野功芳的長篇詮釋。夫人在文中說，日本人從未在現場聽過福特萬格勒，卻比任何國家的人更懂得分辨「那是技術、這是藝術」。對一個以發燒刻片聞名的俱樂部而言，把這段話放進附冊，本身就是一種自我期許。

DAM 當年寫道，這場演奏今後恐怕再也不會以類比黑膠的形式發行，這套可說是「真正最後的永久保存盤」。後來的事實是，2021年 Warner 又推出了180克黑膠，但那是33⅓轉。把拜魯特《第九》刻成45轉黑膠，至今仍只有 DAM 這一次。

最高規格，卻不是首版。 從規格、技術與物理上來談，這套是拜魯特《第九》所有黑膠版本中最好的一套，沒有之一：原始類比母帶、45轉高電平直刻、不加限幅也不加等化，還有東芝EMI 與御殿場工廠把盈虧與效率置之度外的協力。其他黑膠版本全是33⅓轉，在規格上沒有一個比得上它。但1955年的英國 HMV 歷史首版，仍有它不可取代的意義與價值。殿主聽過英國、法國、德國、日本等各國首版，同一份錄音，每一版的聲音都有不同的感覺與味道；其中英國首版的聲音層次，確實有它珍貴的價值。它是這份錄音第一次以實物問世的樣子，是李格親自把關交，最後到世人手上的版本；刻片時用的是剛錄好不久的新鮮母帶，而 DAM 刻片時，母帶已保存了將近四十年，附冊也坦承第四樂章的音色與其他樂章不一致。許多樂迷心中的拜魯特《第九》，就是1955年 HMV 或 Angel 首版的聲音。加藤幸弘就做過一個對照：用良好的年代音響播放原版 LP，再和2010年英國 EMI 以96kHz／24bit 重製的 SACD 相比，LP 在聲音的韻味與飽滿的響應上勝出，SACD 則在忠於原始音源與空間真實感上勝出。兩者各有所長，取決於聽的人要什麼。那份對首版的主觀喜愛，本身就是這份錄音歷史的一部分，規格再高也無法取代。一個是歷史的起點，一個是技術的極致，兩者並不衝突。DAM 似乎也明白這一點，所以才堅持把開場的掌聲與腳步聲，依日本首版的原樣保留下來。

歷史從來不是一卷沒剪過的磁帶

對福特萬格勒來說，每一次演奏都是一個新的生命體，同一首曲子不會有兩次相同。李格知道這一點，所以他沒有交出一卷「紀錄」，而是交出一件「作品」：他用他的團隊、他的耳朵和他的剪刀，替那個夜晚留下最能被後人聽見的樣子。七十年後，未剪的廣播帶讓我們知道了剪刀在哪裡，卻沒有讓那份作品失去它的位置。

比對過兩版的人，最後常會問一個問題：EMI 版即使經過編輯，也無損於它的偉大，但這裡頭1951年7月29日的實況還剩下多少？它真正的「詮釋者」是誰，是福特萬格勒，還是操刀剪接的李格？「古殿」的回答是：兩個都是。福特萬格勒給了那一晚靈魂，李格給了它能流傳七十年的形體；沒有前者，剪刀無物可剪，沒有後者，那一晚恐怕只剩一卷標著「禁止廣播」的磁帶，靜靜躺在慕尼黑的檔案室裡。

DAM 做的是另一種選擇。他們手上有最好的母帶，卻不肯把母帶的傷痕修平，第四樂章的音色落差、開場的腳步聲，全都原樣刻進音溝。一邊是用剪刀成全一場演出，一邊是用不修飾保存一卷磁帶；兩種態度，同樣出於對那一晚的敬意。

華爾特·班雅明(Walter Benjamin,1892-1940)說，機械複製的時代，是靈光消逝的年代。拜魯特《第九》卻像是一個反例：一百多個版本的複製，沒有讓那一晚的靈光消失，反而讓人一次又一次回頭追問，原始的聲音到底是什麼樣子。

最後，留一個問題給你：一份被剪接、卻把那一晚的精神傳達得最完整的錄音，和一份一刀未剪、卻聽不清那一晚光輝的錄音，你會把哪一個當作「真實」？

＊＊＊＊＊＊

【Gudian Music Stories】Two Histories from the Same Night: Why the Spliced Version Remains the Greatest—Furtwängler’s 1951 Bayreuth Beethoven Ninth, and Its Sole 45 RPM Vinyl Set

What We Have Listened to for Seventy Years Is an Edited Tape

Ask any classical music lover to name the most celebrated recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in history, and the overwhelming majority will offer the same answer: Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886–1954) conducting the Ninth on July 29,1951, celebrating the postwar reopening of the Bayreuth Festival.

The proliferation of editions stemming from this performance is staggering. The dedicated Japanese Furtwängler researcher Yukihiro Kato conducted comparative listening analyses of every CD edition on his website, cataloging forty-five distinct CD masterings up through 2011; today, that number easily clears fifty. And that accounts only for compact discs. When factoring in roughly forty first editions and reissues pressed across the UK, France, Germany, the United States, Italy, and Japan during the LP era, the cumulative tally approaches a hundred variants, and continues to climb.Rarely has a single concert been reissued with such relentless frequency.

Yet the recording hailed as a "live document" and revered as sacred scripture for seventy years was not, in truth, an unadorned capture of that single evening's performance.

In 2008, the unedited broadcast master preserved in the archives of Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) was officially released.The liner notes stated the reality with unsparing candor: the familiar, canonical EMI edition possessed a different soundstage perspective, contained conspicuous tape splices, and patched in musical takes that did not belong to the performance of July 29. In short, what producer Walter Legge (1906–1979) presented to the world was an idealized Ninthsculpted by his own hands.

By conventional archival logic, once an unedited live tape surfaced from the vaults, it should have superseded the composite edition to become the definitive text. That did not happen. To this day, the version that circulates most widely,claims the most reissues, and remains the primary touchstone for listening and debate is Legge’s edition.

The Ancient Palace’s perspective is clear: this edited Ninth remains the version that best conveys the transcendent spirit of that night to posterity. This essay sets out to explain why, anchored around a singular artifact: the 1989 Japanese DAM three-LP "FOR VIP" boxed set, mastered directly from the original analog production tape. Across more than seven decades of release history, it represents the only time this landmark recording was ever cut onto 45 RPM vinyl.

July 29, 1951: The Rebirth of a Theater, the Hesitation of a Maestro

The Bayreuth Festspielhaus was built by Richard Wagner (1813–1883) as a dedicated shrine for his music dramas; in normal seasons, its stage belongs exclusively to Wagner. Following the Second World War, the sanctuary lay tarnished by its associations with Adolf Hitler, its operations placed under Allied administration. When the festival finally reopened in the summer of 1951, the opening performance was not Wagner, but Beethoven’s Ninth. This choice had deep historical roots: in 1872, when Wagner laid the cornerstone of the Festspielhaus, he took the podium in Bayreuth to conduct the Ninth. From that day forward, the symphony remained the sole exception to the festival's strict Wagnerian canon,mounted not annually, but reserved for landmark anniversaries at the end of July.

The architecture of the auditorium is an active component of its sound. Built almost entirely of wood, the hall has operated without air conditioning since its inauguration in 1876 to safeguard its timbers and acoustic response. The orchestra pit is sunk beneath the stage apron and concealed beneath a wooden curved hood—the famed "mystic abyss" (das mystische Abgrund). The design yields bass registers that are taut and articulate, with a mid-frequency reverberation time of approximately 1.55 seconds. It produces an acoustic paradox: the larger the orchestral forces, the more delicate and transparent the instrumental textures become, articulating contrapuntal lines with chamber-like clarity; the smaller the scoring, the greater its acoustic energy. For over a century, no hall on earth has matched its behavior.

The figure on the podium that day was viewed by his contemporaries as the high priest of the Austro-German musical heritage. For Furtwängler, performance was an act of sacred ritual—untethered from dogma, yet connecting directly to a cultural continuum; and when conducting the Ninth, he committed himself with an intensity seen nowhere else in his repertoire. Yet this priest carried his own deep wounds. Having chosen to remain in Germany through the Third Reich, he resigned all official state appointments in 1934 after publicly defending composer Paul Hindemith (1895–1963). In 1942,he was filmed conducting the Ninth beneath swastika banners for Hitler’s birthday—an image that haunted him for the rest of his life. After undergoing formal denazification proceedings in the postwar period, he was cleared of collaboration in 1947.

According to festival records cited in Warner’s retrospective notes, Furtwängler vacillated over the 1951 invitation,accepting and withdrawing, consenting only after receiving assurances that the revived festival belonged to Wagner rather than Herbert von Karajan. Ironically, Karajan was also present in Bayreuth that summer to conduct Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the Ring cycle; Legge had brought his EMI balance engineers and mobile recording gear to Franconia specifically to capture Karajan. Furtwängler’s Ninth was preserved almost incidentally, tracked by a rival conductor's production crew.

In the weeks leading up to the concert, Furtwängler expressed reservations regarding the acoustic behavior of the Festspielhaus, consenting to have the opening performance recorded only after persistent persuasion from Legge.

The vocal quartet assembled on stage represented the finest voices of the postwar German-speaking world: soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (1915–2006), who married Legge two years later; contralto Elisabeth Höngen (1906–1997); tenor Hans Hopf (1916–1993); and bass Otto Edelmann (1917–2003). Edelmann was also singing Hans Sachs under Karajan during the same festival, appearances that cemented his place among the premier dramatic basses of the era.

In the booklet accompanying this set, critic Kōhō Uno (1930–2016) recounts two revealing vignettes. As Furtwängler took the stage, he instructed the orchestra that the opening open fifths should sound "as if emerging out of absolute nothingness." Later, as Edelmann delivered his opening recitative ("O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!"), Furtwängler checked him: the movement had barely begun; why expend such force so soon? Uno observed that even in the most impassioned passages, Furtwängler husbanded his reserves at ninety-five percent, withholding total release until the final bars of the choral finale. A man who had survived censorship, public tribunals, and exile understood the power of restraint.

Two Histories Preserved from the Same Night

On that summer evening in Bayreuth, two independent microphone setups were active: Legge’s EMI production team,recording for commercial disc publication; and the technical crew of the regional Bavarian Radio, capturing the performance for live transmission. Those two reels of tape would chart entirely divergent destinies.

Their paths separated that very evening. According to the recollections of Furtwängler’s widow, Elisabeth, the maestro returned to his lodgings after the concert, still processing the performance, relaxed and vulnerable. Legge paid a visit.Furtwängler asked with characteristic self-deprecation: "It wasn't very good, was it?" Legge replied bluntly: "Not as good as some I have heard you give." The remark wounded the conductor deeply. He spent a sleepless night, and though Wieland Wagner (1917–1966) praised the performance the next morning as a triumph, the maestro remained unsettled.Driving home, he asked his wife to pull the car over, walked into the trees alone, and returned half an hour later, saying quietly: "I am all right now."

Legge never specified which performance he had in mind, but the plausible candidate was the final dress rehearsal from the day before. With the EMI team set up inside the hall, the rehearsals were captured as a matter of course. Legge had formed a clear mental image of his preferred reading, and when compiling the commercial master, leaning on the rehearsal tape was an instinctive editorial choice. Subsequent comparative waveform analyses support this narrative.

The booklet for the Orfeo release includes a photograph from the 1951 Bayreuth rehearsals: Furtwängler dressed in an informal light-colored suit, hands gesturing before his chest as he clarifies a passage; the musicians, wearing everyday shirts, look up at him with focused smiles. It captures a moment free of tails and audiences—precisely where Legge’s microphones were most likely to capture his idealized conception.

Legge’s EMI Master. Legge’s initial reservations, coupled with the industry's hesitance regarding live recordings at the time, left the tapes on the shelf. Legge hoped to bring Furtwängler into a controlled studio setting to record the Ninth; in 1954, a studio Fifth was completed with the Vienna Philharmonic, but the Ninth never materialized. Following Furtwängler’s death in November 1954, Legge compared the Bayreuth tapes against a live Lucerne Festival reading and a 1954 Bayreuth aircheck, decided in favor of the 1951 performance, and secured formal release approval from Elisabeth Furtwängler. In 1955, the performance was issued on HMV ALP 1286/1287, running nearly seventy-four minutes across four full sides (where contemporary symphonies were typically cut to three); that September, Japanese Angel issued its domestic counterpart, HA 1012–13. For the next half-century, this was the solitary official release of the performance; to generations of listeners, "Furtwängler's Bayreuth Ninth" meant this recording alone. As Japanese critic Kenji Kaneko observed, during his high school years, the only "Furtwängler Ninth" available in Japanese record shops was this single reading.

The Bavarian Radio Archive. In early 2007, Dietrich von Kaltenborn, a cellist with the Bavarian State Orchestra,learned through an acquaintance that Bavarian Radio held original broadcast tapes of the performance. Score and commercial EMI CDs in hand, he visited the BR tape archives in Munich to examine the reels. The archived boxes bore the names of the broadcast engineers, labeled "Public performance recording of the reopening of the 1951 Bayreuth Festival," stamped with a clear instruction: NOT FOR BROADCAST. While mentioned in earlier discographical compendiums by Henning Smith Olsen and René Trémine, the existence of this tape had never been verified. In July 2007, the Wilhelm Furtwängler Centre of Japan distributed the performance to members under catalog number WFHC-013; in 2008, Orfeo mounted its first worldwide commercial release (C754081).

The Orfeo booklet noted that the EMI edition incorporated non-concert materials to patch problematic passages,presumed to derive from rehearsals. Japanese discographers pressed the comparative analysis further: substantial musical passages differed outright. If the Bavarian Radio tape represented the unaltered live broadcast of the evening concert, the EMI issue was likely a composite master built around the general rehearsal. Japanese scholar Kōsuke Hiyama tracked audience coughs throughout both recordings, discovering that past bar 150 of the third movement, every cough aligned identically across both releases, proving that this section derived from the same tape. His conclusion was that the EMI edition drew the bulk of its material from the preceding dress rehearsal, spliced with sections of the actual concert.

The movement timings reflect these internal differences:

EditionMvt IMvt IIMvt IIIMvt IVBavarian Radio (BR)18′05"11′50"19′20"25′00"Legge / EMI Master17′44"11′56"19′29"24′56"EditionBavarian Radio (BR)Legge / EMI MasterMvt I18′05"17′44"Mvt II11′50"11′56"Mvt III19′20"19′29"Mvt IV25′00"24′56"

This left listeners with an interpretive puzzle: sorting which bars of the EMI cut belonged to the concert and which to the rehearsal became a subject of debate. Kaneko remarked that rather than resolving the mystery, the unearthing of the broadcast tape made it more layered.

Even the closing ovation presents no uniform documentation. Kato's comparative survey revealed at least five distinct treatments of the applause across editions:

1. Complete omission of applause;
2. Sparse, hesitant applause emerging only as the reverberation of the final chord fully decays, fading after roughly nine seconds;
3. Immediate applause erupting over the final chord, lasting roughly fifteen seconds;
4. Applause intermingled with mechanical noises over the final chord;
5. Faded ambient room sound.

No surviving document proves definitively which applause pattern accurately reflected the concert hall that evening.

The Swedish Radio Broadcast Tape. In 2021, the Swedish audiophile label BIS published a third archival document (BIS-9060), derived from off-air relay tapes preserved by Swedish Radio via the international broadcast line. BIS left the tape untouched—no cosmetic equalization, no edited pauses, no filtered hall noise—placing the listener before a 1951 radio receiver. A review on MusicWeb International offered a straightforward acoustic marker to distinguish the broadcast source from the EMI master: at 1 minute and 46 seconds into the first movement, the broadcast tape captures a distinct audience cough that is absent from the EMI release.

Thus, two distinct histories survive from the same night: an interpretation sculpted by a commercial producer, and a direct radio transcription of a live event.

Why the Spliced Version Best Conveys the Spirit of That Evening

Completeness does not automatically equal communication. The Ancient Palace maintains that Legge's version remains the primary artistic text of this performance, for three reasons:

1. The Caliber of the Recording Team. The 1951 Bavarian Radio aircheck was engineered for immediate radio transmission, utilizing a straightforward broadcast setup. Legge, by contrast, brought EMI's premier recording unit to Bayreuth, balanced by senior engineer Robert Beckett. Their objective was to craft a commercial phonograph record designed for repeated home listening. Legge was an exacting producer; his splices were aesthetic judgments, assembling the takes that best represented the performance. The presence of tape splices is documented history, but the gulf in engineering transparency between the two setups is equally undeniable.

2. Sonic Evidence Across Dynamic Extremes. In 2010, writing for the Japanese EMI SACD reissue, Kenji Kaneko conducted a bar-by-bar comparative analysis of both versions, focusing on the sustained choral fermata on "vor Gott" in the finale. The duration across both cuts is nearly identical: roughly 9.8 seconds on the radio broadcast, compared to 9.9 seconds on the EMI master. The difference lies in the balance: in the broadcast aircheck, the principal trumpet and the choral voices fail to fuse, leaving the chord without structural support; on the EMI master, the first trumpet’s high A remains taut and bright, set against the chorus in distinct acoustic planes. Kaneko noted that even if one suspects Legge adjusted the faders to shape the crescendo, the radiant focus of that trumpet-led climax outshines the raw broadcast tape.

3. The Breadth of Its Cultural Footprint. From 1955 onward, the EMI performance has been continuously reissued across mono LP, simulated stereo, CD, gold CD, SACD, and 180-gram vinyl, dwarfing the distribution of the broadcast tape. When Kōhō Uno acquired the Japanese first pressing in the early 1950s, the opening movement filled his room with an artistic presence that he later called his first encounter with a "true Ninth," against which all subsequent performances were measured. For over half a century, it was through this specific cut that music lovers around the globe came to know Furtwängler’s Beethoven. Its influence shaped physical audio formats: an industry narrative recounts that when Sony and Philips established the Compact Disc standard in the early 1980s, Karajan urged Sony president Norio Ohga (1930–2011) to ensure the medium could hold this performance without interruption, leading to the adoption of the 74-minute capacity over Philips’s proposed 60-minute limit.

A Quietness in the Grooves. For the Ancient Palace, an essential virtue of this recording is its underlying stillness. True acoustic silence is not an absence of sound, but an environment where subtle details surface naturally. Early mono engineering carried physical limits, yet the atmosphere it preserved often conveys profound vitality; the expectant hush before the entry of the Joy theme, the dry resonance of the hall's wood, and the breath of the audience were all gathered onto Legge's master tape.

Critical reception in the English-speaking world was not entirely uncritical. In Gramophone, Richard Osborne observed that the third-movement variations maintain a steady pulse that tests an orchestra's stamina, while reviews on MusicWeb International noted that Furtwängler's 1937, 1942, and 1954 traversals each offer distinct qualities missing from the 1951 Bayreuth document. In Japan, Kōsuke Hiyama argued that the broadcast master rivaled the EMI release in immediacy,praising the precision of the choral attacks, while noting that the abrupt crescendo on "vor Gott" heard on EMI does not occur on the broadcast tape, and pointing out that the final Prestissimo on EMI delays its acceleration until bar 9.

Yet these critical comparisons were conducted primarily using early digital transfers: Hiyama’s reference was Toshiba’s CE28-5577, derived from EMI’s first-generation digital PCM master, rather than an original deep-groove LP or the analog master tape. Changing the physical source alters the acoustic balance; listeners who have auditioned early vinyl pressings or analog tapes often arrive at a different appraisal of Legge’s balance. Even the November 1955 issue of Gramophone,while heralding the performance as a milestone, identified engineering shortcomings: noting that the brass sat back in the first movement while turning aggressive in the finale, and observing that the choral reverberation compromised absolute clarity. Those critical assessments remain valid. Yet when assessing which document best preserves the symbolic weight of that night in 1951, Legge’s assembly remains the touchstone.

Kaneko articulated this dimension: in Schiller’s ode, the text addresses not a denominational "Lord" or "Christ," but a universal creator ("vor Gott"). In the wake of the Second World War, after Beethoven and Wagner had been co-opted by state propaganda, the declaration "vor Gott" on that stage in 1951 ceased to be an empty poetic formula; it became a shared prayer binding performers and audience alike. That invocation swept up Legge and his engineering crew, leaving the EMI master as an acoustic witness to that collective reckoning.

Key Milestones in a Seventy-Year Release History

The discographical lineage of this performance encompasses nearly a hundred distinct commercial and private editions:original LPs and reissues across Britain, Germany, France, the United States, and Japan; successive remastering campaigns from Toshiba-EMI; and digital restorations from boutique labels. Y. Lee’s comprehensive Furtwängler discography catalogues roughly forty vinyl editions and nearly thirty compact discs—a list that remains incomplete, and which omits this Japanese DAM 45 RPM release. Given the scope of Lee’s registry, that omission suggests that even specialized discographers were unaware of its existence, underscoring the rarity of the set.

The primary evolutionary markers can be outlined as follows:

• 1955 | HMV ALP 1286/1287 (UK, EMI Master): The British first edition, issued posthumously; the yellow jacket reproduced artwork by William Blake. Benchmark CD restorations—including Otaken TKC-301, Naxos 8.111060,and Grand Slam GS-2009—were mastered from this pressing.
• 1950s | International First Editions (EMI Master): French Pathé FALP 381–82; German Electrola WALP 1286–87; US and Canadian RCA Victor LM 6043; Italian HMV QALP 10116–17; Australian HMV OALP 1286–87; and Argentine Angel LPC 11771–72. The French first pressing and the initial Japanese Toshiba issue shared the same lacquer cutting matrices (2XRA 16/19 2N).
• September 1955 | Japanese Angel HA 1012–13 (EMI Master): The Japanese first pressing, serving as Kōhō Uno’s initial reference copy.
• 1960s | Electrola "Breitklang" Rechanneling (EMI Master): Electronically reprocessed stereo; also circulated on open-reel tape in Japan.
• 1960s–1980s | International Reissues (EMI Master): UK HMV RLS 727 (1978, boxed alongside the First Symphony); French Pathé FALP 30048–49 and COLH 078–79; German Electrola/EMI 1C, 2C, and 3C series; and fourteen successive Japanese Angel/Toshiba series (XLP, AA, AB, WF, EAC).
• 1980s | First-Generation Compact Discs (EMI Master): Toshiba-EMI CC35-3165 represented the world premiere of the performance on CD, utilizing EMI’s earliest digital transfer; the 1984 international remaster (CDH 7 69801 2) circulated worldwide throughout the 1980s and 1990s, serving as Kaneko’s comparative digital reference.
• South Korea | Oasis Licensed LPs OLAC 0005–06 / OLAC 0090 (EMI Master): Pressed from Toshiba metal parts, retaining the unedited opening auditorium sounds.
• January 1989 | Toshiba-EMI 24K Gold CD CE43-5509 (EMI Master): Gold-plated reissue of the first-generation digital master, noted in the DAM booklet.
• February 1989 | DAM DOR-0162–64 (EMI Master): The featured set; mastered directly from original analog production tapes at 45 RPM across three LPs, preserving the opening hall atmosphere, footsteps, and spoken remarks.
• 1990s–2000s | Archival Restorations (EMI Master): UK EMI’s 1997 Abbey Road Technology (ART) remaster; Italian EMI’s 2000 edition; Toshiba-EMI’s 2004 24-bit remaster (TOCE-55701) and 2007 series (TOCE-55975–80). Following the expiration of the recording's Japanese copyright protection in 2004, domestic audiophile labels issued transfers sourced from vintage vinyl: Otaken TKC-301 (2005, from an Australian first-pressing LP, topping sales rankings on HMV Japan); Grand Slam GS-2009 (2005), Naxos 8.111060 (2006), and Delta DCCA-0029 (all from UK first-pressing LPs); French Tahra FURT 1101–4 (sourced from a 1991 Japanese Toshiba CD); and Otaken TKC-309 (2007, cut from a digital safety copy held by production personnel). The Mythos edition included an archival facsimile of the 1951 program booklet.
• 2007 / 2008 | The Bavarian Radio Archive: Distributed on CD to members of the Wilhelm Furtwängler Centre of Japan in July 2007; issued commercially by Orfeo in 2008 (C754081).
• 2011 | Japanese EMI SACD TOGE-11005 (EMI Master): Remastered at Abbey Road Studios at 96 kHz / 24-bit from Legge's spliced production master, retaining the opening ambiance and inter-movement pauses. Released for the 125th anniversary of Furtwängler’s birth, the obi carried the notices "Includes Footsteps and Applause" and "Japan-Exclusive Release."
• 2021 | Warner Classics 180g 2LP (EMI Master): Modern vinyl cut at 33⅓ RPM.
• 2021 | BIS-9060 SACD (Swedish Radio Archive): Raw broadcast aircheck, unedited and unretouched, preserving radio line noise and audience presence.

For over fifty years, the EMI composite stood as the sole public record; and following the emergence of the radio master,the EMI edition continued to dominate the catalog.

DAM DOR-0162–64: The Sole 45 RPM Vinyl Cut

In January 1989, Toshiba-EMI commemorated the performance on a 24K gold CD; one month later, the DAM club operated by Daiichi Katei Denki took the opposite path, mastering the performance onto 45 RPM analog vinyl. The accompanying monograph offered a simple rationale: they held that only a pure analog format could convey the full expressive weight of this Ninth.

Numbered as Volume 11 of DAM's "VIP45" series, it was the club's first monaural VIP release, distributed by advance subscription solely to renewing members, with each copy bearing an individual registry number. The copy in the Ancient Palace archives carries the stamped designation: "Connoisseur Registry No. 000880."

Catalog Number: DAM DOR-0162–64 (Three 12-inch discs, boxed)Master Tape Source: Original 1/4-inch 15 ips monaural analog production master
Cutting Facility: Toshiba-EMI Studio TERRA, Tokyo (Cut February 9 & 13, 1989)
Mastering Chain: Studer A80 transport, Neumann VMS-80 lathe, SX-74 head (diamond stylus)
Engineering Team: Kiyosuke Hara (Audio Balance), Shōgo Takeuchi (Disc Cutting)
Cutting Level: Direct, high-level transfer (no limiting, no compression, no EQ)
Repertoire Layout: Sides 1–5: Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (45 RPM)
Side 6: Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (Vienna PO, 1954, 33⅓ RPM)
Pressing Limit: Strictly limited to under 1,000 subscription copies

Bypassing Digital Intermediates. The technical notes confirm that rather than adopting the digital transfers then standard among major labels, DAM requisitioned the original monaural analog production master (1/4-inch tape running at 15 ips / 38 cm/s). On February 9 and 13, 1989, inside Studio TERRA at Toshiba-EMI, the lacquers were cut using a Studer A80 transport feeding a Neumann VMS-80 lathe fitted with an SX-74 cutterhead and a diamond stylus. The signal path was kept clean: zero compression, zero peak limiting, zero corrective equalization.

Preserving Details Omitted from CD. The opening hall atmosphere, the footsteps of the maestro walking to the podium,and the background murmurs—elements pruned during early CD transfers—were preserved following the template of the Japanese first-pressing LP. On the Ancient Palace reference system, lowering the stylus on Side 1 reveals a prelude of at least one minute and eighteen seconds before the music begins: scattered audience coughs, the leather soles of the conductor's shoes crossing the wooden stage, and an ovation lasting over thirty seconds. As the applause subsides,Furtwängler addresses the orchestra quietly in German; only then do the opening open fifths emerge from the quiet. Kōhō Uno detailed those spoken words in the insert: Furtwängler reminding the musicians that the opening must sound "as if emerging out of absolute nothingness."

According to Kato’s discographical research, the analog production tape preserving those footsteps and ovations was held uniquely in Japan, and appeared solely on domestic Japanese issues. Y. Lee’s catalog confirms that standard international CDs cut directly to the first movement, with the opening atmosphere retained only on select Toshiba issues (omitted on TOCE 3007, retained on TOCE 55701, and preserved on licensed Korean Oasis LPs pressed from Toshiba stampers).DAM cut its grooves from this Japanese production tape.

Omitted vs. Retained Masterings. Across the release history, this opening minute divided editions into two traditions:

1. Pruned: Standard international EMI CDs jump straight into the first bar, as did Toshiba’s TOCE 3007 and TOCE-14054, and Tahra’s transfer derived from Toshiba CDs.
2. Retained ("With Footsteps"): Preserved across Japanese releases, including original Toshiba LPs, domestic CD runs, Korean Oasis pressings, Otaken TKC-309, and the 2011 Japanese SACD (TOGE-11005), which highlighted "With Footsteps and Ovation" on its obi.

While Kato documented these variants as containing "footsteps and applause prior to the start of performance," he made no mention of the subsequent spoken remarks. The DAM 45 RPM pressing belongs to this Japanese lineage, and preserves Furtwängler’s spoken German directive following the applause. Splicing the Japanese LP's atmospheric opening onto transfers of French pressings became an occasional practice among historical transfer specialists, though whether this opening prelude stems from the concert itself or the dress rehearsal remains an open historical question.

Preserving the Scars of the Master Tape. After decades in storage, the master tape displayed an audible tonal variance between the finale and the earlier movements. DAM stated this candidly in the booklet, noting that they chose not to use equalizers or limiters to homogenize the sound, arguing that cosmetic smoothing cost more in musical vitality than it delivered in polish.

Why 45 RPM? When cutting from an analog master, a 45 RPM disc accommodates more information per second than a 33⅓ RPM LP. The linear groove velocity increases by roughly thirty-five percent, spreading the physical wave forms over a longer mechanical track. High-frequency transients and micro-dynamics are preserved with lower tracking distortion and a lower surface noise floor. Rotational speed provides the physical ceiling; the ultimate fidelity depends on the skill of the mastering engineer and the electroplating standards that follow. DAM carried that discipline throughout the process,running the mastering lathe without commercial deadlines.

The Mechanical Cost of 45 RPM. To sustain high modulation levels, the Ninth was distributed across five sides:

• Movements 1 through 3 occupy one side each;
• Movement 4 is split across two sides, with Side 4 concluding after the military march (Alla Marcia), and Side 5 resuming at the Andante maestoso to carry through to the final Prestissimo.

At the midpoint of the choral finale, the listener must lift the tonearm, turn the disc, and lower the stylus to allow the Ode to Joy to complete its arc.

Side Six: The 1954 Vienna Fifth. The final side of the set, cut at 33⅓ RPM, contains Furtwängler’s studio recording of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic, taped inside the Musikverein in Vienna on February 28 and March 1, 1954—the final year of his life. This Fifth was the solitary completed chapter of Legge’s proposed Beethoven symphony cycle with the maestro; the planned Ninth was never realized. By coupling the two works in a single box,DAM brought together both sides of that unfinished project. The booklet notes that when Tokyo Shibaura Electric (Toshiba) launched its record division in 1955, its debut LP was this very Fifth; the rear cover of the booklet reproduces the yellow Angel jacket from September of that year.

Physical Presentation. The heavy white cardboard box features black Gothic typography: “Furtwängler conducting Symphony No.9 & Symphony No.5 Beethoven,” with the numerals "9" and "5" highlighted in deep red. All six labels are finished on cream-colored paper bearing the Angel Records emblem, carrying a sepia portrait of Furtwängler overprinted with a blue facsimile signature and the legend: “THE GREAT CONDUCTOR OF THIS CENTURY,” flanked by the designations “FOR VIP” and MONO. The commemorative label was created specifically for this subscription release.

The monograph gathers an essay by Elisabeth Furtwängler titled Furtwängler and Japan, chronological tables by Kōzō Asari, repertoire notes by Akemi Hara, a bilingual German-Japanese translation of Schiller’s ode by Mamoru Watanabe,and a performance analysis by Kōhō Uno. Elisabeth Furtwängler observed that while Japanese audiences had never heard her husband conduct in person, they demonstrated a discernment that recognized where technique ended and art began.For an audiophile club dedicated to pure analog craft, including that passage served as an operational credo.

DAM observed in 1989 that this performance would likely never appear on analog vinyl again, calling the set a definitive archival edition. While Warner Classics issued a 180-gram vinyl edition in 2021, it was cut at 33⅓ RPM. Cutting the Bayreuth Ninth across five sides at 45 RPM remains an achievement unique to DAM.

A Peak Transfer, Yet Not the Historical First Edition. In technical terms, this set stands as the most revealing analog vinyl cut of the Bayreuth Ninth produced: original analog tapes, high-level uncompressed 45 RPM mastering, and custom production runs through Toshiba-EMI’s Gotemba facility unburdened by commercial margins. No standard 33⅓ RPM LP matches its physical resolution.

Yet the 1955 British HMV first edition retains its own historical standing. Auditioning first pressings from the UK,France, Germany, and Japan reveals that each release presents its own tonal character; the spatial depth of the UK original carries enduring authority. It represents the physical form through which the recording was first introduced to the world,approved by Walter Legge himself and pressed from fresh tapes. By the time DAM cut this set, the master tape had rested in the vaults for nearly forty years, accounting for the tonal variance documented in the fourth movement. For many listeners, the Bayreuth Ninth remains synonymous with the balance of the 1955 HMV or Angel first editions.

Kato conducted a comparison: auditioning a first-pressing LP on a vintage system alongside EMI’s 2010 96 kHz / 24-bit SACD, he found that the LP led in instrumental warmth and dynamic weight, while the SACD excelled in spatial resolution and fidelity to the tape source. Each approach serves a different listening priority. The historical resonance of the 1955 first edition cannot be replaced by modern engineering; the original release represents the start of the performance's reception, while the DAM set marks the mechanical peak of its analog reproduction. Recognizing this distinction, DAM chose to preserve the opening applause and footsteps as they had appeared on the Japanese first edition.

History Is Never an Unedited Tape

For Furtwängler, every performance was an autonomous, living entity; no score could ever be realized identically twice.Legge recognized this truth, and chose not to deliver a passive documentary transcript, but to craft a monument:deploying his balance engineers, his critical ear, and his splicing block to shape an account that would endure for generations. Seven decades later, the unedited broadcast master showed us where the edits lay, but it did not diminish the stature of the completed work.

Those who evaluate both versions face a central question: if the EMI master was edited, how much of July 29, 1951,remains within it? Who is the true interpreter—Furtwängler on the podium, or Legge with the razor blade?

The Ancient Palace’s answer is: both. Furtwängler provided the soul of the evening; Legge sculpted the physical form that carried it through seventy years of history. Without the conductor, the editor had nothing to shape; without the producer, that performance might have remained a tape box marked "NOT FOR BROADCAST," resting undisturbed in a Munich archive.

DAM made an alternative choice: holding an exceptional tape, they refused to smooth away its aging seams, pressing the tonal shifts of the finale and the ambient footsteps into the groove unaltered. One approach deployed the razor blade to realize an idealized performance; the other used unprocessed mastering to preserve the physical state of a historical tape.Both attitudes sprang from deep reverence for what occurred that night.

Walter Benjamin wrote that the era of mechanical reproduction was the era in which the aura of the artwork withered away. The Bayreuth Ninth stands as an exception: a hundred editions have not eroded the aura of that evening, but have continually drawn listeners back to ask what that sound truly meant.

I leave you with one final question: between a spliced recording that conveys the transcendent spirit of that night, and an unedited broadcast tape that captures the raw event, which do you hold to be the "truth"?