Der Ring Des Nibelungen: Furtwangler / Rai Rome So F.frantz Modl

Recorded in 1953, Wilhelm Furtwngler performs Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. In celebration of Wilhelm Furtwngler's 125th anniversary, EMI Classics is proud to release the critically acclaimed 1990 Furtwngler's recording of Wagner's The Ring of Nibelung in a beautiful repackaged 14-CD set. Born in Berlin on January 25, 1886, Furtwngler was, without doubt, one of the truly great musical interpreters of the 20th century. Wilhelm composed his first music at the age of seven. The idea of becoming a composer was his prime ambition, despite the failure of his early attempts at composition. Several factors led to Furtwngler taking up the baton: the wish to conduct his own works; his increasing interest in the art of interpretation and the need to make a living, following the death of his father in 1907. His first concert as conductor was in Munich in 1906 with a program of works by Bruckner and Beethoven as well as one of his own pieces. His rise to fame as a conductor was quite rapid. In 1920 he succeeded Richard Strauss as conductor of the Berlin Staatsoper concerts and in 1922, after the death of Nikisch, he took over the conductorship of the Leipzig Gewandhaus and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras. It was at this time that he also began a long and successful relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. But it was with the Berlin Philharmonic that Furtwngler was to remain for the rest of his career.