3 episodes
| First Broadcast | Description |
|---|---|
| 20041130 | Rob Cowan introduces an evening devoted to the career of the legendary German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, who died 50 years ago today. Furtwängler was revered by his fellow-musicians, but his later career was marked by political controversy, especially over his role during the Nazi period in Germany. In the course of the evening, Rob Cowan, Richard Osborne, the historian Richard Evans and other commentators will attempt to discover the man behind the formal public mask, and evaluate the elements which made him arguably the greatest conductor of all time. 7.30pm Who was Wilhelm Furtwängler? Rob Cowan looks at his background. 7.35pm Wagner: Siegfried's Funeral Music (from Götterdämmerung) Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Wilhelm Furtwängler (recorded live in Berlin in 1949) 7.50pm Rob Cowan talks to the musicologist Eric Wen about the influence of Heinrich Schenker's system of musical analysis on Furtwängler's work. 8.00pm Mozart: Symphony No 40 in Gm, K550 (1st movement) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Wilhelm Furtwängler 8.07pm Rob Cowan and Richard Osborne compare live and studio performances by Furtwängler. 8.20pm Schumann: Symphony No 4 in Dm (movements 3 and 4) 8.40pm Former players with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Philharmonia and the London Philharmonic recall their experiences of working with Furtwängler. 9.04pm Weber: Overture to 'Der Freischütz' (recorded live in Berlin, 1944). |
| 20041130 | Continuing Radio 3's evening devoted to the career of the legendary German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. 9.15pm Furtwängler was internationally renowned for his superb opera performances, and was also a sensitive Lieder accompanist. Some of the greatest singers of the 20th century, including Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, recall their experiences of working with him on a range of music from Mozart to Wagner 9.50pm Wagner: Tristan und Isolde: excerpt from Act 1 Scene 3 Kirsten Flagstad (Isolde), Blanche Thebom (Brangäne), Philharmonia Orchestra/Wilhelm Furtwängler (recorded in London, 1952) 10.00pm Furtwängler is principally known as a specialist in the German classical and romantic repertoire. Rob Cowan and Richard Osborne discuss lesser-known aspects of his work in the baroque and 20th-century fields. 10.10pm Hindemith: Turandot Scherzo (from Symphonic Metamorphoses on themes by Weber) Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Wilhelm Furtwängler (recorded live in Berlin, 1947) 10.20pm The Man behind the Mask. Furtwängler's widow Elisabeth, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf shed light on the conductor's enigmatic personality. 10.35pm The Last Beethoven: Furtwangler's Beethoven performances have never been surpassed. He conducted the Ninth Symphony for the last time at the 1954 Lucerne Festival. Beethoven: Symphony No.9 (finale) Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano) Elsa Calveti (mezzo) Ernst Haefliger (tenor) Otto Edelmann (bass) Lucerne Festival Chorus Philharmonia Orchestra/Wilhelm Furtwängler. |
| 20041130 | Concluding Radio 3's evening devoted to the career of the legendary German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. 11.05pm Tully Potter, Michael Tanner and Richard Evans examine the controversies surrounding Furtwängler's role during the Nazi period in Germany. 11.15pm The Legacy: What influence did Furtwängler have on a future generation of musicians? With Tully Potter, Michael Tanner, Daniel Barenboim and Christian Thielemann. 23.30pm Furtwängler is remembered as a conductor - but he was also a fine composer. Perhaps his own music gives a clue to his enduring influence on successors such as Daniel Barenboim. Furtwängler: Symphony No 2 (1st movement) Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim (US premiere, recorded live in Chicago, 2001). |