Edition Wilhelm Furtwängler - The Complete RIAS Recordings

There are three reasons why you should purchase this set of 12 CDs of Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, prepared by Audite from the archival tapes of broadcasts by RIAS (Radio in the American Sector of Germany) between 1947 and 1954. (1) Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954) was one of the greatest conductors of the past 100 years, the era of recorded music – in the opinion of many, the greatest. “Furtwängler possessed the great secret of proportion…He understood how to interpret [the smallest] phrases, themes, sections, movements, and entire symphonies as artistic unities.” [Paul Hindemith] “It is safe to say that never in his life did Furtwängler give a routine performance.” [Harold Schonberg] (2) Good recorded sound is essential for revealing those details of phrasing and intonation that distinguish a Furtwängler performance and leave you saying, “Of course! Now I finally understand what the composer intended.” (3) These 12 CDs, thanks to the quality of the original tapes and whatever magic the Audite engineers applied, have the best sound I have ever heard in Furtwängler recordings; although they date back to 1947-1954, they are comparable to modern recordings, except for not being stereo. The 12 CDs concentrate on Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms, plus a glorious Bruckner 8th, plus three living (in 1954) German composers. The CDs present the actual broadcasts over those 7 years; thus, there are two performances each of Beethoven’s 3rd, 5th, and 6th, Schubert’s 8th, and Brahms’ 3rd symphonies, but none, for example, of Beethoven’s 7th or 9th or Brahms’ 1st or 2nd. The “EMI Classics References” sets of Furtwängler conducting the complete Beethoven and Brahms symphonies will round out your collection and the Music & Arts CD of Furtwängler’s 1954 Lucerne performance of Beethoven’s 9th is also a gem. Finally, three personal reasons why I treasure this set: (1) The Schubert 9th, taking into account the composition itself and this performance, is possibly the most beautiful music I have ever heard – from the hymn-like introduction; to the heartbreak of the 2nd movement (17:04 here yet not a second too long because Furtwängler will have you concentrating on every note); to the crisp, volatile scherzo; to the explosive, life-affirming exultation of the finale that will make you swing your arms. (2) Mendelssohn’s Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream is Mendelssohn as you may perhaps have never heard him before: mysterious…creative…daring. It may also remind you that Furtwängler courageously programmed this overture in Berlin in 1934. (3) A 13th CD is a Q&A session (in German) of Furtwängler with music students in Berlin. He discusses various compositions with them in a down-to-earth way; interesting and useful information.

This is a comprehensive edition of the broadcast recordings that Wilhelm Furtwangler and the Berlin Philharmonic made for the RIAS (Radio in the American Sector). Many of the performances had previously been issued in various formats (LP & CD), but never in editions mastered from "the original tapes". The music is all German (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and others not starting with the letter B). The recorded sound was far ahead of what other conductors were receiving at the same time period - 1947 to 1954. A highly recommended overview of the work of this conductor.

You think you know Beethoven's 5th. In fact you know it too well & could last years without ever hearing it again. Well, you've never heard it like this. These performances are so intense. The Bach is a travesty but the rest is revelation. Never aware of little refinements or turns of phrase. It just comes at you like a cyclone.

This collection of all the recordings made by Wilhelm Furtwängler leading the Berlin Philharmonic on West Berlin's postwar RIAS (Radio in the American Sector/Rundfunk im amerikanischem Sektor) is an outstanding document and features some fantastic recordings. While I did feel the first few discs had some serious sound issues, the quality improves later in the set.Disc 1, the first of two to feature a single concert of Beethoven's 6th and 5th Symphonies, suffers from somewhat tinny sound, crowd noise and poor bass presence.Disc 2 with the Mendelssohn Midsummer Night's Dream Overture, the Beethoven Violin Concerto with Yehudi Menuhin (in a seldom-heard recording dated 28 Sep 1948), and the Bach Orchestral Suite BWV 1068, has similar problems, and details are difficult to hear especially the in quiet sections of the Mendelssohn and Bach. This is more than made up for by the Beethoven, though, as Menuhin absolutely tears up the cadenzas near the end of the first movement. There are amazing parts in which he almost seems more like a folk fiddler on fire than a dignified concert violinist. This is now my favorite of the Menuhin Beethoven concertos I have heard, despite the somewhat weak sound.Disc 3 also has some issues with muddy sound and a lack of definition/responsiveness in the recordings. But from disc 4 and beyond, the quality does seem to improve to what one would expect from a decent quality live recording in the early 1950s -- meaning the sound is still not perfect or modern by any means, but is pretty good.Discs 9 and 12 are particularly noteworthy, as they contain the same recordings featured on discs 1 and 2 of the classic box set  Furtwangler - Legendary Post-War Concerts  on the Tahra label from France -- long considered one of the great Furtwangler releases. I owned the Tahra set and thought it was really outstanding in sound -- it was amazing what Tahra's engineers were able to do with the recordings they had, which were sourced from taped radio broadcasts. Particularly the Beethoven 3rd, featured on disc 1 of the Tahra set, is regarded by some as the best Eroica Furtwangler ever recorded. Disc 2 features another concert of Beethoven's 6th and 5th.Well, the recordings on this Audite set, produced from the master tapes, have finally unseated the Tahra as the best available recordings of these performances. While the sound quality only has a slight edge over the Tahra, it is a real edge nonetheless.The bonus disc of interviews is good, but only if you know German very well.I must agree with another reviewer about one thing -- it's a shame they put that picture of young Furtwangler on the cover. He was much, much older than this when these recordings were made. A postwar picture of the older Furtwangler would have been much more appropriate.All in all, this is a great set and a good bargain. It is a welcome addition to any Furtwangler library. I was particularly pleased to have some of the recordings that go beyond the standard Furtwangler fare and come into the 20th century -- like the Fortner violin concerto and the Hindemith "Harmonie der Welt". These are not the kinds of works Furtwangler was famous for, but it's nice to have something less typical. The set is highly recommended overall.

These live RIAS broadcasts will recommend themselves to admirers of Wilhelm Furtwängler, 1886-1954, but the emotional intensities of the performances of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the quality of the recordings deserve wider hearing. The recordings cover almost exactly seven years, May 25th, 1947 to May 23rd, 1954, and the booklet considers the reasons that the Americans prevented Furtwängler from conducting until mid-1947 and only allowed him officially to take up the conductorship of the orchestra in 1952.The recordings are presented chronologically, all but one from the Titania Palast, and whilst they focus on the Romantic period, they include Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, Gluck’s Overture to Alceste, two of Handel’s Concerti grosso, Op. 6. Perhaps rather surprisingly they also include 20th-century modernist works; Blacher’s Concertante Musik für Orchester, Fortner’s Violin Concerto [here given its premier with Gerhard Taschner, 1922-76, as soloist] and Hindemith’s Concerto for Orchestra and Symphony ‘Die Harmonie der Welt’. Yehudi Menuhin, 1916-99, is the soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, recorded on September 28th, 1947. This was the first post-war live concert at which Menuhin played in Germany with Furtwängler and demonstrated the soloist’s very public support of the conductor at a time when he was the subject of much criticism and attack.Particular features of the set are the two recordings of each of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony [1948 and 1953], Beethoven’s Eroica [from 1950 and 1952], Fifth and Pastoral Symphonies [both in 1947 and 1954] and Brahms’ Third Symphony [1949 and 1954]. The sound is very good, nowhere better than in Siegfried’s Funeral March, 1949.A fascinating element of the conductor’s concerts was his programming, which is discussed in the excellent booklet texts by the wonderfully-named Habakuk Traber and Rüdiger Albrecht, both translated by Viola Scheffel. Thus he included both Beethoven’s Pastoral and Fifth Symphonies in concerts in May 1947 [42’24 and 32’38, respectively] and almost exactly seven years later [44’37 and 34’35], and it is tempting in retrospect, knowing that his death lay barely 6 months ahead, to see a lessening of tension in his approach. He also included works by Handel, Brahms, Hindemith and Beethoven, and frequently contrasted the polar opposites of Wagner and Brahms, in one particularly memorable concert on April 27th, 1954, adding Handel, Blacher and Richard Strauss.The performances of the Bach and Handel sound incongruous to modern ears but, of course, were typical of their day and were not part of the conductor’s core repertoire. As the texts point out, Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner [represented by a monumental Eighth Symphony, from 1949] were central to the conductor’s exploration of western musical culture. The contrast between the control and balance of the overarching architecture of the Bruckner and the wisp-like delicacy of Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream is quite extraordinary, even after listening to both works repeatedly. Similar contrasts can be found between the performances of Schubert’s Rosamunde Overture, and the Unfinished and Great C major Symphonies.There is only one work by Richard Strauss, Don Juan, from 1954, but given the origins of these recordings, their very impressive remasterings by Ludger Böckenhoff, all praise to him, and the availability of other recordings, not least those from the dark days of WWII, it would be churlish to complain. The texts describe other works from these concerts, including Beethoven’s Seventh and Ninth Symphonies, that have disappeared. Furtwängler considered himself to be a composer-conductor and it is also a pity that none of his works are included. However, given his general musical conservatism, it is fascinating to hear his performances of the 20th-century works.The individual CDs range in timing between 50’14 and 79’56, with only three being shorter than 73’, a further indication of the excellent value for money. The thirteen CDs include one in which the conductor discusses in German the art of interpretation with the composer and composer Werner Egk, 1901-83, and his students during a 1951 colloquium. No English summary or commentary is provided, however. These RIAS recordings are documents of exceptional historical value.