# Kurtwängler As A Composer



## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Wilhelm Furtwängler is, of course, fairly famous for his baton work, especially with Beethoven and Bruckner. However, he also composed as well, and actually considered himself to be more of a composer than a conductor... his works, though, were rarely preformed except by WF himself. So imagine my surprise when I came across, in my local library, a 2-CD set featuring WF's second symphony conducted by none other than Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago SO. And, even more to my surprise, it was pretty darn good music, even considering that its 81:00 length is a little to long for the material.

Now, here's the question: what do the members of TC think of WF as a composer? I'd love to hear some opinions.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Haven't had an opportunity to hear any Furtwängler compositions. I think it would be fair to say that, _when he was young_, he considered himself more of a composer than a conductor. I remember that he had some correspondence that stated that he would be bitterly disappointed if he were not a success as a composer. Well (presumably) that missive, too, dates from his youth, and perhaps he got some relief by forging a conducting career of international repute.

The world of conducting has seen some unorthodox techniques, but, among the great ones, there were few (if any) more unorthodox than Furtwängler. A quote frequently associated with him goes something like "my [conducting] rivals didn't consider me a threat... and by the time they recognized I was a threat, it was too late."

I realize that this has strayed from the topic matter of Wilhelm Furtwängler the composer. His reputation in Bruckner and Wagner (he has a _Tristan und Isolde_ that, in spite of the mono sound, many consider the best of its kind among recorded versions although I don't particularly care for either of his "Ring" cycles) makes it not surprising that he favored large-scale constructs, as a composer.

It's also not surprising that Barenboim, who cites Furtwängler as a pivotal influence on his conducting, has attempted the advocacy project.


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## Gustav (Aug 29, 2005)

wait, i am so confused here, who is Wilhelm Kurtwängler? How is he related to Wilhelm Furtwängler?


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## Artemis (Dec 8, 2007)

Gustav said:


> wait, i am so confused here, who is Wilhelm Kurtwängler? How is he related to Wilhelm Furtwängler?


This is clearly an unusual spelling of Furtwängler.


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## Gustav (Aug 29, 2005)

Artemis said:


> This is clearly an unusual spelling of Furtwängler.


really? and people used that interchangeably? well, I learn something new everyday

To be a little more relevant here, I have heard of his 2nd symphony(not conducted by Barenboim unfortunately). Very much going backwards to the style of late romanticism. Very much in the same tradition of Brahms, and later Franz Schmidt and Wetz. Furtwangler has a knack for thematic developments, and an emphasis on dramatic aspects, with flowing melodies. It is not difficult at all to sit through a Furtwangler symphony (despite its length). The fact that he uses Italian tempo markings shows his more "classical" focus. You wouldn't describe his sound as "new" "bold" or "revolutionary", instead you would use words like "beautiful", "melodic", and "romantic".

Unfortunately, I find his symphonies in general to be quite boring. He says alot with his works, but nothing that hasn't been done before. There is nothing new in these symphonies, and as melodic as they are, they are only second rate, and not really worthy of investing too much time in.


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Artemis said:


> This is clearly an unusual spelling of Furtwängler.


Clearly, I was unusually tired and unfocused when I made this post 

Chi, that's an interesting quote you bring up... and I've heard parts of that mono _Tristan_ and it is pretty fantastic. Considering his love of Beethoven and Bruckner, the length isn't quite surprising either.

Gustav, thank you for your pithy comment on my spelling (it's trouble when your "K" key starts to look like an "F" ) As far as WF's unoriginality as a composer, I think that that would be fine if he didn't extend it to 81 minutes. The length, I think, makes one think that it is just a Bruckner re-hash (his themes could stand up very well in a shorter setting). But as you said, there are some very pretty sections in the 2nd.


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