Wilhelm Furtwängler "Encores"

Wilhelm Furtwängler "Encores"

Editorial Reviews
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Except for the Ride of the Valkyries, a rousing Vienna Philharmonic studio performance from 1949, nothing on this disc drawn from post-war Berlin Philharmonic concerts qualifies as an "encore" despite its subtitle. The hyper-Romantic Bach Suite will sound curious to ears accustomed to light, swift contemporary performances. It's big-band Bach, opening with a drawn-out introduction and featuring a leaden Air, whose hushed opening gives way to swollen orchestral sonorities. The energetic dance movements sound rhythmically stiff these days, but for all its anachronisms, Furtwängler's reading holds interest by virtue of its conviction. The Weber Overture plays to Furtwängler's strengths, full of mystery and drama. Strauss's Don Juan is a colorful romp with maximum contrasts between the slow, atmospheric tone paintings and the swagger of the unabashedly orchestral showpiece parts. In sum, a stimulating disc that most listeners will enjoy and Furtwängler fans will not want to be without. --Dan Davis

Wilhelm Furtwängler "Encores", Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Carl Maria von Weber, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Baroque Suite/Partita for Orchestra, Classical Music, German/Austrian Romantic Opera, Opera, Orchestral, Romantic Overture for Orchestra, Romantic Tone Poem/Symphonic Poem for Orchestra

Wilhelm Furtwängler "Encores"

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