The paradox of Furtwängler’s art lies in his mastery in revealing a work’s musical architecture, while at the same time approaching each performance with spontaneity and a fresh outlook. Throughout his career Furtwängler was renowned as ‘the deepest and most satisfying of all Wagner conductors’. In this recording of the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, the creation and resolution of an intense dramatic atmosphere within the space of less than 20 minutes has rarely been equalled and never surpassed. Beginning with a blistering account of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, this new release restores to the catalogue two major documents of recording history.