Customer Reviews

Furtwängler Conducts Brahms - Complete Symphonies, etc

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The redoubtable and somewhat enigmatic Wilhelm Furtwängler (1883-1954) has gone from being the interest of a few aficionados of old recordings to being an industry, and a whole range of entrepreneurs (on the one hand) and fly-by-night artists (on the other) have attempted to cash in on his charisma. Obviously there is a demand for Furtwängler. Whenever something meritorious comes into demand, then that, I'd say, is a good thing; but the very proliferation of recordings and the large variations in production-value make entering this niche-market of the classical music scene at this moment a fairly tricky endeavor. One rule of thumb (although it is not hard and fast) is to shy away from Italian reissues, as these generally copy material the effort to make which in the first place belongs to someone else - even though source materials might be in public domain. Two outfits who deal in responsible products and who, in one incarnation or another, have been helping music-lovers to explore Furtwängler for a long time, are Music & Arts of Berkeley, California, and Tahra Productions of Bézons, France. For now, I want to recommend an item from the M & A catalogue, their 4CD set of Furtwängler's 1940s interpretations of the four Brahms symphonies and of the Piano Concerto No. 2. This set collects the best of the many WF "takes" of these works, starting with the legendary 1951 Hamburg traversal of the First Symphony, notable for two characteristics: (1) It is the single most cosmic and hair-raising performance of this remarkable symphony ever captured on tape; and (2) the mastertape, from the archives of North German Radio, an extraordinary example of high-fidelity monophonic broadcast sound. The Second Symphony comes from a late wartime concert in Vienna (January 1945) and is also of high quality. The Third Symphony comes from a short time before WF's death and was made, in Berlin, in April 1954. Then there is the Fourth Symphony, from Berlin, 1943, taped by German Radio on one of their then-new Magnetophon recorders. Like the Hamburg First, the Berlin Fourth from 1943 is legendary. It is Titanic in conception and execution and sounds like the very Apocalypse itself in the Finale. No one who listens to these readings will ever approach Brahms with the same attitude again. The 1942 "take" of the Second Concerto, with Edwin Fischer as soloist, is also a towering performance, although here not even M & A's valiant efforts at sonic reconstruction can entirely make up for the quality of the sources. Brahms, with Beethoven, Bruckner, and Wagner, lay at the core of WF's repertory. Anyone looking to take up the WF phenomenon for the first time would be well advised to start with this magnificent introduction. Tasteful packaging and excellent notes, to boot.

The Furtwangler cycle of Brahms is comething special indeed. The sound leaves much to be desired, but trust me, after you hear the performances you will never want to hear Brahms any other way (no matter how good the sound is)!! This cycle is raw, uninhibited, fierce, probing, tragic but above all powerful. Take the finle of the 4th symphony as an example. It is played at a faster pace of any other recording I have heard of the piece. At the end the variations played on strings are almost a little sloppy. But playing them at that tempo gives the overall movement such great power, spontaniety and drive that it does'nt matter. These performances are should be the gold standard for all others. No other brahms cycle comes ever close.

...all in one set! I'm not going to jump on "madamemusico's" one-star review too much, since she has certainly gotten her share of well-earned unhelpful votes, but I don't know what the hell the argument that Brahms is a "classicist" has to do with anything. The way I look at it, Brahms may have been a classicist with regard to form, but he had heart and soul of a romantic, so I don't understand what precludes his symphonies from being played as full-blooded romantic music. Just admit you don't like Furtwangler, and don't taint the ratings here with personal biases. 'Nuff said on that subject.

"Brahms music is boring and his orchestration is too thick," is one of my least favorite of the countless cliches' about romantic era composers and their music. When I worked at a record store several years ago, I was playing a really good and exciting recording of a Mendelssohn symphony, and a lady came in and, after listening to it for a few minutes, she asked, "What is this? It's really good." "Mendelssohn's (I think it was the 3rd) Symphony," I responded. "Really?!" she said, surprised; "I thought Mendelssohn was boring." "That's because you've never heard any GOOD Mendelssohn," I said. She bought the CD. I am not a big Mendelssohn fan, but the point of this anecdote is that you frequently get the same kinds of opinions about Brahms, based on cliches' about his music that preclude people from giving it serious consideration: "Oh yeah, Brahms; thick and boring. Not my cup of tea." Then you hear some GOOD Brahms, and you are a fan for life.

I would not pretend that this is the only Brahms set you should have. The sound quality is variable, and Furtwangler's style is unique, but if you have any interest in Brahms' symphonies, and you have some more modern recordings that you like, then you really need to have this one; esp. since you can probably get an inexpensive copy on the Marketplace.

I have listened to many of Furtwangler's numerous Brahms recordings, and there is no question in my mind that M&A have assembled the best ones here. Part of the magic of Furtwangler's Brahms is that, despite the weight of the sound that he gets from these great orchestras, plenty of detail can be heard, and surprisingly little apology needs to be made for the sound, even though these recordings are from widely different sources.

Brahms recorded multiple good Brahms' Firsts, but this one from 1951 with Schmidt-Isserstedt's wonderful Hamburg orchestra is my favorite, and it has the best sound of any Furtwangler Brahms recording. The Tahra release of the First has slightly better sound than the M&A, but not enough to diminish the appeal of this set. The wartime Second might have the most thrilling account of the wonderful finale ever recorded. The Third, recorded in the last few months of Furtwangler's life is deeply ruminative, and is the most idiosyncratic of all of the readings here in that much of it is very slow, but it is easily the best of his Thirds, and I find it to be a uniquely satisfying reading. It has often been commented on the Brahms' music has an autumnal feel to it, and it seems to me that this is particularly explicit in the Third, with its luminous woodwind coloring, esp. the clarinet parts: the third was the last of the Brahms symphonies that I fell in love with-- courtesy of the Szell recording--and there is a palpable feeling of deep autumnal reflection in Furtwangler's reading, esp. in his achingly beautiful account of the third movement; and in the closing bars of the quiet coda, you can almost see the last autumn leaves slowly wafting down to the earth. The wartime Fourth is one of the most overtly tragic readings you will ever hear, with an amazing forward thrust to the finale; again, this is easily Furtwangler's best reading.

The fact that there are later Furtwangler Brahms recordings with somewhat better sound is not really a factor, such is the quality of the performances assembed in this M&A set. If you have this set you don't really need any other of Furtwangler Brahms symphony recordings. The EMI References set is good, but those performances are all runners-up to all of those in this set.

I feel that this set belongs in EVERY collection. It has great CD transfers, sensational conducting and WONDERFUL Brahms!

Sym. #1: This 1951 Hamburg with the North German Radio is, to my mind, the finest Brahms 1st on record. It is also on Tahra FURT 1054/7, but this M&A transfer is distinctly SUPERIOR: the Tahra has lots of extra hiss and a midrange that sounds rather hollow. However, you MUST have that Tahra set because it contains Furtwangler's majestic 1954 Lucerne Beethoven 9th in its best transfer. The only Furtwangler 1st to rival this Hamburg is the 1952 Berlin Phil. (deleted DG 415662-2). More mellow and less dramatic, it and this Hamburg are sonically just about the best of ALL Furtwangler recordings.

Sym. #2: The 1945 Vienna Phil. here is also available on 6-disc DG set 474030. They are close in sound quality, but I would give the edge to M&A. Incidentally, you must have the DG set for its 1944 Vienna Phil. Bruckner 8th in a finest-ever transfer. This Brahms 2nd is VERY dramatic, but the lesser 1948 with the London Phil. (Dutton) has grown on me of late - if it were the only Furtwangler available, most of us would be raving about it! My favorite Furtwangler Brahms 2nd remains the more reflective, less hectic 7 May 1952 Berlin Phil. account (mine is on an Electrola Da Capo LP).

Sym. #3: This 1954 Berlin is the best of 3 Thirds - it was also on DG 423572-2 (deleted) in sound that was the same as this M&A (the DG was coupled with my favorite Furtwangler account of the Schubert 8th from 1952). He isn't as persuasive in the 3rd, but the closing pages have a lovely autumnal, valedictory quality.

Sym. #4: This dynamic 4th from 1943 is his best, and this is its best-ever transfer.

2nd Piano Concerto: The 1942 live sound is congested (it's the only poor sound in this set). The transfer on DG 471294-2 is somewhat better, but both are pretty bad.

Haydn Variations: This 1951 Hamburg and the Berlin 1950 (DG) are my two favorites: both have excellent sound.

Brilliant as these are, there are accounts by other conductors that I also cherish. Some are foils that help to appreciate the greatness of Furtwangler's readings, and a few of them offer insights that are different and perhaps equally valid. In the 1st, Abendroth is stunning (his best: the live 1955 Berlin Radio on Tahra 145/146). If there were no Furtwangler Brahms 1st, this would be my favorite.

For the 2nd, my other favorites are Schuricht/VPO (London LP) and Fritz Busch (EMI). The Max Fiedler and Walter Damrosch 2nds (on different Biddulph CDs) are weirdly hypnotic - a trip back to the past. In the 3rd, I love Kna (Tahra), Schuricht (Greenhill), and Mengelberg (Naxos). For the 4th, three worth hearing are Abendroth (Arlecchino), Busch (Dante LYS), and Schuricht (Ades).

Edwin Fischer isn't my top choice in the 2nd Concerto, despite the lovely slow mvt. I prefer Curzon with Kna/VPO on a Decca LP. And for the Haydn Variations, I also like the pokey Kna/VPO (Decca) and the Schuricht (Ades).

But make no mistake: if my house were on fire and I could keep only one Brahms set, it would be this Furtwangler. If I could grab two, the old Weingartner (deleted EMI) would come along for contrast. As Fielding once observed, "what is a jewel without its foil?"

Any overview of the Brahms symphonies invariably includes positive comments about Furtwangler's various recordings, with some critics going so far as to say his performances would be their "desert island" Brahms. This is high praise for recordings dating from the 40's and early 50's. EMI has issued a set of Furtwangler's Brahms, but I have not been able to find it (EMI may be remastering it as part of their newly refurbished "References" series of historical recordings). Reviewers have good things to say about remasterings from Music and Arts, and this set was reasonably priced, so I decided to give it a try. I'm very glad that I did.

The performances are overwhelming and powerful, so much so that the problems with the sound simply do not matter very much at all. The sonic quality varies, since these recordings were made as early as 1942 and as late as 1954. They are all live recordings, but the The 2nd Piano Concerto seems to me to be the most problematic as far as the sound; the symphonies are much better. There is some audience noise and the recordings betray their age by the compressed dynamic range, but anyone who loves this music will not care about that, and in fact will not even be aware of it after just a few moments of listening.

What you will hear is a unique reading of these works that defies easy description or categorization. There is an intensely personal connection between conductor and the music that's both revelatory and respectful, and quite unlike any other recording. Once you have heard Furtwangler's Brahms, it changes the way you will listen to these symphonies forever, and that's probably the strongest tribute one can pay to any conductor.

This set is one of the essential Brahms cycles, and not just as a historical artifact. This is the real thing, and no conductor since Furtwangler has managed to surpass these interpretations. Of course you will want a good stereo set without the sonic issues, but anyone who listens to these performances will not be content to just hear them once and then retire them to the archives, because these performances are just as vital as they were half a century ago.

The enclosed booklet includes very thorough notes from John Ardoin's book "The Furtwangler Record", though surprisingly, Music and Arts includes no technical information about the remastering except in a brief note on the back of the CD case. It's not clear whether the original recordings were made off-the-air from radio broadcasts or were live recordings made on site. But it does not matter; what counts is that these recordings were preserved and can be enjoyed today.

In a sense, Furtwangler's best Brahms recordings, collected here, are even more impressive than his Beethoven. Beethoven is almost foolproof, and even in a mediocre performance he will come across intact, but botch Brahms and a tedious soup is all that remains. Compared to Furtwangler's Brahms, all other versions seem not interpreted but merely played through. Under Furtwangler's baton, Brahms emerges as a tragic artist of Shakespearean proportions, with the unbelievable 1945 performance of the last movement of the First--as another listener points out, it stands with his 1942 Ninth among his greatest achievements on record--and the complete performance of the Fourth as particular standouts. As others have noted, the Third isn't quite up to par--personally I prefer the version in the EMI box, which has a terrifically dynamic first movement--but all in all these are performances to render almost all others insignificant. Nowhere else does Furtwangler better exemplify his uncanny ability to find the living core of a piece of music and bring it out whole. This is visionary artistry of the highest order, to which all discussion of conductorial eccentricity is irrelevant, and it will make a Brahms lover of anyone who encounters it fully. A completely extraordinary set of recordings, and a must.

Furtwangler's Brahms provides the listener with the most rawly emotional performance available in any form. His 1st Symphony crackles with power and energy, the 2nd with pastoral beauty. The masterpiece is the 4th symphony that transcends the boundaries music is usually constrained by. One of the most powerful listening experiences that I've ever been lucky enough to have. Believe me, this is not an empty praise. Whoever listens to these performances can't fail to be moved. And regarding sound quality, these recordings a darned good considering their age and the fact that they're lifted from radio performances. The 4th symphony in particular gives the impression of sitting at a concert, watching the Berlin Philharmonic play under the direction of this genius. We are lucky to be able to now experience the art of Furtwangler years after his death, and the sound quality, perhaps not to the taste of stereo purists, should not make a difference to any music lover.

Many (perhaps most) people see Brahms as being particularly dull. This set, without any doubt, completely destroys this myth. Just listen to the 1945 recording of the finale to the First symphony, and you will hear one of the most inspiring, most desperately intense recordings of orchestral music you are ever likely to hear (on this score, it is rivalled only by Furtwangler's titanic 1942 recording of Beethoven's Ninth symphony). The main reason why I greatly admire Furtwangler's conducting is that he almost always conveyed a complete understanding of what the music really means; he was a master of the lost art of reading inbetween the lines. This is in great evidence here. The marvelous 1951 Hamburg recordings of the First symphony and the Haydn variations have such a warm, personal sound, and are both intense and noble. The Second symphony has been refered to as Brahms' Pastoral symphony. Furtwangler realises, just as with Beethoven's Pastoral symphony, that this music is not un-dramatic to the point of being comatose, but rather is a thrilling symphony to the wonders of nature, very beautiful, but with a spiritual side as well. The first three movements of the Third symphony are incredible. How could he get that sound out of an orchesta? I cannot describe it in words; you just have to listen to it. The finale of the Third symphony is, from an interpretive standpoint, mildly dissapointing for Furtwangler. (For just about anyone else, it would have been extraordinary.) I agree with John Ardoin (author of a fine book on Furtwangler's recordings; the liner notes are taken from it) here, in thinking that the transition from the introduction to the main Allegro is too abrupt and unexpected, and the very end of the movement is rather unremarkable for Furtwangler. These are very fine interpretive points, however, and the overall experience is still thoroughly enjoyable. The Fourth symphony is excellent here, through and through. Particularly notable is the finale, which, as a previous reviewer noted, is almost apocalyptic. The wartime Haydn variations is somewhat less contemplative and warm toned than its 1951 counterpart, but is more 'straightforward' in its interpretation, and is perhaps more 'festive', joyful, or whatever else you care to call it. To cap this set off is an incredible performance of the 2nd piano concerto, with Edwin Fischer. I don't always care for his playing (I generaly don't find enough subtlety in his touch, listen to Hofmann for that), but here he and Furtwangler work as one, which of course is a great thing. On top of all this, the sound quality, even with the concerto (from 1942), is quite good, and with the Third, is exceptionaly clear. If I were to have no Brahms but this, I would still be happy.

While these are some of the greatest interpretations of these works in the catalogue, the drawback here are the transfers. Most if not all of these performances are available on the French label Tahra. They managed to obtain the original master tapes for their transfers and it is as if you are hearing this music for the first time. Also, the piano concerto is available in a Testament recording which includes Edwin Fischer playing the Adagio from Furtwangler's own piano concerto. Must have music but you will want them in far better transfers. The 5 stars are strictly for the performances.

These are compelling records of Wilhelm Furtwangler's approach to the Brahms' symphonies and the Piano Concerto No. 2 with Edwin Fischer playing the solo piano role. Listening to these recordings will help a new or inexperienced collector understand why Furtwangler was given a god-like following in his time, when it was said he could cast a magical spell over an audience in concert. Those were times when the likes of Adolf Hitler could cast the same magical spell over Germans, as well, making it a time far different than our own, when virtually any message given this individuality would be subject to questioning, ridicule, constant and ongiong evaluation and second guessing. So these recordings represent a time much different than our epoch and must be heard in that perspective.

The few comments about bad sound quality from the detractors are also true. These are not high fidelity recordings; they are mainly radio recordings remastered by Arts & Music, one of the better labels specializing in realizing older recordings and radio broadcasts. Until Andante and Naxos came along and showed everyone how good an older recording could be, this label was probably the best available for older recordings. But no one can make recordings emanating from the 1940s and 1950s sound like new and these don't. But, like other reviewers here said, they are often as good as any available from Furtwangler. A notable exception here is the 1943 Symphony 4, which is musically the equal to the 1948 Japanese EMI recording, but is also sonically inferior to the later recording, carrying a noticeable radio buzz throughout the fourth movement.

For the unitiated wondering, "Why should I spend money on 50- and 65-year-old recordings?", the answer is to hear Furtwangler's unique way with mainstream German repertory. Furtwangler held sway with the Berlin Philharmonic in two different eras -- from 1922-45 and again from 1952 until his death in 1954. He directed the orchestra after such luminaries as Hans von Bulow and Artur Nikish and before the ascent of Herbert von Karajan. Sergiu Celibadache, a cult conductor known for his disdain of studio recordings and glacial interpretaions, filled the time after the war until Furtwangler returned in 1952.

Furtwangler's way was unlike anyone of his time or ours although certain wilful conductors of the recording era -- Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Stokowski and Daniel Barenboim among them -- demonstrated some of his characteristics of rapid increase in tempo and dynamics followed by tenuto or massive slowdown and quiet. None of the named conducotrs did it as frequently as Furtwangler, and none with such universal acclaim. However, like Bernstein and Stokie in their most individual moments, a Furtwangler interpretation is more an adaptation of the score than a reading of it -- adapting the conductor's ideas into the fabric of the music.

Furtwangler was perhaps most renowned for his beat; or perhaps it is better to say he was renowned for not having a beat. There is an old joke, told by one of his players, about his how to pick up his beat when the old man's batonless right hand would quiver as if he were having a heart attack or rigor mortis were trying to set in: stand up, look about you and listen, walk around the chair three times, and sit down.

Yet, as these recordings will tell you, Furtwangler did indeed have a defined beat and members of his orchestras picked it up pretty readily. When he is straightforward -- as he is accompanying Edwin Fischer's playing in the Second Piano Concerto here or in his famous rendering of the Schubert Symphony 9 and Haydn Symphony 88 on DG -- Furtwangler is a compelling voice for German reason and emotion. When his conducting tends to be all over the place, as it is in the first movement exposition of the Symphony 4 in this box, he is, by my reckoning, somewhat less of an authority on the music.

There are plenty of people that continue to believe Furtwangler has special authority in the core Romantic German repertory of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss and Wagner. As Third Ear Classical Music said in its discussion of his Beethoven Symphony 9, "Furtwangler is thought to have a special authority in this music, and he does present a very interesting philosophical argument about how to approach it." This final section of this statement tells you everything you need to know about Furtwangler -- that he often has a philosophical argument in his recordings. It is never enough for him merely to lead the music; he must adapt it to his views as no one has ever done. For, make no mistake, a Furtwangler interpretation is as much as adaptation of the score as a Hollywood movie script is an adaptation of the book from which the idea came.

And this is the razor's edge on which people spill their blood either supporting or rebuking the greatness in this conductor's approach. I was curious about Furtwangler's Brahms and bought this set during a time when I was listening to a lot of this composer including the symphonic sets by Karajan, Hans Schmidt-Issersted (available from Amazon.com.UK) and Ernest Ansermet. While Eugen Jochum's Bruckner represents a direct descendent of Furtwangler's way with that composer, the closest any modern conductor has come to Furtwangler's style is the way Stokowski rather "Stoki"izes the Brahms Symphony No. 3 on his old Everest recording or possibly the way Bernstein interpreted the Schumann symphonies for DG.

In our period-induced era, where the score is sacrosanct and must be adhered to with conviction, it's unlikely another Furtwangler will be forthcoming anytime soon. He represents a time in the past when music and its expression was different than today. That expression and that time is perfectly represented in this set.