Beethoven - Egmont - Berlin / Furtwängler 1947

Ludwig van Beethoven

Egmont op.84 - Ouvertüre

Berliner Philharmoniker
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Radio recording, Berlin, 27.V.1947

[ljiljanastanic]

Splendid by great conductor Furtwangler!!!

[LudwigDeLarge]

Une version impeccable et on ne peut plus romantique.

[peterheisler]

From Furtwaengler's 1st post war concert.

[notaire]

Spannende live Interpretation dieser inspirierenden Ouvertüre mit dramatischen Töne aller Instrumente. Der unvergleichliche Maestro dirigiert das weltklassige Orchester im gut phrasierten Tempo mit völlig effektiver Dynamik. Echt hörenswert!

[volkerf.sesselmann]

Sowohl Tempi als auch die Interpretation beeindrucken mich zutiefst, dazu noch das Jahr der Einspielung...
Ein paar Jahre zuvor spielten sie noch im "Heute gehört uns Deutschland..." und hier im Ergebnis des Wahns, im zerstörten Berlin. Die Noten waren jeweils die gleichen...

[gunterangel]

Beethoven wrote this ouverture and several other numbers as stage music for Goethe's drama "Egmont", which has as its subject the uprising of the widely protestant Netherlands against the occupation by the spanish branch of the catholic Habsburgians in the second half of the 16th century, with the Count Egmont as its main hero, who fought heroically against the invaders, but got caught and sentenced to death by being publicly decapitated.

This character was based on the historical Count Lamoral de Egmond (1522 - 1568).

( The suddenly abrupting line in the first violins at 7:00, followed by a general pause of the whole orchestra, symbolizes the death of the hero, while the following triumphant coda of the piece foreshadows the uprising and final victory of the people against the Spanish invaders.)

On the way to the scaffhold Goethe let him shout a fiery speech at his surrounding folks, in which he motivates them to never give up in fighting the foreign oppressors and encourages them to bring the ultimate sacrifice like himself, if necessary :

"Freunde, höheren Mut! Im Rücken habt ihr Eltern, Weiber, Kinder! Und diese treibt ein hohles Wort des Herrschers, nicht ihr Gemüt ! Schützt eure Güter! Und euer Liebstes zu erretten, fallt, freudig, wie ich euch ein Beispiel gebe!"
(" Friends, higher courage! You are backed by parents, wives, children ! Whereas those are driven by an empty word of their ruler, not by their souls!
Protect your goods! And in coming to rescue your dearest, die, joyfully, as I am about to give you an example !")

Beethoven, having himself partly Flamish roots (his name giving it away of course), was naturally deeply moved by this sujet and as an admirer of the poet Goethe also very motivated to compose the music for this stageplay.

The subject of the play, the brave fight of a people against a foreign oppressor, was especially relevant at the time, since just shortly before Napoleon and his armies had conquered and occupied Vienna, Beethoven's living place since 1792.

So he would give only his very best efforts and at the end he was indeed really satisfied with his work and regarded the music as some of his best and most accomplished.

He would also send a copy of the score to Goethe in Weimar, asking him very humbly for his opinion about the composition, but sadly the pretty haughty poet never answered him personally, even though in later years he would praise how perfectly Beethoven had captured his intentions in the so called "melodrame" of the play.
("Süßer Schlaf, du kommst wie ein reines Glück! / "Sweet Sleep, you are coming as a pure bliss! ")

While the other numbers of the music are seldomly played in concerts today, the ouverture became a popular concert piece of Beethoven's on its own, and it is widely considered as one of the most brilliant examples of his often so called "Heroic Style" of his middle period as a composer.

[上田進-rg]

ベートーヴェン ｢エグモント序曲｣
ベルリン･フィル･ハーモニー交響楽団演奏賛辞 ウィルヘルム･フルトヴェングラー 指揮 大 賛 辞





擱 筆

[rafaelhevia]

Original interpretación. Sus medidos cambios de ritmo e intensidad creciente, no restan valor al conjunto y grandiosidad de la obra.