Search - Bedrich Smetana, Richard [1] Strauss, Wilhelm Furtwängler :: Furtwängler Conducts Richard Strauss & Bedrich Smetana

Fantastic Furtwangler

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 05/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"EMI's latest reissue creation is the "Great Artists of the Century" series, and this title featuring conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler is one of the best of the initial 25 offerings. Famous for his association with the Berlin Philharmonic, Furtwangler also made many memorable recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic. The majority of Furtwangler's Vienna recordings for EMI are avialable on import CDs in the "References" series, but these four selections are not included in those sets and were in desparate need of reissue. The accounts of Smetana's "Ma Vlast" (1951) and Strauss' "Death and Transfiguration" (1950) are wonderful, but the real gems are the two recordings made in March 1954, the year of Furtwangler's death, "Don Juan" and "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks." Some of the titles in this series suffer because of the lackluster material that was selected to represent a given artist (see my reviews of Karajan and Menuhin discs in particular). However after listening to this disc, even a novice could determine that Furtwangler was indeed a "Great Artist of the Century.""