Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Art of the Absolute

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.