130 Years of Wilhelm Furtwängler
Celebrating the life of one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century.
This week we commemorate the 130th birthday of fellow Berliner Wilhelm Furtwängler who was born on January 25, 1886.
A prolific conductor and composer, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.
Furtwängler was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic between 1922 and 1945, and from 1952 until 1954. He was also principal conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (1922–26), and the main conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic between 1933–1945 and 1947 until his death in 1954.
Making music — as a composer, an interpreter or a performer — is above all an act of love.
He is most famous for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and Wagner. However, he also gave performances of contemporary composers such as Bartók, Hindemith, Schönberg, Stravinsky and Bloch.
The repertoire team have chosen a selection of his works for you to enjoy.
FRANZ SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 7 (8) in B minor, D. 759 (Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berliner Philharmoniker)
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI: Il barbiere di Siviglia, Overture (Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berliner Philharmoniker)
Rossini can be considered an unusual choice for Furtwängler. But this recording displays that he was much more versatile in his repertoire than often postulated today.
JOHANN STRAUSS II: Kaiserwalzer, Op. 347 (Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wiener Philharmoniker)
JOHANNES BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 (Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wiener Philharmoniker)
During his career, Furtwängler’s Brahms interpretations were always in high demand, and it is very interesting to compare them with today’s, more trimmed and less ‘romantic’ interpretations.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92 (Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berliner Philharmoniker)
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125 (Wilhelm Furtwängler, Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Chor der Bayreuther Festspiele)
Furtwängler is famous for his Beethoven interpretations. This is a legendary recording of the opening concert of the first Bayreuth Festival with famous postwar singers such as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth Höngen, Hans Hopf and Otto Edelmann.
MAURICE RAVEL: Rapsodie espagnole (Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wiener Philharmoniker)
RICHARD STRAUSS: Don Juan, Op. 20 (Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berliner Philharmoniker)
With Don Juan, Furtwängler creates a magical sound that ranges from delicate, melancholy tones to tremendous outbursts. It’s pure emotion.
RICHARD WAGNER: Götterdämmerung: Trauermarsch (Act 3) (Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wiener Philharmoniker)
Furtwängler was a wonderful conductor of Wagner compositions. Apart from his various engagements in Bayreuth, he was the conductor of choice for two major Wagner productions in Italy (RAI Rome, Teatro alla Scala) and was also celebrated in Vienna for his Wagner interpretations.
Originally published at blog.idagio.com on January 19, 2016.
