Furtwängler

Wilhelm Furtwängler Collection ★★★★★
This is the second of three composer collections that I will be reviewing, the first being that of Arturo Toscanini. Furtwängler possesses far greater sensitivity in his conducting than Toscanini. Furtwängler was the director of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra during the second world war years and was eventually replaced by Herbert von Karajan. It is without hesitation that I could remark on the greatness of Furtwängler as a conductor, in spite of his associations with Hitler and the Nazis. These recordings are quite variable, many of them having much record noise, but many being quite clean. For $17 it is hard to beat as a sampling of Furtwängler. The collection includes mostly classical and romantic composers, with a few non-German composers included.