2. music
  3. 176521-74445

Who is your Favorite Historical Conductor?

For discussion purposes I am limiting this to

1) Wilhelm Furtwangler

2) Arturo Toscanini 

3) Bruno Walter

 

feel free to introduce others.  I will be arbitrary and cut off Conductors who worked after the death of Leonard Bernstein.

  Furtwangler and Toscanini died just short of the onset of the stereo era.  They were however recorded with the best technology of the times, and the work of restoration technology of today has done wonders.  Walter recorded until 1962 but perhaps his best work was done in the mono era.

  Walter was renowned for his “humanity” Furtwangler for his near mystical ability to rechannel German/Austrian music, and Toscanini for his finely chiseled intensity

mahler123

Showing 1 response by grauerbar

grauerbar
25 posts
 

For Wagner: Joseph Keilberth

For Mahler: Bruno Walther

And for just about everything he touched: Thomas Beecham

There's a story told by a well-known conductor who was rehearsing the BPO in Bruckner and just could not get them to sound the way he wanted. Suddenly, a few minutes into the problem passage, he noticed that the orchestra's performance seemed to shift into a higher, more intense gear. Surprised and confused by this sudden change, the conductor looked around to see Furtwangler standing quietly in the doorway of the auditorium.

More to discover