Search - Franz Joseph Haydn, Robert Schumann, Wilhelm Furtwängler :: Schumann: Sinfonie Nr. 4

Furtwangler conducts Schumann and Haydn

Robin Friedman | Washington, D.C. United States | 12/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD offers both the new and the experienced lover of music the opportunity to get to know two great symphonies in highly distinctive styles, Schumann's Fourth and Haydn's 88th, performed by the renowned German conductor, Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886 -- 1954) and the Berlin Philharmonic.



There are some who deprecate Robert Schumann as a composer of symphonies. These critics see Schumann essentially as a miniaturist who excelled in compositions for piano and in art song. This historical recording of Schumann's Symphony no 4 in d-minor, opus 120 should suffice to dispel any such illusions. The Fourth is an ambitious, heroic, large-scaled work reflecting the scope of Schumann's erratic powers. The recording dates from May, 1953 and, even though it predates stereo, the sound is lush, allowing the listener to hear the full, rounded sound Furtwangler drew from his orchestra. The album cover describes the recording as the "ultimate Schumann Fourth", and this accolade likely is deserved.



The turbulent, wayward, and romantic character of Schumann's Fourth offers music ideally suited to Furtwangler. Schumann initially composed the work in 1841 and revised it substantially in 1851. As is the case with most revisions, some of the changes Schumann made were for the better, others, perhaps, were not. The 1851 version, frequently with edits,is almost always played, as it is on this recording.



The work is in four movements to be played without pause. The new listener should pay attention to the use of brass, trombones, trumpets, and horns in dramatic outbursts which appear at key moments throughout the symphony. There is also a great deal of thematic interrelationship in the work. The magesterial slow introduction, and the following rapid theme of the opening movement recur in different forms in the scherzo and in the finale. The reflective, fluttering theme of the second movement, played first by the entire strings and then, unforgettably, by a solo violin is called back in the trio of the third movement. Each movement as well introduces new material and themes of its own.



Schumann's Fourth is turbulent, emotional music, capturing the emotive, unstable nature of its composer. The opening movement begins with drama and a sense of tragedy, develops into a determined march-like theme and closes with a wonderfully lyrical, radiant and intense theme that comes into play only at the end of the movement, and as its climax. The second movement is slow and reflective and includes the lovely violin solo mentioned earlier. The scherzo is grim and serious and leads to the finale with its loud somber brass opening which recurs several times in the movement's course. The melancholy of the opening is gradually dispelled as Schumann works to a triumphant, inspiring and rapidly-played close. This is deeply moving music, played with passion and understanding by Furtwangler and his orchestra.



Furtwangler's 1951 recording of Haydn's symphony no. 88 in G major is also justly famous. This same recording, however, appears on another currently-available DG release with Furtwangler conducting Schubert's Ninth Symphony. But there is no real harm in having this symphony twice to get both Furtwangler's Schumann and his Schubert. Haydn's symphony makes a good contrast to Schumann's in its restrained elegance, careful structure, and lightness of touch.



Haydn's 88th symphony opens with a slow solemn introduction followed by a light quick theme in the strings which gets a contrapuntal treatment in the development. The second movement is marked largo, and Furtwangler plays it broadly indeed. It is based upon a slow, flowing theme interrupted several times by outbursts of brass (compare Schumann's use of brass in the Fourth). Brahms once said that he wished he could write a movement of the depth of Haydn's largo for his Ninth. The third movement is a foot-stomping minuet with a droning theme in the trio while the finale is quickness and good humor. The 88th is an inventive symphony, combining accessibility with learning. It is a worthy companion to the Schumann (and to the Schubert), and it receives a grand reading from Furtwangler and his large orchestra.



Robin Friedman

"

"The Poet Speaks!"

Sungu Okan | Istanbul, Istanbul Turkey | 02/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The 4th Symphony by Robert Schumann, is the most drammatic of all of the composer's symphonies. It was completed in his last period, 1851, towards to tragic end of his life. This symphony to be constitued in a single movement, written as a symphonic-fantasia. Orchestration, as usual in Schumann, not too powerful, brilliant, it is a little weak, but the music is very romantic, poetic and has a tragic mood. Especially the first movement is a drammatic opening movement, the second movement is a lyric "Romanze" which I think has a musical diolag between Robert and Clara (violoncello solo and oboe). But in Finale, there is a glorious joy, contrasts to the dark mood of beginning movements.



Wilhelm Furtwangler made this recording in 1953, with Berliner Philharmoniker, and has a very good monarual quality sound. And this performance is really marvellous, one of the best Schumann 4th in all history, of course. It is played very sensitive, impressive. And the weakness of orchestration of Schumann, is covered up with the powerful sound of Berliner Philharmoniker.



This is the definitive reading of the Schumann's 4th, and you must have it, at this price, you can not go wrong with it.



Highly recommended."

A great place to start a Furtwangler collection

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 12/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"


When I went to college in the mid-Sixties, Furtwangler was barely known to American audiences, and because his music-making was diametrically opposed to Toscanini's, he was regarded with suspicion. But a few recordings trickled through, and the two here, of the Schumann Fourth (1853) and the Haydn 88th (1951), made a huge impression on me. It was helpful that they were in good studio mono for the time--they sound even better on CD. I was immediately cuahgt up in Furtwangler's spell; his ability to make you feel that you were following a spontaneous outpouring of feeling was unique then, and remains so.



The legendary performance is the Schumann, which sounds as if it went straight from the composer's brain to Furtwangler's baton. The work is disjointed, and Furtwangler's specialty was in transitions--he could find a flowing organic line where no one else could. The Fourth is especially episodic and repetitive; its stop-and-go jerkiness can ge tiring. But in Furtwangler's hands every bar seems alive and placed inevitably where it belongs. If you sympathize with is conception, nothing else quite matches it.



At the time I loved his Haydn too, but the passage of time has led us to expect faster, leaner, more springy Haydn, and therefore Furtwangler's sounds somewhat ponderous and highly romanticized. The full-sized orchestra and slow tempos add to the sense of an anitque performance. Even so, there's room in this world for anything Furtwangler did, andthis celebrated recording offers its own pleasures.



In the end, I think this CD is a great place for anyone to start loving Furtwangler. It worked for me forty years ago."