CD Review: The Grand Master's Wagner

The conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, in action.

The last decade has seen a slew of bargain-box reissues of Wagner's Ring Cycle. The latest of these, issued by EMI on May 17th in North America to (hopefully) coincide with the composer's 198th birthday, is Wilhelm Furtwängler's second recording of the four operas, made for Italian radio in 1953.

Furtwängler is celebrating his 125th birthday this year. One of the most controversial, and important Wagner interpreters of the 20th century, he was a born Romantic. Specializing in Wagner, Bruckner and Beethoven, he conducted with an organic feel, letting tempos fluctuate in order to mine greater meanings and depths of expression. On these discs, new and exciting details of the score come forth. As expected, the orchestra stretches and flexes under his baton, taking the music in fascinating new directions.

Examples of this idiosyncratic approach include an ultra-slow version of the charging Act III prelude from Siegfried, the rapid Rhine Journey, and the devastating heaviness brought out in Hagen's Watch.. This is always one of the most difficult parts of Götterdämmerung, and the maestro does the right thing: speeding up with anticipation as the scene changes back to Brunnhilde's rock, and then pausing, seeming to stop breathing as the next scene starts.

Big climactic moments, like the Entrance of the Gods, the Magic Fire scene and of course, the Immolation are heard with a new freshness that makes this set hold up on repeated listens. The orchestra plays beyond their abilities, as the maestro makes his Italian band sound like Bayreuth's finest. And yes, it's in mono sound, but the voices sound fresh and immediate, with details leaping out of the orchestra. There is an audience--they applaud enthusiastically at the end of each act--but they make minimal noise otherwise.

The singing is very good. Ludwig Suthaus recorded Tristan with Furtwängler in 1952, and that experience pays off in his Siegfried. Wolfgang Windgassen sings Siegmund here, a rarity for the tenor who preferred the role of Siegfried. (He also sings Loge in Das Rheingold.) Soprano Martha Mödl was recorded here at the height of her powers. brings all of her resources to Brünnhilde, creating a compelling portrait over three operas.

These discs also preserve Ferdinand Frantz' memorable portrayal as Wotan, the deal-breaking god of Das Rheingold, the tormented father in Die Walküre and the sad and lonely Wanderer of Siegfried. This is a towering performance. Gottlob Frick is a brutish Hunding. Josef Griendl a memorable, venomous Hagen. And in Siegfried, tenor Julius Patzak shows that the role of Mime can be sung, not screeched.

Wagner lovers and Furtwängler aficionados probably own this set already. But if you've only heard of the conductor, or only heard whispers of his legendary podium prowess, this is worth checking out. Sure, the packaging is ugly and somewhat unimaginative. There's no libretto included. But for top-notch Wagner at about $4 per disc, the price is certainly right.

Furtwängler: The Composer

Wilhelm Furtwängler. Photo  from the archives of the Berlin Philharmonic
 © Wilhelm-Furtwängler-Gesellschaft.

The conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954) remains a controversial figure today. He was widely criticized for remaining in Hitler's Germany up until 1944. (He left for Switzerland, hours before he was nearly arrested.) However, the maestro never joined the Nazi party, and made successful efforts to rescue Jewish musicians and composers and get them out of Germany.

The years following the fall of Hitler marked the rise of the recording industry, and Furtwängler (following de-Nazification hearings in 1946) became one of its first stars. But he always considered himself a composer first, and a conductor second. His best-known work is the Symphony No. 2 in E Minor. Written during his years in Switzerland, is an enormous four-movement work. Epic in size and scope, it is a cousin to the Bruckner Eighth, but with a distinct voice of its own.

The Second Symphony proves Furtwängler to be a talented, if conservative composer. He eschews the serial techniques of the 20th century, using an old-fashioned structure to work out his musical ideas at length. Not surprisingly, the Second dropped into obscurity after its 1947 premiere. However, in 2002, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra applied itself to performing and recording the work, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim.

Here's the Furtwängler Second, movement by movement.

First Movement: Assai moderato
A stately opening in the bassoons yields to horns, then a slow figure in the strings. The instruments play a soft canon, joined by the English horn. Then, the main theme, building and swelling as clarinets and trumpets add color. The brass surges forth over a river of strings. Quotes from Wagner are audible. The work rises to a climax three times, stops, and surges again.

Second movement: Andante semplice
A questing theme in the clarinets gets handed over to the low strings. This is a slow, surging, pastorale, with bird-twitters in the flutes and gentle rolls of timpani.

Third Movement: Scherzo, un poco Moderato
The third is a meaty Scherzo, with chorales of Bach-like complexity unfolding in the woodwinds and horns over chugging, propulsive strings. The trio section features a slower tempo and extraordinarily detailed dialogue between the woodwinds.

Fourth Movement: Langsam, Allmählich vorwärts/Allegro molto
This one of the longest symphonic movements not written by Gustav Mahler, clocking in on this recording at 30'13". It takes the form of a long climb to a musical summit. The finale opens with a descending figure and a soft hunting call in the horns that will eventually transform into the noble main theme of the finale.

The strings mourn, playing tremolos and shimmering figures. These alternate with the slow hunting calls, providing the entire movement with steady, relentless momentum. Finally, the summit, and a majestic brass coda in the final minute, followed by moretremolos and three loud chords to bring this massive symphony to a close.