Album

It doesn't really matter if you have already heard one or a dozen recordings of the works included in this set. It doesn't really matter if you have already heard one or 100 recordings by Wilhelm Furtwängler. It doesn't even really matter if you have already heard enough antediluvian recordings in antique sound to know you really don't like them. The only thing that really matters is that this set includes recordings by Wilhelm Furtwängler, the greatest conductor of the twentieth century and after that everything else, as Rabbi Hillel said, is commentary.

Is there a more profoundly spiritual recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 than Furtwängler's with the Berlin Philharmonic from 1944? Is there a more deeply moving recording of Strauss' Metamorphosen than Furtwängler's with the Berlin Philharmonic from 1947? Is there a more sublimely blissful recording of Bach's Orchestral Suite in D major than Furtwängler's with the Berlin Philharmonic from 1948? Is there a more transcendentally hilarious recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 than Furtwängler's with the Berlin Philharmonic from 1953? Is there a more luminously lovely recording of Schumann's "Spring" Symphony than Furtwängler's with the Vienna Philharmonic from 1951? Is there a more majestically lyrical recording of Mozart's Symphony No. 39 than Furtwängler's with the Berlin Philharmonic from 1942-1943? Is there a more radiantly autumnal Brahms' Symphony No. 3 than Furtwängler's with the Berlin Philharmonic from 1954? No, of course not. This is as good as it gets.

Deutsche Grammophon's remastered sound is likely as good as it will ever get considering the age and the origins of these recordings. It doesn't really matter: everyone with a heart and soul should hear them.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 6
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Orchestral Suite No.3 in D, BWV1068 (includes 'Air on the G String') Work Recorded 1948 20:32 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
1	1.Overture	8:38			$1.49
2	2.Air ('On the G String')	4:34			$0.99
3	3.Gavotte 1 and 2	3:08			$0.99
4	4.Bourrée 1 and 2	1:35			$0.49
5	5.Gigue	2:37			$0.99
Christoph Willibald von Gluck Composer Alceste, Wq.44 (opera in 3 acts, French version)...Act 1 Work Recorded 1951 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
6	1.Overture	8:52			$1.49
Franz Peter Schubert Composer Rosamunde, Fürstin von Cypern, D.797, Op.26 (incidental music) Work Recorded 1953 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
7	1.Overture ('Die Zauberharfe Overture')	10:50			$1.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Symphony No.39 in Eb, K.543 Work Recorded 1942-1943 25:58 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
8	1.Adagio. Allegro	9:13			$1.49
9	2.Andante con moto	8:38			$1.49
10	3.Menuetto: Allegretto	4:08			$0.99
11	4.Finale: Allegro	3:59			$0.99
CD 2 of 6
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Egmont (incidental music, after Goethe's play), Op.84 Work Recorded 1947 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
1	1.Overture: Sostenuto, ma non troppo. Allegro	8:56			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Leonora Overture No.2, Op.72a Work Recorded 1949 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
2	Leonora Overture No.2, Op.72a	15:23			$2.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Symphony No.8 in F, Op.93 Work Recorded 1953 26:07 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
3	1.Allegro vivace e con brio	8:05			$1.49
4	2.Allegretto scherzando	4:34			$0.99
5	3.Tempo di menuetto	5:38			$0.99
6	4.Allegro vivace	7:50			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Grosse Fuge for String Quartet in Bb, Op.133 Work Recorded 1952 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
7	Grosse Fuge for String Quartet in Bb, Op.133	19:09			$3.49
Carl Maria von Weber Composer Euryanthe, Op.81 (opera) Work Recorded 1954 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
8	Overture	9:00			$1.49
CD 3 of 6
Robert Alexander Schumann Composer Symphony No.1 in Bb, Op.38 ('Spring') Work Recorded 1951 33:43 Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
1	1.Andante un poco maestoso. Allegro molto vivace	10:57			$1.99
2	2.Larghetto	6:39			$0.99
3	3.Scherzo: Molto vivace. Trio 1: Molto piu vivace. Trio 2	6:21			$0.99
4	4.Finale: Allegro animato e grazioso	9:46			$1.49
Johannes Brahms Composer Symphony No.3 in F, Op.90 Work Recorded 1954 36:50 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
5	1.Allegro con brio	10:42			$1.99
6	2.Andante	9:51			$1.49
7	3.Poco allegretto	6:38			$0.99
8	4.Finale: Allegro	9:39			$1.49
CD 4 of 6
Anton Bruckner Composer Symphony No.9 in D-, WAB109 ('Unfinished') Work Recorded 1944 58:53 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
1	1.Feierlich, misterioso	23:41			$3.99
2	2.Scherzo: Bewegt, lebhaft	9:35			$1.49
3	3.Adagio: Langsam, feierlich	25:37			$3.99
CD 5 of 6
Richard Strauss Composer Metamorphosen, for 23 solo strings, Op.142, TrV290 Work Recorded 1947 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
1	Metamorphosen, for 23 solo strings, Op.142, TrV290	22:55			$3.99
Johannes Brahms Composer Symphony No.1 in C-, Op.68 Work Recorded 1952 47:54 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
2	1.Un poco sostenuto. Allegro	14:43			$2.49
3	2.Andante sostenuto	10:41			$1.99
4	3.Un poco allegretto e grazioso	5:22			$0.99
5	4.Adagio. Piu andante. Allegro non troppo, ma con brio	17:08			$2.99
CD 6 of 6
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Wilhelm Furtwänlger On the nature of the symphonic, tempo and the General Pause Work Recorded 1950-1951 Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
1	Wilhelm Furtwänlger On the nature of the symphonic, tempo and the General Pause	7:16			$1.49
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about acoustics in large and small halls Work Recorded 1950-1951 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
2	Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about acoustics in large and small halls	4:59			$0.99
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about scoring, instrumental technique, expression, melody and legato Work Recorded 1950-1951 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
3	Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about scoring, instrumental technique, expression, melody and legato	10:19			$1.99
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about questions of style, performance markings, alternative versions Work Recorded 1950-1951 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
4	Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about questions of style, performance markings, alternative versions	4:43			$0.99
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about a conductor's problems, concert audiences, Bruckner's music, accompanying, singers Work Recorded 1950-1951 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
5	Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about a conductor's problems, concert audiences, Bruckner's music, accompanying, singers	5:54			$0.99
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about music in opera Work Recorded 1950-1951 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
6	Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about music in opera	6:04			$0.99
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about Verdi's Otello Work Recorded 1950-1951 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
7	Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about Verdi's Otello	2:10			$0.99
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about Weber's Der Freischütz Work Recorded 1954 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler Conductor
8	Wilhelm Furtwänlger talks about Weber's Der Freischütz	2:49			$0.99