Furtwangler Ninth
In observance of the end of Rod's recent excellent series of mp3 postings, I submitted an idea last week, which Peter welcomed, of having members post their favorite tracks on the public site which Rod discovered, for listening and hopefully comments by other members. As promised, here is my own first submission.
This is a wartime performance of Beethoven's Ninth by Wilhelm Furtwangler leading the Berlin Philharmonic. Please follow instructions on the site for downloading, including waiting several seconds before the file becomes available.
http://www.mysharefile.com/v/4540040..._1942.mp3.html
Furtwangler was the pre-eminent German conductor of his day. He technically cooperated with the Nazis, but not in an enthusiastic way like conductor Herbert Karajan, who donned a Nazi uniform, or in an indifferent way like composer/conductor Richard Strauss, who thought of nothing but his career. Furtwangler's tolerance of the Nazi regime was by all accounts tortured. He felt himself the exemplar of German tradition in music and regarded the Nazi regime as a temporary stain on his country's greatness. He refused to perform the Nazi salute even when Hitler was in the audience, refused to fire Jewish musicians, refused to join the Party or to play in halls where the Nazi flag was displayed. He got away with these things because Hitler appreciated his greatness as a conductor and because the Nazis needed his reputation to burnish theirs. Nonetheless, he did tolerate the regime, did not protest the brutal treatment of Jews in general, stayed in Germany when he could have emigrated, and held high posts.
In any case, this 1942 performance of the Ninth at a public concert where Hitler and the regime were in full attendance, is famous for its supposed expression of Furtwangler's tormented feelings, including anger toward the Nazis, thru the medium of Beethoven's music. Be that as it may, whether one believes that or not, the performance does strike me as very impassioned, the most powerful Ninth I have ever heard, especially the first movement, which has always been my favorite movement of this symphony. I have never heard the strong rhythms of this movement, played by the bass sections of the orchestra and the kettledrums, expressed as forcefully, and, yes, as tragically. In spite of the passion, the technical control of the orchestra, so difficult with this score, and the resulting forward surge of the music is never lost, even during the few expressive retards. To my ears, this interpretation is much more meaningful than the 'authentic' track which Rod recently posted, which I found technically good, but more mechanical and much less communicative of the very strong emotion which Beethoven put into the composition.
[This message has been edited by Chaszz (edited 06-14-2006).]
This is a wartime performance of Beethoven's Ninth by Wilhelm Furtwangler leading the Berlin Philharmonic. Please follow instructions on the site for downloading, including waiting several seconds before the file becomes available.
http://www.mysharefile.com/v/4540040..._1942.mp3.html
Furtwangler was the pre-eminent German conductor of his day. He technically cooperated with the Nazis, but not in an enthusiastic way like conductor Herbert Karajan, who donned a Nazi uniform, or in an indifferent way like composer/conductor Richard Strauss, who thought of nothing but his career. Furtwangler's tolerance of the Nazi regime was by all accounts tortured. He felt himself the exemplar of German tradition in music and regarded the Nazi regime as a temporary stain on his country's greatness. He refused to perform the Nazi salute even when Hitler was in the audience, refused to fire Jewish musicians, refused to join the Party or to play in halls where the Nazi flag was displayed. He got away with these things because Hitler appreciated his greatness as a conductor and because the Nazis needed his reputation to burnish theirs. Nonetheless, he did tolerate the regime, did not protest the brutal treatment of Jews in general, stayed in Germany when he could have emigrated, and held high posts.
In any case, this 1942 performance of the Ninth at a public concert where Hitler and the regime were in full attendance, is famous for its supposed expression of Furtwangler's tormented feelings, including anger toward the Nazis, thru the medium of Beethoven's music. Be that as it may, whether one believes that or not, the performance does strike me as very impassioned, the most powerful Ninth I have ever heard, especially the first movement, which has always been my favorite movement of this symphony. I have never heard the strong rhythms of this movement, played by the bass sections of the orchestra and the kettledrums, expressed as forcefully, and, yes, as tragically. In spite of the passion, the technical control of the orchestra, so difficult with this score, and the resulting forward surge of the music is never lost, even during the few expressive retards. To my ears, this interpretation is much more meaningful than the 'authentic' track which Rod recently posted, which I found technically good, but more mechanical and much less communicative of the very strong emotion which Beethoven put into the composition.
[This message has been edited by Chaszz (edited 06-14-2006).]
.
Comment