Wilhelm Furtwängler
Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...
's Symphony No. 3 in C-sharp minor was written between 1951 and 1954. It is in four movements:
# Largo
# Allegro
# Adagio
# Allegro assai
At first, the four movements had programmatic headings: "Disaster," "Under compulsion to life," "Beyond" and "The conflict continues." At the time of his death, Furtwängler was still working on the last movement. In 1956, Joseph Keilberth conducted the
Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922â ...
in the première of the first three movements. Elisabeth Furtwängler did not allow the Finale to be performed until much later (a piece more complete than, say, the Finale of Bruckner's
Symphony No. 9
Symphony No. 9 most commonly refers to:
* Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) in D minor (Op. 125, ''Choral'') by Ludwig van Beethoven, 1822–24
* Symphony No. 9 (Dvořák) in E minor (Op. 95, B. 178, ''From the New World'') by AntonÃn Dvořák, 1893
...
).
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...
conducted the public premiere of the whole piece in 1986, four years after a transmitted BBC studio performance with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Brian Wright.
[Lionel Salter's translation identifies this as January 25, 1956, "the centennial of Furtwängler's birth," but that's actually two years after his death. The German original says January 25, 1986, "Furtwänglers 100. Geburstag."]
Discography
To complement Furtwängler's own recording of his
Symphony No. 2 with the
Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922â ...
, the Orfeo label recorded
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist.
Biography
Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...
for this one with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Sawallisch's recording does not include the Finale, but
Alfred Walter Alfred Walter (May 8, 1929 – March 7, 2004) was a Bohemian-Austrian conductor.
He was born in Southern Bohemia to Austrian parents, and studied at the University of Graz. He was appointed as assistant conductor to the Opera of Ravensburg in 1 ...
's and
George Alexander Albrecht
George Alexander Albrecht (15 February 1935 – 21 December 2021) was a German conductor and composer, who also worked as a musicologist and academic teacher. A prolific composer at a young age, he was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Staatsope ...
's do (conducting the RTBF Symphony Orchestra on Marco Polo and the
Staatskapelle Weimar
The (DNT), or German National Theater and Weimar State Orchestra, is the most significant arts organization in Weimar. The institution unites the (German National Theater) with the (Weimar State Orchestra). It plays on a total of six stages ...
on Arte Nova, respectively).
References
* See als
Discography and Comments @ Furtwangler.fr
Symphonies by Wilhelm Furtwängler
Compositions in C-sharp minor
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