Out on 14 March: The Brahms concert of 12 December 1943

Brahms: Haydn Variations – Piano Concerto No. 2 – Symphony No. 4
Adrian Aeschbacher, piano – Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
High-definition remastering – Price: €15

The all-Brahms concert on 12 December 1943 was one of the most memorable. One might even say that it is the very quintessence of Furtwängler’s art in interpreting Brahms. As such, it contrasts with another ‘all-Brahms’ performance, that of January 1952 in Vienna. While the latter is bathed in light, with a certain comfort, if not bourgeois, perhaps somewhat ‘posh’, the other is all chiaroscuro, drawn in sepia washes, and shakes up tempi and transitions. It matches the Beethoven and Bruckner of those dark years, and the composer from Hamburg is perfectly at home in these winter colours.

Christophe Hénault preserved this spirit, and we have therefore limited the degree of editing we could have done on the source. Of course, the pitch has been unified (the concerto sounded at 451 Hz!). That said, there are still some flaws, notably the ‘hum’ of the tape in the 3rd and 4th movements of the symphony.

Guilhem Chameyrat has written a particularly insightful text, and the booklet is illustrated in an original style. He has also produced a podcast, visible from 7 March.

To get you in the mood: here above is the programme (thanks to Helge Grünewald), and an extract (mp3) from the Andante moderato of the Symphony.

In this period of winter holidays, let’s make a short visit to Saint-Moritz, in Switzerland, home to Furtwängler’s house, ‘Acla Siva’. He spent part of his holidays there, in summer and winter alike.

This is a very special facsimile of a programme that we are featuring here: the concerts given by the Berliner Philharmoniker and Furtwängler on 19, 20 and 21 November 1939.

It featured one of the rare appearances of the great baritone Hans Hotter with Furtwängler, but above all it announced the premiere of Hans Pfitzner’s Kleine Sinfonie op. 44. A Pfitzner in the spotlight, as the symphony was accompanied by two arias sung by Hotter.

And there was nothing obvious about this programme. Despite what one might think of the person, Pfitzner was far from being among the favourites of the regime in power. Furtwängler had to intervene more than once to ensure that the old man was regarded with respect.

There are several Wilhelm Furtwängler discographies, more or less recent, more or less accessible, more or less relevant.

The small study here attached provides a fairly comprehensive inventory of what exists.