Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954)

[Peter1953]

Furtwängler's slogan was to compose "simply, grandly, magnificently" and ,,grand and monumental". Not exactly modest, but obviously as a Great Conductor he can afford these kind of statements . But I must confess that I have a soft spot for his Symphony No. 2 (I have the Barenboim) and the Piano Concerto. No, much more than a soft spot. I think his Second is overwhelming. Full of tenderness and harmonic melodies, almost mystifying, a work of deep felt emotions, and so on. Is it monumental?

[Alan Howe]

Symphony No.2 is, I believe, his best work - by far. And the fact that it has been recorded by Barenboim in Chicago is an enormous advantage - the piece comes up as though it was composed in the white heat of inspiration. For me it's a major late-Romantic symphony, but its longueurs definitely divide opinion. Trouble is, I'm an absolute sucker for this kind of thing, so it'd certainly be one of the CDs I'd rescue from the proverbial burning house...

[eschiss1]

I haven't heard that much else by him, but agreed.
("History disagrees"? In what other context and since when has that mattered in this forum?)

[Mark Thomas]

I used to think the Second (I say this at the risk of being flamed!) deadly dull, but repeated listenings to the Barenboim performance have converted  me to it, at least in part. It is a grand, moving and memorable piece but for me at least it would be grander and more moving if it was a whole lot shorter. I just don't understand why it needs to be so long for Furtwängler to say what he wants to say. But I'm pleased to know it - all of it.

[Ilja]

If you crave for more compact Furtwängler, try the charming Overture In E Flat Major, Op. 3. An early work, but with clear indications of things to come.

[mbhaub]

What Barenboim demonstrated was that a top-notch conductor in front of great orchestra can make an otherwise dreary, dull work sound magnificent. That single recording made everything fall into place. Not even Furtwangler's recording did that. The piano concerto definitely needs the Barenboim treatment, and the Marco Polo recording is woefully inadequate. At times it sounds the like orchestra has never rehearsed. I also find the Violin Sonata very rewarding. It's long, to be sure, but it's full of wonderful ideas.

[Dundonnell]

Yes, I totally agree with the points that have been made

Furtwangler's 2nd is a splendid work but, yes, it is too long, and, yes, it benefits enormously from a performance by a top-class orchestra with an extremely fine conductor and a good recording.

These unfortunately are the very ingredients needed by a lot of the 'unsungs' which they are denied. It may sound ungrateful-and I certainly don't mean to be-but, although Marco Polo will remain for ever in our debt for recording so much 'unsung music', it has to be said that some of that music was performed by pretty second-rate orchestras, under-rehearsed and dimly recorded. Better indeed than not hearing the music at all but it really does need to be properly and adequated presented. The Malipiero symphonies performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra were a case in point.

A really great conductor-Beecham in French music was an obvious example-can make a work which seemed previously somewhat average come alive and spread its wings

[chill319]

I've previously waxed enthusiastic about Furtwängler in several threads. I won't tire members by reiterating those comments. But I would like to testify here to the possibility of hearing Furtwängler's music beyond Symphony 2 as profoundly involving. In particular, I personally experience the tragic Symphony 3 as his most shattering work.

[eschiss1]

I had the Marco Polo recording of his completed 3rd symphony at one point (by the way, about the violin sonata mentioned earlier - which of the 2?) - again, could use a much better conductor, performance, recording, but I grew to like it, and started to find the opening and some other parts very memorable. Unfortunately have not yet heard Furtwängler's chamber works, I think (maybe one or two of them once or maybe twice over e.g. Concertzender's archives, an excellent way to do so I've found.. - recalled being impressed.)
The Symphonic Piano Concerto I have one or two or maybe 1.33 recordings of and have heard once (or 1.33 ...! ) times and - well, need to hear again, but it seemed to deserve the attention (a lot of it, from estimable pianists, conductors and orchestras) it got back when...

[Ilja]

Marco Polo will remain for ever in our debt for recording so much 'unsung music', it has to be said that some of that music was performed by pretty second-rate orchestras, under-rehearsed and dimly recorded. Better indeed than not hearing the music at all but it really does need to be properly and adequated presented.

I'm a bit more ambivalent about this. Yes, we've heard a lot of otherwise unheard music from MP and that IS a real achievement. But that is almost counterbalanced by the second-rate nature of the performances, which, in some case, totally hid the quality of the music itself. Rarely has it happened that a work that was re-recorded after being first released on MP did not outshine the MP recording in every imaginable way. More seriously, quite a few works may have been stuck with only a half-hearted MP recording because other labels thought they'd been 'done' (a very real concern in such a niche market). Then again, MP may have given rise to smaller labels getting interested in the 'Unsung' in the first place.

As I said, ambivalence...

[Mark Thomas]

Catch 22:

stuck with only a half-hearted MP recording because other labels thought they'd been 'done'

or never recorded at all. Which is better? On balance I think the former but I'm as ambivalent as Ilja. Luckily, nowadays Naxos recordings are often amongst the best interpretations and recordings that there are.

[Rainolf]

Furtwängler surely was a composer who needed a long time to develop his abilities in building great musical forms. He is one of my favourite late romantic composers, but I think it's true, that most of his pieces are to long. But nevertheless the 1st Symphony, the Piano Concerto, the Piano Quintet an the Violin Sonatas have many good moments. The opening movement of Symphony No. 1 I would consider an imposing piece, opening very dark and serious, developing step by step to the big hymn like tune which ends the exposition. Then an even more intense recapitulation of this process, but it ends with the opening theme, which overwhelms the hymn tune. A very fine movement, like the following scherzo, but in the remaining movements it seams to me, that Furtwängler's inspiration had left him alone.

The 2nd Symphony is maybee the work, Furtwängler wanted to write in his former compositions but hadn't yet reached the heigth of his compositoric powers. But it's like good wine, and after the ripening he wrote a true masterwork, composing this symphony. Yes, this work is very long, but I couldn'd find superfluous passages in it and think, that every bar is on its right place.

My favourite recording of the 2nd is Furtwängler's own with the Vienna Philharmonic (1953). It has much more staightforward drive then that with the Berlin Philharmonic, he recorded for Deutsche Grammophon.