# Is Furtwangler shunned at Barnes and Noble?



## Shane (Dec 21, 2006)

Has anyone else attempted to find Furtwangler recordings at their local Barnes and Noble store?
Normally I don't shop there due to the high prices, but they do have a very good selection. I had a Christmas exchange to make, so I thought I would get something from their spectacular Classical department. To my surprise, after scowering their entire inventory, I was only able to find 1 Furtwangler recording (Beethoven's 1 & 3 on EMI Historical). I found this extremely odd considering the great selection they carry, in addition to the fact that they have extensive sections for every other known conductor, including many conductors far less significant than Furtwangler. Also, in the section with the conductors, there was not even an empty card for him. It was simply as if he did not exist. The same was found when I combed through the composer's section. None of the landmark Furtwangler recordings were to be found.
I have heard stories of some "old-time" shops not stocking Furtwangler due to his controversial war-time career, but I would be shocked if this was also carried out in current times by a huge company such as B & N, which prides itself on their Classical department. Especially when they stock plenty of other wartime conductors such as von Karajan, Bohm, etc.
Perhaps this was just a fluke, and they recently had a run on Furtwangler at this location. But that seems very unlikely since their stock was fine on everyone else. I'm just wondering if anyone else has noticed this at their local B & N?


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## Topaz (Oct 25, 2006)

We don't have Barnes & Noble in the UK (at least I've never seen it).

If you are stuck, here is a download site that has a decent selection of Beethovon. I use it a lot. I like the generally high quality of their products (no rubbish).

The following shows Furtwangler - on an EMI Classics 3 CD set - conducting Beethoven and Brahms. A total of 3 hrs 39 mins including Beethoven Symphonies 1-4. It looks very good value.

http://www.tescodownloads.com/servl...ate=./lm/viewlm.htm&lmtype=ALBUM&lmid=2765660

If you are interested, I'll give you some tips downloading from this site if you wish. To explore other products, insert "Beethoven" in the search box and make sure you click on "album" next to it on the right, otherwise it will come up with lots of individual tracks There's quite a few albums.

Topaz


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## Shane (Dec 21, 2006)

Topaz said:


> We don't have Barnes & Noble in the UK (at least I've never seen it).
> 
> If you are stuck, here is a download site that has a decent selection of Beethovon. I use it a lot. I like the generally high quality of their products (no rubbish).
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tip. I will have a look at that site.
But I do prefer to buy the original printed CDs when I can. I do have plenty of other options for buying Furtwangler recordings as well. My main interest is whether or not B &N specifically avoid his recordings. I just found the lack of releases to be peculiar.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I have heard stories of some "old-time" shops not stocking Furtwangler due to his controversial war-time career, but I would be shocked if this was also carried out in current times by a huge company such as B & N, which prides itself on their Classical department. Especially when they stock plenty of other wartime conductors such as von Karajan, Bohm, etc.

Actually, I've had no problem lately finding some excellent Furtwangler recordings at Borders.I recently purchased (finally!) his Beethoven 9th, the Schubert 9th/Haydn 88th, the Beethoven/Mendelssohn violin concertos with Menuhin and the Knabenwunderhorn (Mahler) with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. I agree that there should be no question of Furtwangler's past associations... especially considering Karajan's far more suspect relations with the nazis, nor the fact that Hitler's favorite singer (Schwarzkopf) is easy to find. If anything... it might just be that the big chains like B&N don't really market toward the classical music afficianado... more toward the interested amateur who would probably avoid the limited sound of the pre-50s recordings. Their loss.


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## Shane (Dec 21, 2006)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> I have heard stories of some "old-time" shops not stocking Furtwangler due to his controversial war-time career, but I would be shocked if this was also carried out in current times by a huge company such as B & N, which prides itself on their Classical department. Especially when they stock plenty of other wartime conductors such as von Karajan, Bohm, etc.
> 
> Actually, I've had no problem lately finding some excellent Furtwangler recordings at Borders.I recently purchased (finally!) his Beethoven 9th, the Schubert 9th/Haydn 88th, the Beethoven/Mendelssohn violin concertos with Menuhin and the Knabenwunderhorn (Mahler) with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. I agree that there should be no question of Furtwangler's past associations... especially considering Karajan's far more suspect relations with the nazis, nor the fact that Hitler's favorite singer (Schwarzkopf) is easy to find. If anything... it might just be that the big chains like B&N don't really market toward the classical music afficianado... more toward the interested amateur who would probably avoid the limited sound of the pre-50s recordings. Their loss.


I have also noticed Borders to have a better selection in those regards. In my area, B & N has a bigger selection, but not always better.


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