Wilhelm Furtwangler - The Great EMI Recordings (2011) [21CD Box Set]

Wilhelm Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Furtwängler, to give him his full name, was born in Berlin on 25 January 1886. His father was an archaeologist and his mother a painter. Both were cultured and enlightened people who brought up their eldest son in the beliefs of German humanism. When the young Wilhelm showed early signs of exceptional talent they decided to provide him with a private education based around the Arts. Although his artistic interests were wide it was music that eventually became his overriding passion and he started learning the piano at an early age, composing his first music at the age of seven. The idea of becoming a composer was his prime ambition, despite the failure of his early attempts at composition.

Several factors led to Furtwängler taking up the baton: the wish to conduct his own works; his increasing interest in the art of interpretation and the need to make a living, following the death of his father in 1907. His first concert as conductor was in Munich in 1906 with a programme of works by Bruckner and Beethoven as well as one of his own pieces. His rise to fame as a conductor was quite rapid and, after working in Breslau, Zurich and at the court opera in Munich, he gained his first big appointments at the Lübeck Opera (1911-1915) and in Mannheim (1915-1920). In 1920 he succeeded Richard Strauss as conductor of the Berlin Staatsoper concerts and in 1922, after the death of Nikisch, he took over the conductorship of the Leipzig Gewandhaus and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras. It was at this time that he also began a long and successful relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. But it was with the Berlin Philharmonic that Furtwängler was to remain for the rest of his career.

Throughout the 1920s and '30s Furtwängler and the Berlin Philharmonic went on a series of European tours to Scandinavia, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and England. In 1937 Furtwängler conducted at Covent Garden as part of the Coronation celebrations and, in 1938, he was back again to conduct two cycles of the Ring. At this time, too, Furtwängler found himself inextricably involved in the politics of Germany. His liberal outlook meant that it was difficult for him to see Nazism as a serious threat to his country and he dissociated himself from it and opposed it whenever he could. He refused to give the Nazi salute, even in the presence of Adolf Hitler, and used his influence to save the lives of as many Jewish musicians as he could. In spite of this and because of his rather naive political outlook many outside Germany saw his continued residence and musical activity as a kind of collaboration. The final ten years of Furtwängler's life were dogged by controversy, not helped by the American Military Government in post-war Germany delaying his denazification process until 1947, when he was once again allowed to take up conducting.

Success in Europe quickly followed and he appeared with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras as well as local orchestras in London, Stockholm, Edinburgh, Lucerne, Milan, Salzburg and Paris. It is from this time that the superb recordings in this 20-CD set were made. Here is a special selection of some of EMI's celebrated Furtwängler recordings, some recorded live at concerts and some made in the studios. The combination of Furtwängler and EMI brought about one of the greatest collaborations in recording history and the Company is proud to be able to contribute this set to the 125th birthday celebrations of a great conductor

Tracks:

CD 1 :
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 1 in C Op. 21
Symphony No. 3 in E flat 'Eroica' Op. 55

Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 2 :
Symphony No. 2 in D Op. 36
Symphony No. 4 in B flat Op. 60

Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 3 :
Symphony No. 5 in C minor Op. 67
Symphony No. 7 in A Op. 92

Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 4 :
Symphony No. 6 in F 'Pastoral' Op. 68

Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler

Symphony No. 8 in F Op. 93

Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 5 :
Symphony No. 9 in D minor 'Choral' Op. 125

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Soprano), Elisabeth Höngen (Alto), Hans Hopf (Tenor), Otto Edelmann (Bass)
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Chorus, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 6 :
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat 'Emperor' Op. 73

Edwin Fischer (Piano)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 7 :
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 64

Yehudi Menuhin (Violin)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 8-9 :
Fidelio Op.72 Overture
Fidelio Op.72
Léonore Overture

Sena Jurinac (Soprano), Alfred Poell (Baritone), Otto Edelmann (Bass), Wolfgang Windgassen (Tenor), Martha Mödl (Soprano), Gottlob Frick (Bass), Franz Bierbach (Bass), Alwin Hendricks (Tenor)
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Opera Chorus, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 10 :
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Hungarian Dances
Variations on a Theme by Haydn ('St Antoni Chorale'), Op. 56a
Symphony No. 1 in C minor Op. 68

Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 11 :
Symphony No. 2 in D major Op. 73
Symphony No. 3 in F Op. 90

Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 12 :
Symphony No. 4 in E minor Op. 98

Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN
Coriolan - Overture Op. 62
Leonore Overture No. 2, Op. 72a

Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 13 :
Johannes BRAHMS
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Op. 77

Yehudi Menuhin (Violin)
Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler

Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A minor Op. 102

Emanuel Brabec (Cello), Willi Boskovsky (Violin)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 14 :
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K.550

Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler

Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Symphony No. 6 in B minor Op. 74

Berliner Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 15 :
Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Don Juan Op. 20
Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op.28
Tod und Verklärung Op. 24

Wilhelm FURTWÄNGLER (1885-1954)
Symphonic Concerto in B Minor

Edwin Fischer (Piano)
Berliner Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 16-19 :
Richard WAGNER (1813-1883)
Tristan und Isolde

Ludwig Suthaus (Tenor), Kirsten Flagstad (Soprano), Blanche Thebom (Mezzo Soprano), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Baritone), Josef Greindl (Bass), Rudolf Schock (Tenor), Edgar Evans (Tenor), Rhydderch Davies (Bass)
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 20 :
Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809)
Symphony No. 94 in G, 'Surprise'

Luigi CHERUBINI (1760-1842)
Anacréon - Overture

Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D.759 'Unfinished'

Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Les Préludes, S.97

Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler


CD 21 :
Remembering Furtwängler, reminiscences