Furtwangler rehearsals Schubert Symphony No.8

[123must]

He was not a Nazi supporter. He was against the regime and he saved the lives of many Jews and others.

Thank you phe957

[WallyfromPgh]

I wasn't knocking Toscanini, but how do you explain the famous Furtwangler being barred from touring and then replaced by Karajan? Karajan was a Nazi party member, Furtwangler never was.

[WallyfromPgh]

It's not the 'Jewish Mafia' that prevented Furtwangler from working in the U.S. after the war but rather the 'Toscanini Mafia.' NBC had created a myth about Toscanini being the God of All Music. Toscanini, naturally, was jealous of Furtwangler's skill and success and kept him out of the U.S. See Joseph Horowitz's book on Toscanini's role in the transformation of American musical culture.

[al1936ful]

@WallyfromPgh Horowitz's book is a travesty, and Toscanini's reputation is not based on a myth. If you want to read something accurate about Toscanini, read Harvey Sach's biography of the conductor. In that book, he demonstrates (as Horowitz conveniently neglects to do) how Toscanini was held in extremely high regard by virtually every other conductor, and by many musicians. He had an international reputation as the gtreatest conductor alive long before NBC even existed.

[dadaphony]

Goebbels was the minister and he was a conductor its very simple to understand.

[YTM021807]

Amazing and awesome video BUT the sound is not syncronized and the voice at 2:50 almost ruins the clip. I have this same clip with the sound syncronized AND without the commentary. I think it it also available in DVD (Conductors in the 3rd Reich)

[Bochoff1]

Wow, amazing!!! Thank you for posting!

[kompouzer]

thank you for this video.. :-)

[SatchmoSings]

Furtwangler was as great as any and I like the way he's not embarrassed to have a score in front of him; you may or may not like what he's doing (and in this particular bit of film, he's so very "right on") but he knows what he wants and he communicates it to the orchestra.

I also can't get over how old some of these guys are in these clips and yet they're all still so vigourous, both physically AND mentally!

[Liebromeistal]

Karajan is better

[o0Prometheus0o]

No : ) Karajan es un mediocre comparado con ÉL.

[paulostroff99]

@o0Prometheus0o -On that I fully agree,and it was indeed he that was the Nazi.

[Freudboy]

Furtwangler WAS the god of musicians!

[sam0xin]

ONE & ONLY ! FURTWANGLER !

...so unlucky with the period of political mess & reality..

[Freudboy]

The greatest conductor of them all.

[geoffrey1001]

Does anyone know if it is true that Schoenberg expressly urged him to remain in Germany?

[Pulin85]

I've never heard this. But the nazi minister Albert Speer suggested Furtwangler to stay in Switzerland after a concert at the beginning of 1945, because Himmler could arrest him. Furtwangler had just saved from the firing squad a young pianist, pupil of Claudio Arrau, who told that in his own opinion Germany were losing the war.

[Freudboy]

Yes, according to Schoenberg's widow, he and Max Reinhardt urged Furtwangler to remain, even though Furtwangler first had the inclination to emigrate.

[uhartchristian]

dont know the reasons why furtwaengler was told to remain by schoenberg and reinhardt but I think they knew he would not have had his place in another country. But this does not give any excuse for the collaboration with goebbels....

[etiterum]

The beat- when Nikisch beat into it- immediately the orchestra sounded totally different compared to- compared to anyone else.With real conductors has everyone his own beat on him and the beat has influence...(That is WF himself, btw, need more translations ?)

[etiterum]

this beating technique in this sense is the conductor himself, I must say. Everyone has a different one. This is the most personal thing that there is- as well as any great violinist has another tone- I don't know - when Kreisler plays a violin- on any wooden box- then nonetheless Kreisler is to be heard. That's all the same with conductors.

[etiterum]

in the background: that a precision is reached when you beat hard and clear is very simple. but, together with this hard and clear beat to convey all the other valeurs, the values that you want to mix into the orchestra- and must - musn't you ? either a hard sound or a soft sound, a legato, a staccato, transitions, all this. that is all in the beating technique.

[etiterum]

1:37 the crescendo is in the middle of the bar - baüüüya - not in the beginning of it. as well as with you [pointing] and with others too early -deeüüüüyaadüü. Only very - and not too exaggeratedly strong - the whole melancolic. Let's do it once again. Please quite legato. Not daaawampaa...

2:20 düüüadahhhh - there one again has got stuck.

[Amanovis]

I wish I can understand what he's instructing T_T

[etiterum]

ü is a germanic vowel which has no correspondance in the english language-hence you are unable to perform german music well ;-).

0:43 - tictictic- please don't emphasize the One with the pizzicatos , it must all be like a veil- without any emphasis. And these not any slower, these semiquavers grip immediately and [inaudible].

[thedbassist]

This is so out of sync.

[billyguns2]

Good Lord, shut that awful man up!!! Let's just listen to the heavenly music! I am referring to the pompous German who speaks over the second half of this ruined video.

[Swetrade]

That is Furtwängler speaking about his conducting.

[LunaMirabeau]

Furtwängler was a god

[Freudboy]

@LunaMirabeau of course he was THE god of conductors, perhaps all performing musicians.

[Phonologie]

I like very much Furtwänglers style.

[fourwayscottage]

AAAA.141338Z MAY 2008 Thank you for posting this video. Furtwangler not my favourite for this Smyphony though....I feel Michael Halas conducting the Slovak Philharmonic is for me..Still good to talk music intresting video of reheasal.

[olga2809]

mmm... too slow in my opinion

[boardman990]

Slow is relative ...

... without 'too slow' there is no effective prestissimo !!

Bob

[LVB1770]

Love his conducting, hate the stories of him being a Nazi supporter! His Beethoven 9th is unbelievable!

[phe957]

He was not a Nazi supporter. He was against the regime and he saved the lives of many Jews and others.

[Freudboy]

@phe957 Yes, you are right. My parents were in Germany and Austria at the time (they left, my father for being Jewish, my mother for not wanting to live under the Nazis) and they told me that Furtwangler was adamantly opposed to the Nazis.

[wxsty]

you don't have to hate them because they are not true

[billyguns2]

Furtwangler was not a supporter of Nazis! Please stop spreading this contemptible lie. Now, Karl Bohm was an unrepentant nazi, and Karajan gladly supported the Nazis when it was in his interest; THEY never get tarred with this brush, and they deserve to be. Furtwangler had to endure the American Army's persecution after the war and was denied top conducting jobs in Chicago and New York because of the Jewish mafia.

[RaoulShade]

Jewish mafia? May be there was legitimate concern or doubts about Furtwangler for appearing in Nazi official concerts. But eventually he was discharged of Nazi complicity. In fact, several famous Jewish musicians, such as Menuhin and Bruno Walter, defended Furtwangler after the war.

[billyguns2]

Yes, I know, but the fact remains that Furtwangler as denied the directorship of the Chicago Symphony and the New York Philharmonic because of his remaining in Germany; Karajan and Bohm went on to great glory and renown, and it does seem unfair that so many still associate Furtwangler with Nazis.

[pfosten87]

unvollendet means unfinished.

Vollendet = finished.

According to Furtwängler it is thus a masterpiece

[chad410]

this symphony is terrifying beginning.full of horror.I love Furtwangler

[fourwayscottage]

AAAA 141345Z MAY 2008 Try Michael Halas and The Slovak Phiharmonic.......AR.

[simonjayrocker]

He talks about Kreisler and something about striking the notes. Will listen again.

[capicchioni]

the last comment on this video is not spoken by furtwängler. the speaker is talking about individual conducting styles and how each great conductor has a way of drawing his distinct sound from an orchestra just like a great violinist like Kreisler would be able to draw his unique and recognizable sound out of an instrument even if it was just a box of wood

[chibacom]

I'm sorry to say, these movie and music aren't synchronized.

[franciszhou]

Yes, you are right. But it is historical documentary. I am so sorry for it.

[albertyho]

Can anybody translate Mr. Furtwangler's comment into English? My German is really poor....I will very appreciate that!!

[really12345]

if you search "the art of conducting" (youtube) scroll down to art of conducting (1) and there is a 10 min. feature of furtwangler, including footage, with engligh subtitles, of furtwangler rehearsing Schubert Symphony No.8

[capicchioni]

first time he interrupts, he asks the pizzicato players not to accentuate the downbeats because it all should sound "veiled" without any sort of accents. he also asks the first violins to start in tempo right away...

[skay48]

Yes, he says, "Also, das Vollendete", which means, literally translated, "So, the Unfinished".

[gspaulsson]

I hear "Also, Unvollendete"

[simonjayrocker]

Die Meister