Furtwängler

[Ferretfancy]

Do you mean this one, Ferret?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bartok-Strin.../dp/B00000DOIE

Yes that's the one I have, but the same recording has now been re-issued, I'm sorry not to have the details to hand.

The Bartok is magnificent as well.

[gradus]

Greater, lesser, both conductors made great recordings and personal taste is the only arbiter imv
Mine veers towards Furtwangler whose Brahms and Beethoven I much prefer to Hvk's recordings and his live performances that I have heard. With Wagner, I think the honours are shared.

[Radames]

It's nice to read about Furtwaengler - what a unique musician he was, musicianship at its highest and most "cultured", and yet so natural and compelling in its musical logic. Musically, his successor is Celibidache more than anyone, certainly not HvK.

With regards to stereo/mono recordings I share completely what was said before. Maybe the forum has a view on this: are the Alfred Kunz recordings (e.g., Freischutz from July 1954) actually in stereo or - what seems to be suggested in online documentation - more likely mono with (possibly) added reverberation? It's not quite clear from listening - the sound is a lot more spatial than the "usual" mono and has what seems like a broader frequency spectrum, so if anything the mic's were placed rather close together but I don't know. It's a little difficult to find reliable information on those.

Thanks!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Oh gosh, there you see, there's another one I don't know and will just have to get hold of! Hope it's not in some 30 CD box though.

107 CDs actually.

[silvestrione]

107 CDs actually.

Hmm....might leave that one for the time being, then!

[aeolium]

I recently came across this documentary about Furtwängler directed by his nephew:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2D_vGdwsUo

Perhaps this has been linked to before on this forum but I don't recall seeing it, particularly the episodes relating to his early life. Some of the footage has appeared in other documentary films, including Das Reichsorchester, and the sound quality is sadly pretty poor in some of the musical extracts but I found it interesting. The extract of Bach Brandenburg 5 with Furtwängler playing the piano is extraordinary imv. It should be remembered that this documentary dates I think from around 1968 so not much more than a decade after WF's death.

[slarty]

The documentary was made by Bavarian Radio in German and shown there in 1968.
The English version was broadcast by the BBC in 1971.
Thankfully all of the filmed extracts are preserved in better condition and some are complete (Till 1951, Meistersinger Ov. 1942 and the overture to Don Giovanni, Salzburg 1954). The extract from the 5th Brandenburg Concerto is taken from the concert of 30th August 1950 from the Salzburg Festival - VPO Brandenburgs 3&5 and the Eroica symphony. This concert has been published by Orfeo in the "Furtwängler Salzburger Orchesterkonzerte 1949 - 1954 - ORFEO C409048L.
The German version of the BR Documentary has been published in Japan by Dreamlife " Portrait Wilhelm Furtwängler" .It is considerably longer than the BBC version - 102 minutes. It includes longer newsreel footage of the 1948 Brahms 4th rehearsal from the Empress Hall in London and longer rehearsal footage of the Schubert Unfinished.
The complete Till Eulenspiegel was recorded in Berlin 1951 for the "Botschafter der Musik" Film.
The Don Giovanni Overture is taken from the film of the complete opera by Paul Czinner and is available on a Deutsche Grammophon DVD (in colour)