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Title: Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Art of the Absolute

Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Art of the Absolute

Interpreting Beethoven

by Giovanni Baldini (Author)
©2026 Monographs XVIII, 228 Pages
The Arts

Summary

Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Art of the Absolute: Interpreting Beethoven examines the conductor’s interpretative philosophy as a central manifestation of twentieth-century musical idealism. Through a comparative analysis of recordings and annotated scores, alongside Furtwängler’s writings, the study investigates how his performances of Beethoven embodied a metaphysical conception of music as a revelation of the Absolute. It situates Furtwängler’s aesthetic within broader intellectual traditions – Romanticism, German idealism and phenomenology – while assessing how interpretative choices reveal a dialectic between fidelity to the score and transcendence of it. Combining musicological inquiry with philosophical reflection, the book reconsiders the relationship between interpretation, expression and truth in the performance of Beethoven’s works.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • Figures
  • Foreword
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction
  • Why Beethoven?
  • Beethoven’s Interpretation
  • Note on Comparisons
  • THE SYMPHONIES
  • SYMPHONY No. 1, op. 21
  • FIRST MOVEMENT
  • Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
  • SECOND MOVEMENT
  • Andante cantabile con moto
  • THIRD MOVEMENT
  • Minuetto: Allegro molto e vivace
  • FOURTH MOVEMENT
  • Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace
  • SYMPHONY No. 2, op. 36
  • FIRST MOVEMENT
  • Adagio – Allegro con brio
  • SECOND MOVEMENT
  • Larghetto
  • THIRD MOVEMENT
  • Scherzo, Allegro
  • FOURTH MOVEMENT
  • Allegro molto
  • SYMPHONY No. 3, op. 55
  • FIRST MOVEMENT
  • Allegro con brio
  • SECOND MOVEMENT – Funeral March
  • Adagio assai
  • THIRD MOVEMENT
  • Allegro vivace
  • FOURTH MOVEMENT
  • Allegro molto
  • SYMPHONY No. 4 op. 60
  • FIRST MOVEMENT
  • Adagio, Allegro vivace
  • SECOND MOVEMENT
  • Adagio
  • THIRD MOVEMENT
  • Allegro molto e vivace
  • FOURTH MOVEMENT
  • Allegro ma non troppo
  • SYMPHONY No. 5 op. 67
  • FIRST MOVEMENT
  • Allegro con brio
  • SECOND MOVEMENT
  • Andante con moto
  • THIRD MOVEMENT
  • Allegro
  • FOURTH MOVEMENT
  • Allegro
  • SYMPHONY No. 6 op .68
  • FIRST MOVEMENT
  • Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande
  • Allegro ma non troppo
  • SECOND MOVEMENT
  • Szene am Bach
  • Andante molto moto
  • THIRD MOVEMENT
  • Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute
  • Allegro
  • FOURTH MOVEMENT
  • Gewitter, Sturm
  • Allegro
  • FIFTH MOVEMENT
  • Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm
  • Allegretto
  • SYMPHONY No. 7 op. 92
  • FIRST MOVEMENT
  • Poco sostenuto, Vivace
  • SECOND MOVEMENT
  • Allegretto
  • THIRD MOVEMENT
  • Presto
  • FOURTH MOVEMENT
  • Allegro con brio
  • SYMPHONY No. 8 op. 93
  • FIRST MOVEMENT
  • Allegro vivace e con brio
  • SECOND MOVEMENT
  • Allegretto scherzoso
  • THIRD MOVEMENT
  • Tempo di Menuetto
  • FOURTH MOVEMENT
  • Allegro vivace
  • SYMPHONY No. 9 op. 125
  • Prelude
  • FIRST MOVEMENT
  • Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
  • SECOND MOVEMENT
  • Molto vivace
  • THIRD MOVEMENT
  • Adagio molto e cantabile
  • FOURTH MOVEMENT
  • Presto
  • THE OUVERTURES
  • Coriolan op. 62
  • Leonore III op. 72b
  • Egmont op. 84
  • Bibliography
  • Index

Figures

Beethoven’s Interpretation

Fig. 1 Symphony n. 7, IV movement

Fig. 2 Sonata op. 57, II movement

Fig. 3 Symphony n. 6, V movement

Fig. 4 Symphony n. 6, V movement

Fig. 5 Symphony n. 3, I movement

Fig. 6 Symphony n. 3, I movement

Fig. 7 Egmont

Fig. 8 “Kreutzer” Sonata op. 47, I movement

Fig. 9 Symphony n. 1, IV movement

Fig. 10 Coriolan

Fig. 11 Coriolan

Fig. 12 Coriolan

Fig. 13 Coriolan

Fig. 14 Symphony n. 8, I movement

Fig. 15 Symphony n. 7, I movement

THE SYMPHONIES

Figs. 1–9 Symphony n. 1, I movement

Figs. 10–16 Symphony n. 1, II movement

Figs. 17–19 Symphony n. 1, III movement

Figs. 20–31 Symphony n. 1, IV movement

Figs. 32–46 Symphony n. 2, I movement

Figs. 47–58 Symphony n. 2, II movement

Figs. 59–65 Symphony n. 2, III movement

Figs. 66–76 Symphony n. 2, IV movement

Figs. 77–94 Symphony n. 3, I movement

Figs. 95–109 Symphony n. 3, II movement

Figs. 110–111 Symphony n. 3, III movement

Figs. 112–129 Symphony n. 3, IV movement

Figs. 130–136 Symphony n. 4, I movement

Figs. 137–148 Symphony n. 4, II movement

Figs. 149–152 Symphony n. 4, III movement

Figs. 153–160 Symphony n. 4, IV movement

Figs. 161–175 Symphony n. 5, I movement

Details

Pages
XVIII, 228
Publication Year
2026
ISBN (PDF)
9783631946954
ISBN (ePUB)
9783631946961
ISBN (Hardcover)
9783631946947
DOI
10.3726/b23433
Language
English
Publication date
2026 (August)
Keywords
Conducting Musicology Symphonies Interpretation Furtwängler Beethoven Giovanni Baldini
Published
Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, New York, Oxford, 2026. xviii, 228 pp., 375 fig. b/w.
Product Safety
Peter Lang Group AG

Biographical notes

Giovanni Baldini (Author)

Giovanni Baldini, pianist, musicologist, and professor of music history with a degree in psychology, is the author of Artur Schnabel: Interprete delle 32 Sonate di Beethoven, Kreisleriana, and O estudo do violino. He has also led seminars on musical neuroscience at the University of Trieste.

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Title: Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Art of the Absolute