17 January 1944 in the Alte Philharmonie in Berlin Erich Röhn stood up to play the Beethoven violin concerto, with Furtwängler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. The concert was recorded on tape and, just over 67 years later, it remains probably the classic yardstick performance of the Beethoven concerto. Serene, classical, traditional; and, one senses, true to the inner spirit of Beethoven's work. The rejuvenated sound from Pristine Audio is little short of miraculous; we seem to be listening to one of the better recordings of the 1960s. I have over 60 recordings of Beethoven's only violin concerto; but this performance is almost certainly at the top of the list (thanks to Röhn, Furtwängler and the unknown German radio engineers). Soon afterwards, the Alte Philharmonie vanished in a bombing raid. Fortunately, this performance lives on and on and on.

Now, Mr Rose; please turn your attention to rescuing Adolf Busch's recordings from the 1930s of Beethoven, Bach and Scbubert.