Bruno Walter was deeply entrenched in the appropriate Romantic approach to late Beethoven. Walter made his debut as a pianist with the Berlin Philharmonic at age 14. Four years later he met Mahler and realized his own path was as a conductor. He served as Mahler's right hand man along with his own conducting career. Walter held major positions all over Europe and the U.S., eventually settling in Beverly Hills. Walter was a gentlemanly conductor who stressed accuracy: "By concentrating on precision, one arrives at technique." The Columbia Symphony Orchestra was a pickup orchestra comprised of members of the LA Philharmonic and studio musicians, who re-arranged their schedules whenever it was announced that Bruno Walter would be recording. They valued him that highly. The admiration can be heard in his Beethoven recordings. In the 7th, recorded just 2 years before his death, the standout movements are the 2nd and last. In the second movement, Walter pulls a rapturous lyric singing tone from the Celli' countermelody. The Scherzo is lugubrious compared with today's race-horse conductors. But that last movement sparkles with energy and it soars: Walter knew how to build a crescendo over many bars. Frankly, in the nearly 60 years since this recording, no conductor has matched that final movement. It's a treasure. There is some tape hiss, but it's warm and comfy rather than distracting.
