Furtwängler Returns with Schumann and Beethoven

The great conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler has more fans among Big 10 readers than I would have suspected. So to follow up on my recent post of him leading Beethoven, here he is with more from that composer, along with two works by Robert Schumann.

The recordings are with the Berlin Philharmonic (unless otherwise stated) and date from 1947-53.

Before we get to the music, why does Furtwängler hold our attention even today? Here is critic Andrew Porter following the conductor's death:

"[H]e played Beethoven's symphonies, and Brahms's and all music for that matter, as if he were playing them for the first time, the only time. A lifetime’s study and the full concentration of the man was going into this one, particular performance.

"More than any other conductor he loved Klangschönheit [sonority], and delighted in sheer beauty of tone; and he ensured with loving rehearsal an intimate balance of orchestral detail. Perhaps there was a lack of driving rhythmic impulse in long movements: but it arose less from preoccupation with passing beauties than as a result of large-scale mountings of tension."

Porter's testimonial, which appeared in The Gramophone, is included in the download.

Schumann - Manfred Overture

If this cover looks familiar, it's because I included one of the works therein on my first survey of Furtwängler's art - Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 2. I had a request for the other item - Schumann's Manfred Overture, so here it is. A different recording of Leonore No. 2 is also in this set. 

The Manfred overture is heard much more often than the other pieces of incidental music that the composer wrote that were inspired by Lord Byron's 1817 poem. It's a splendid piece - don't be put off by the ragged opening here; the performance proves worthy of the work. The recording is from 1951.

Schumann - Symphony No. 4

Schumann's final symphony, written in 1841, was revised for publication a decade later, five years before his death. The work exists in two versions - the original and the later version. Brahms himself had the original published, much to Clara Schumann's displeasure. I believe this recording uses the later version.

I love Schumann's symphonies; this is a grand performance of No. 4. The 1953 sound is particularly good.

Beethoven - Egmont Overture; Leonore Overture No. 2

Similar to Manfred, Beethoven's Egmont Overture is the first item in a set of incidental music, in this case written for a 1787 play by Goethe. The composer premiered the work in 1810. It extols the 16th-century nobleman Lamoral, Count of Egmont from the Low Countries, who was condemned to death for resisting oppression.

The stirring composition is one of Beethoven's greatest and most popular. Furtwängler's performance with the Berlin Philharmonic dates from 1947.

The curious case of Beethoven's four overtures for his opera Fidelio (earlier titled Leonore) was explained in my first post devoted to this conductor. This is a different recording from the one discussed there. That was a 1954 recording; this one comes from 1949. It's not clear why the conductor remade the piece so quickly, although the reason might simply be that they were done for two different companies (Electrola vs. Deutsche Grammophon).

It remains to be said that Furtwängler's live performances are generally considered to be superior to his studio efforts. I don't find that to be the case, but it is a common opinion.

Furtwängler had an unusual conducting style (which probably had something to do with the imprecise opening of Manfred noted above). You can see it in a 1950 film of him leading Strauss' Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche - not my favorite music, but indicative of the eminent conductor in front of an orchestra.

Hope you enjoy this latest taste of the conductor's artistry - not to mention that of Schumann and Beethoven.

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