The return of the Urania legend: WFSC-005 society edition disc announcement

The Wilhelm Furtwängler Society of China will release its third society edition disc, WFSC-005, on 15 June 2024. This release features the highly anticipated recording of Furtwängler conducting the Vienna Philharmonic performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 on 19 December 1944, commonly known as the “Urania Eroica”, along with a recording of Furtwängler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic performing Strauss’ Don Juan on 15/17 February 1942.

In the spirit of consistent service to artists and music enthusiasts, our audio engineers began with a thorough examination of Furtwängler’s wartime Eroica recordings. From multiple available master tapes, we selected the highest quality ones and dedicated hundreds of hours to meticulously restoring the original recordings. Particular attention was given to the well-known pitch issues, which have been corrected in detail. The master was produced with a 32-bit (floating) specification, a painstaking process that we hope will receive the approval and satisfaction of all listeners, providing a definitive answer to the “Urania problem”.

The booklet from our previous release with Janus Classics, JACL-1 (Kletzki conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3), contained detailed analyses and reviews of the musical text of the Eroica. For this release, we take a more historical and contextual approach, discussing the “hero” identity in the title. For Don Juan the booklet includes detailed reviews of the work’s structure, style, and Furtwängler’s interpretation. Additionally, purchasers of WFSC-005 will find insights into the history of the Urania Eroica and a sharing of the audio restoration and mastering process by our engineers.

This society disc, like the previous JACL-1, is produced by Tokyo Denca in Japan to the same high standards and precision. The CD, jewel case, booklet, and back cover are all printed and produced by Denca, ensuring consistency in the appearance and quality of the final product.

WFSC-005 (priced at 80 RMB) will be available on Taobao on 10 July. There will be no pre-sale system for this release. Orders placed on Taobao will be shipped directly as soon as possible. The society sincerely thanks all friends for their support, which is our driving force to keep moving forward.

Finally, the Wilhelm Furtwängler Society of China sincerely wishes all music enthusiasts a healthy and happy Dragon Boat Festival!