The new CDs featured by our friends at the Wilhelm Furtwängler Centre of Japan include the Finale of Brahms’s First Symphony, with the date of 15 December 1940, rather than January 1945, which has always been indicated on various releases since the 1980s. By the way, the SWF, like the Berliner for their complete recording series, had gone along with what was advertised at the time: this Finale was supposed to be from the 23 January 1945 concert at the Admiralspalast.

Was this date so certain? In fact, as there was no documentation, it was deduced logically:
– it is a tape;
– the tape was introduced at the very beginning of 1942;
– the only concert featuring Brahms’s First Symphony from that point onwards is the one in January 1945. ;
In conclusion, the tape is from that concert!

Except that… German radio had begun testing the tape recorder much earlier. In particular, it recorded this Finale during the concert on 15 December 1940. AEG, the promoter of the tape recorder, used it for a demonstration at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo cinema, which had the best sound equipment in Berlin, on 10 June 1941. This is evidenced by the beginning of an article published by Radio-Amateur magazine shortly afterwards.

Our Japanese friends are therefore simply confirming what is now accepted fact, and what was highlighted by Philippe Jacquard six years ago: this is the very first tape recording of Furtwängler, and the oldest recording of his interpretation of Brahms’s First Symphony!

Instead of an article, just a simple photo.

But so evocative.

Furtwängler and the Berliners, Essen, Saalbau, 22 April 1933

Once and for all: Furtwängler showed an interest in the music of his time, particularly that of young composers. He recognised the talent of Austrian composer Theodor Berger (born in 1905) at a very early stage.

This is how he came to premiere and perform one of his most frequently played pieces, Rondino giocoso. Here is the PDF file of the Berlin Philharmonic concert programme for 15–17 December 1940, which features the Berlin premiere of this work.

The Wilhelm Furtwängler Centre of Japan is releasing a 3-CD set based on Brahms’s Symphony No. 1.

– from the Salzburg and Lucerne concerts of 1947,
– the Finale, recorded in 1940 (and not in January 1945 as is often stated)
– To this must be added an excerpt from the Violin Concerto (Salzburg, 1947) and, by Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 (Aeshbacher) and Leonore III (Lucerne, 1947).

The boxed set is priced at €37, excluding shipping costs (included for shipping within Japan). For high-definition files, an additional €11.40 will be charged.

What makes Furtwängler’s vision and understanding of Beethoven’s symphonies so unified? The conductor presented brilliant but also problematic interpretations, in a vision that continues to challenge us today.

After an earlier podcast about Brahms (available here), Guilhem Chameyrat addresses some of these questions… in a completely subjective manner, of course, based on selected excerpts.

Watch it here.