Better known as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, Wilhelm Furtwängler was also a composer. His conducting career was affected by the political changes in Germany in 1933, when he resigned his official positions, while continuing to accept conducting engagements rather than choosing self-imposed exile.

Orchestral Music

Furtwängler’s three numbered symphonies continue and extend the earlier Austro-German tradition of Brahms and Bruckner and were largely written during the Hitler period, when fewer demands were made on him as a conductor.

Vocal and Choral Music

Furtwängler’s choral works include a setting of the Te Deum, completed in 1909, and settings of Goethe.