Good recording of an OK symphony
T. Fisher | 09/21/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Wilhelm Furtwängler called his third symphony a "tragedy", and he wasn't kidding. It is full of conflict, blustering, and Romanticism that recalls Bruckner and Tchaikovsky. In the end, this CD comes down to being a very good performance and recording of a composition that is certainly OK, but falls well short of greatness.
The first movement, which Furtwängler subtitled "Fate" (Verhängnis) in a diary entry, is full of Sturm und Drang, Tchaikovsky-style. There are some pretty dissonant harmonies in places, as if Furtwängler was making a point that he knew how do it despite his normally retrograde style.
The second movement, "The Compulsion of Life" (Der Zwang des Lebens), is full of -- you guessed it -- compulsion. There are lots of runs to achieve resolutions to conflicts, and while each wave of sound comes crashing in a bit closer than the one preceding it, the goal usually remains elusive.
Huge swings in volume are an important problem with both the 1st and 2nd movements. You have to crank up the stereo to hear what's going on, only to be blasted out when the crescendos come. If this could have been evened out just a little, it would have helped quite a bit.
After these blustery conflicts, the third movement, "Beyond" (Jenseits) comes in slower and more atmospheric. We start seeing a few small glimmers of hope -- or at least peace. This continues in the fourth movement, "The Struggle Continues" (Der Kampf geht weiter), which varies between light and tragedy, but ultimately comes down on the tragic side.
Furtwängler was certainly an astounding conductor, but as a composer he seems to be anachronistic. It's hard to believe this symphony was written in 1954. Frankly, it sounds more like the 1880s. It falls a bit short in the originality department, I'm afraid.
This is an interesting symphony, and as a Furtwängler fan I'm glad to have it. It really isn't bad at all. And the performance is really wonderful -- even if I wish the engineers had even out the volume in the first two movements. But don't expect Furtwängler the composer to measure up to Furtwängler the conductor, at least in this piece.
I almost gave this four stars, but then realized that between the composition and the tremendous volume swings, it only earns three and a half.
"
Track Listings (4) - Disc #1