Volume 38, Number 6 · March 28, 1991
On Wilhelm Furtwängler
By Alfred Brendel
RECORDINGS DISCUSSED IN THIS ESSAY
'Leonore' Overture No. 3
composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, conducted by Furtwängler Wilhelm. by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Capitol, (out of print)
Symphony No. 4 in B-flat, Op. 60
composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, conducted by Furtwängler Wilhelm. by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Deutsche Grammophon 42777-2, $8.99
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor ('Choral'), Op. 125
composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, conducted by Furtwängler Wilhelm. by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Hunt Productions 532, $14.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K 550,
composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, conducted by Furtwängler Wilhelm. by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
EMI CDH 763 1932, $9.99
Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D. 759
composed by Franz Schubert, conducted by Furtwängler Wilhelm. by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
EMI CDH 763 1932, $9.99
Symphony No. 9 in C ('The Great'), D. 9444
composed by Franz Schubert, conducted by Furtwängler Wilhelm. by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Hunt Productions 525, $14.99
Tristan und Isolde
composed by Richard Wagner, conducted by Furtwängler Wilhelm. by Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Opera Chorus
Angel 4732, $56.99
Wilhelm Furtwängler was the performing musician who, more than any other, provided me with the criteria for judging a performance. Not that I knew him personally; my career had just begun when Furtwängler's ended during the 1950s, and partnership with a great conductor of his age would have been no easy matter for a youngster anyway. But I had heard several of his concerts in Vienna, Salzburg, and Lucerne, as well as a number of opera performances. These, and the records and tapes which since that time have kept me in touch with his conducting, have remained for me a most important source of reference to what music making is about.
Review, 2000 words
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