On 28 November: SWF D21

We have compiled the three recordings made by Furtwängler for Telefunken, conducting the Berlin Philharmonic.

– Beethoven: Cavatina, from Quartet Op. 130 [15 October 1940]
– Bruckner: the Adagio from Symphony No. 7 [1 April 1942, not 7 April]
– Gluck: Overture to Alceste [28 October 1942, not 29 October]

The high-definition files were created from copies of 78 rpm records in exceptional condition belonging to Jean Testas, one of the founders of the SWF and owner of one of the most fabulous collections of old wax recordings.

Without overlooking the string orchestra version of the slow movement of Beethoven’s Quartet Op. 130, a monument of interiority, or the grandiloquent reading of Gluck’s Overture, this edition finds its highlight in the sumptuous interpretation of the Adagio from Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony.

High definition means you can hear the full range of the melodic curves, without losing any of the dynamic layers that are so important in Bruckner’s music.

The new product will be sold at the exceptional price of €6.

Here is an excerpt (mp3) from the Adagio.

Where is the safest place to study a score in depth? Especially if that score is Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony. The photo below gives you the answer: comfortably seated on a public bench on a Berlin street.

Furtwängler was about to conduct the piece on 13, 14 and 15 March 1949. He recorded it twice, at the Gemeindehaus — the BPO’s rehearsal hall — on the 14th, then on the 15th, during a concert at the Titania Palast.

Here is the facsimilé of the programme.

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.

We have recently expanded our catalogue of streaming files, notably by adding the 33 rpm records of our friends at the Wilhelm Furtwängler Gesellschaft in Berlin.

– Beethoven : Concerto for violin (Menuhin/BPO/30 Sept. 1947)
– Mendelssohn : Ein Sommernachtstraum Overture (BPO/30 Sept. 1947
– Beethoven : Coriolan Overture (BPO/1943)
– Schubert : Symphony No. 9 (BPO 1942)
– Ravel : Daphnis et Chloé (2nd suite/BPO/1944)

Ute Neumerkel, who has produced several fascinating videos about Furtwängler (on YouTube), has recorded a work by our favourite musician herself..

This is a waltz for piano, catalogue number WF16, composed by the eight-year-old musician. It’s cute, pleasant, rather well written… but hardly a harbinger of the future composer of the Klavierquintett or the Symphonic Concerto.

To remind us that Furtwängler was also eight years old once…

Click on the young pianist below.

Young Wilhelm at the piano (c. 1895)

Available in the online shop

The album SWF D20 Furtwängler in Paris, is now available, featuring high-definition recordings of the entire concert performed on 4 May 1954, as preserved by the INA, including announcements and applause.

An exceptional concert.
— A particularly lively overture to Euryanthe, a welcome alternative to the official recording with the VPO.
— Brahms’s Haydn Variations, with exemplary staging that clearly identifies the mood of each variation.
— A lyrical Unfinished by Schubert, with soloists (flute, oboe, horn, etc.) seldom featured so prominently.
— A monumental, grandiose Beethoven’s Fifth, but one that nonetheless features some purely poetic moments.

The applause that followed this performance seemed to go on forever…

In addition to this concert: the Entretiens sur des entretiens (“Interviews about interviews”). These are not the only interviews with Furtwängler, but rarely has he explored certain topics in such depth, with the excellent assistance of Fred Goldbeck. We’re not talking about vague compliments here; what he says about interpretation or contemporary music prompts reflection. All of these interviews are translated into English in the digital booklet.

In comparison with other live recordings of the time, the RTF recording is truly astonishing. To find out more, listen to the podcast dedicated to this product.

A few words about the Entretiens sur des entretiens included in the upcoming SWF D20. We previously included them on the 1993 CD, then on the SACD. Here they are again, with two notable differences. The second interview is followed by a large excerpt from the first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, while the third is preceded by a foreword, , both of which are absent from previous publications, and — more curiously — the original tapes held by the Institut national de l’audiovisuel, as referenced therein.

We summarise the situation in this short study (pdf file, French version and English version).

SWF D20 – Release date: 12 September 2025

For the third time, SWF is releasing the full concert given by Furtwängler and his Berliner orchestra in Paris on 4 May 1954.

– Weber : Euryanthe Overture
– Brahms : Haydn Variations
– Schubert : ‘Unfinished’ Symphony
– Beethoven : Symphony No. 5

It was first released on CD (1994) and then on SACD (2015), although the latter could only fully satisfy those who owned the appropriate equipment. Now it is available to all our members for download in high-definition files. For each release, the recording was sourced from the archives of the Institut national de l’audiovisuel, which carried out a new digitisation process just for the SWF.

As we know, from a technical point of view, this is one of Furtwängler’s most perfect live recordings. The main task for Christophe Hénault, who carried out the mastering, was to bring the source back to the correct pitch (440 Hz instead of 450!). Otherwise, the tape is exceptional in terms of dynamics, sound spectrum and timbre. It is also exempt from many of the flaws found on German or Italian tapes from that period: wow and flutter, tape skips, electrical noise, etc.

This is a Berlin orchestra at its best, performing works that were often played and recorded—except for Euryanthe’s overture, which was recorded only once—but with a symphonic rendition and virtuosity rarely achieved. Furtwängler knew that Parisian audiences were demanding in terms of performance, and the loud applause at the end suggests that the listeners’ expectations were fully met.

As with previous issues, this edition includes ‘Entretiens sur des entretiens’ (Conversations about Conversations), a series of three radio conversations in French between Furtwängler and Fred Goldbeck, which were broadcast to coincide with the publication of the book Entretiens sur la musique in Spring 1953, a translation of Gespräche über Musik. However, this time, we have made sure to accommodate our English-speaking members, and these interviews have been transcribed in English in the digital booklet. Finally, the INA has provided us with a previously unheard recording of a prelude to the third interview, recorded eight years later. We couldn’t leave it out… The next article will provide more information about these Entretiens.

The concert is available in 192-24 (HD) and 44-16 (CD quality). The Entretiens are in 44-16. The product includes an illustrated digital booklet.

Published on 12 September, priced at €18.

Two excerpts in mp3: Haydn Variations  & Conversation No. 2