The choice item in this second volume of Deutsche Grammophon’s budget Furtwängler/Berlin Philharmonic collection is the 1942 Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 with Edwin Fischer. Fischer’s probing playing, along with Furtwängler’s magisterial conducting, makes for a reading that 60 years later remains irresistibly involving. Walter Gieseking provides his own gripping pianism (plus a few wrong notes) in his powerful rendition of Schumann’s Piano Concerto, which shares the same disc with Tibor de Machula’s spirited reading of the Cello Concerto.
Anyone who’s heard Barenboim’s Chicago Bruckner Fifth has pretty much heard Furtwängler’s. However, Barenboim had far superior orchestral playing, and he certainly never rushed the build-up to the final coda the way Furtwängler does (leaving the clearly flustered Berlin brass to fend for themselves). It’s probably no surprise that Furtwängler leads stirring and authoritative (if somewhat sloppy) performances of Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel, Sinfonia domestica, and Don Juan, but as evidenced here he seldom was a convincing interpreter of Sibelius and Ravel (would that the low brass in En Saga had been in tune!). As with Volume 1, the recorded sound ranges from decent for its time (Till, Domestica, Brahms, and Bruckner), to barely adequate (Sibelius, Don Juan). But Furtwängler collectors know to expect these sonic limitations and will readily overlook them. Newcomers who can do the same may find themselves intrigued by the work of this legendary artist.
