Dear Mr. Thieriot,
In the current issue of our society’s Newsletter, Volume 9, Number 3, you reprint a review of a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by Furtwängler, by Harold C. Schonberg which originally appeared in the New York Times in 1956. Schonberg gives brief notes of recordings under several other conductors who led recordings of this symphony. He has one grievous omission. He does not mention Felix Weingartner. Weingartner conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with soloists in Columbia Set 227. This was perhaps the second recording of the symphony ever made, next after that by the Philharmonia Orchestra and soloists under Leopold Stokowski on Victor M-AM-DM236. From the two clues of Vienna and 227, I infer that the Weingartner recording was made in 1938 at the latest; and from the Victor number of 236 I would tentatively assign the Stokowski version to 1934 or 1935.
A friend of mine once said that Weingertner was not only a conductor; he was also a philosopher. He was also a scholar. He published two books addressed to conductors (1) The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven, and (2) The -Symphony Since Beethoven. In his review, Schonberg should have mentioned Weingartner and also Stokowski.
Gratefully and sincerely,
Lee Ball, Jr.
Durant, OK
[Stokowski’s Philadelphia Ninth was made on
April 30, 1934. Both this set and Weingartner’s classic Vienna recording (February 2-5, 1935) were preceded on disc by early electrical recordings conducted by Albert Coates (Victor M-12), Oskar Fried (now on Pearl and Naxos CDs), and Weingartner himself (LSO, Columbia M-39). - Mark Kluge]
Letter to the Editor:
Recent praise for WF’s 1942 Beethoven 9th and the recent review (Vol.9 No.1) of Great Conductors of the Third Reich affords an opportunity to share impressions from viewing some video footage of WF that I’ve recently been given. Included in these tapes are several cuts of a wartime 9th performed in the presence of many Nazi bigwigs, including Goebbels, who is the first to jump up and shake WF’s hand at the end. Under huge swastikas, WF leads a furious, intense performance. It’s just that in this context “alle Menschen werden Brueder” loses any sense of reality and meaning. And “seid umschlungen millionen” could easily be modified to “seid umbringen Millionen” (murder millions) which was in fact going on at the time. Does listening to great music ennoble the listener? Don’t the musicians realize the disconnect between what they’re performing and the reality that’s out there? Lennie Bernstein led a wonderful performance in Berlin at the Wall to celebrate its fall - ennobling, made us all feel good, yes this was the music of the brotherhood of man. But I’m haunted by that other set of images. Is music, no matter how great, just a tool that can be used to stir up the public no matter which political stripe you belong to?
Yes, we know WF was no Nazi and that he was a decent man with decent feelings and many personal weaknesses. And we know that “Taking Sides” is a stacked play against the Philistine major. But some of his anguished accusations remain to haunt the conscience. And they have haunted me for several years since I saw the play in New York.
The generation that experienced World War II first hand - whether as a child or adult - and survived! - is dying out and then all this becomes a matter of record and history to be studied from the outside. I just hope that the availability of these gripping images will prevent the rush to judgment and simplistic conclusions that in these “sound bite” times we are prone to make. Grappling with the complexity of the human condition is not for the fainthearted yet we are all involved. And every time I listen to a Furtwängler interpretation of some favorite music, which I do very frequently, and am engaged and moved by it, I have to confront that ambiguity. For me, no exit!
Do try to see these pictures for yourself.
Eric Kisch, Shaker Heights, OH
[The described footage is available on Bel Canto -Society Video #52, Great Conductors of the Third Reich. - Ed.]
Dear Members of the Wilhelm Furtwängler -Society:
Some of you may remember that on January 12, 1986, I gave the world premiere of eight piano pieces of Wilhelm Furtwängler, six of which I later recorded on April 5, 1986. The recording session, which took place in the Baton Rouge home of Dr. Hypolite T. Landry was digitally recorded. A year later Symposium Records made cassette tapes available to Society members.
After these many years I have decided to make my recording available one more time. Mr. Robert L. Grace, the sound engineer from the original recording session, has transferred the digital master tape to CD. I am very pleased with the results. The sound is much more like I remember it.
The CD will be issued in April 2001. The CD booklet will contain three articles I have written: 1. “A Brief Survey of the Solo Piano Works of Wilhelm Furtwängler;” 2. An account of my first learning of Dr. Furtwängler, of the search for the scores, and of the performance and recording of them; 3. “Some Personal -Reflections,” a never-before published essay on the six compositions found on the recording.
I have contracted with Vestige, Mr. Grace’s recording services company, to produce the CD. The price of the CD is $15.00 and it includes First-Class/Airmail postage. Members may order individually, or the Society may wish to order on behalf of its members, whichever is more convenient. All orders need to be received by March 31, 2001 for an April 2001 release date. Please include payment in U.S. funds with your order form and mail them to my post office box.
Enclosed in this announcement you will find a copy of the letter Frau Elisabeth Furtwängler wrote to me when the cassette tape was released. Her letter is a priceless treasure. Without her generosity, I never could have shared this very special music with you.
I look forward to hearing from all of you, to renewing old friendships, and to making new ones.
Cordially,
Robert Rivard
Baton Rouge, LA
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