BACH: Brandenburg Concerto no. 3 in G; Air from Suite No. 3; MOZART: Eine kleine nachtmusik, K. 525; Overtures to The Marriage of Figaro and Abduction from the Seraglio; SCHUBERT: Overture, Entr’acte No. 3 in B-flat Major, and Ballet Music No. 2 in G from Rosamunde – Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/ Wilhelm Furtwangler
Naxos Historical 8.11136, 60:27 (Not Distr. in the USA) ****:
Naxos Volume I dedicated to the early inscriptions, 1929-1937, of the conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886-1954) repeats materials released some fifteen years ago by the Koch label, but here transferred by the conscientious Mark Obert-Thorn. The 1930 G Major Brandenburg Concerto casts a thick, perhaps over-romanticized shadow over music that today is played for brisk, transparent counterpoint, rather than Furtwaengler’s turgid solemnity. Still, the plastic rhythms can endure even the broad vibrati and ponderous tread that mark this atavistic performance, given that it is never shallow, and a great love urges it forward. The Air from the D Major Suite (13 June 1929) is not so mystical as Furtwaengler’s later rendition offered on disc via Music & Arts, but it haunts us with its noble melancholy.
The two Mozart overtures date from November, 1933 and emanate a playful, relaxed seriousness from Furtwaengler, who carves the melodic line without any loss of the composer’s witty interior intricacies. The Abduction from the Seraglio bristles with hectic and janissary colors, and The Marriage of Figaro’s festive energy moves almost too quickly for my taste. The vibrant alchemy convinces us, however, and we can palpably taste Furtwaengler’s own feeling for theatrics. The popular Eine kleine nachtmusik serenade (28 December 1936 and June, 1937) omits exposition repeats and whips the balanced phrases into shape, but all the gymnastics occur with a light hand. The Romanza, however, basks in that special glow of which Furtwaengler excelled in eliciting from his strings. Furtwaengler would re-record this music with the Vienna Philharmonic for EMI, to even purer effect.
A triptych from Schubert’s Rosamunde (1930; 13 June 1929 for the Ballet) concludes this disc, and tenderly do these pieces proceed. The thicker harmonies in the Overture’s opening come to resemble passages from Weber’s Der Freischuetz; but the elfin allegro after the introduction sails with easy grace. The bass line and final pages exude the same plastic ostinati we hear in the Ninth Symphony. The B-flat Entr’acte music basks in the same aura we associate with Gluck’s Orfeo. The rural middle section haunts us like a mountain might in the Austrian countryside. The G Major Ballet Music marches and dances at once andante con moto, the oboe and flute in celestial union. Furtwaengler slows the tread to a hovering standstill; then the march quickens and expands to serene cassation that accelerates into the Black Forest. Typically, the transition back to the da capo fascinates as much as the charming, bucolic procession does. Subtle, vibrant musicianship throughout.
— Gary Lemco
