Schumann • Furtwängler
Published:
COMPOSERS: Furtwangler; Schumann
LABELS: DG Originals
WORKS: Symphony No. 4 in D minor. Symphony No. 2 in E minor
PERFORMER: Berlin PO/Wilhelm Furtwängler
CATALOGUE NO: 457 722-2 ADD mono 1953/52
The Schumann is one of the classics of the gramophone: a vibrant performance (allegedly with no retakes) with a spontaneity that comes only from meticulous preparation and profound musical knowledge. Furtwängler was a master of the seamless transition, and the way he moves into the body of the first movement is a model of control. His own Second Symphony, a sprawling late-Romantic giant, inspires affection after repeated hearings, but is better served by his live recording with the VPO on Orfeo.
Martin Cotton