Wilhelm Furtwängler

Wilhelm Furtwngler
1 Biography
Portrait of Wilhelm Furtwngler by Emil Orlik
Wilhelm Furtwngler (January 25, 1886 November Wilhelm Furtwngler

30, 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is
considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and oper- Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwngler
was born in Schneberg (now a locality of Berlin) into a
atic conductors of the 20th century.
prominent family. His father Adolf was an archaeologist,
Furtwngler was principal conductor of the Berlin Phil- his mother a painter. Most of his childhood was spent
harmonic between 1922 and 1945, and from 1952 unin Munich, where his father taught at the citys Ludwig
til 1954. He was also principal conductor of the Maximilian University. He was given a musical educaGewandhaus Orchestra (192226), and was a guest con- tion from an early age, and developed an early love of
ductor of other major orchestras including the Vienna Ludwig van Beethoven, a composer with whose works he
Philharmonic.
remained closely associated throughout his life.
He was the leading conductor to remain in Germany dur- Although Furtwngler achieved fame chiey from his
ing the Second World War, although he was not an ad- conducting, he regarded himself foremost as a composer.
herent of the Nazi regime.[1] This decision caused last- He began conducting in order to perform his own works.
ing controversy, and the extent to which his presence lent By age of twenty, he had composed several works. Howprestige to the Third Reich is still debated.
ever, they were not well received, and that, combined with
Furtwnglers conducting is well documented in commercial and broadcast recordings and has contributed to his
lasting reputation. He had a major inuence on many
later conductors, and his name is often mentioned when
discussing their interpretive styles.[2]
the nancial insecurity of a career as a composer, led him

to concentrate on conducting. He made his conducting
debut with the Kaim Orchestra (now the Munich Philharmonic) in Anton Bruckner's Ninth Symphony. He subsequently held conducting posts at Munich, Strasbourg,
1
2
Lbeck, Mannheim, Frankfurt, and Vienna.
Furtwangler succeeded Artur Bodanzky as principal conductor of the Mannheim Opera and Music Academy in
1915, remaining until 1920. As a boy he had sometimes
stayed with his grandmother in Mannheim. Through her
family he met the Geissmars, a Jewish family who were
leading lawyers and amateur musicians in the town.[3]
Berta Geissmar wrote, Furtwngler became so good at
[skiing] as to attain almost professional skill...Almost every sport appealed to him: he loved tennis, sailing and
swimming...He was a good horseman...[4] She also reports that he was a strong mountain climber and hiker.
Berta Geissmar subsequently became his secretary and
business manager, in Mannheim and later in Berlin, until
she was forced to leave Germany in 1934.[5] From 1921
onwards, Furtwngler shared holidays in the Engadin with
Berta and her mother. In 1924 he bought a house there.
After he married, the house was open to a wide circle of
friends.[6]
1 BIOGRAPHY
1.1.1 First confrontations with the Nazis
Furtwngler was very critical of Hitlers appointment as
Chancellor of Germany,[8] and was convinced that Hitler
would not stay in power for long.[9] He had said of Hitler
in 1932, This hissing street pedlar will never get anywhere in Germany.[10]
As the antisemitic policies of the Third Reich took effect, Jewish musicians were forced out of work and began
to leave Germany. The Nazis were aware that Furtwngler was opposed to the policies and might also decide to
go abroad, so the Berlin Philharmonic, which employed
many Jews, was exempted from the policies.[11] In 1933,
when Bruno Walter was dismissed from his position as
principal conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Nazis asked Furtwngler to replace him for an international tour. Their goal was to show to the world that
Germany did not need Jewish musicians. Furtwngler refused, and it was Richard Strauss who replaced Walter.[12]
On April 10, 1933, Furtwngler wrote a public letter to

In 1920 he was appointed conductor of the Berlin
Goebbels to denounce the new rulers antisemitism:
Staatskapelle succeeding Richard Strauss. In January
1922, following the sudden death of Arthur Nikisch,
Ultimately there is only one dividing line
he was appointed to the Leipzig Gewandhaus OrchesI recognize: that between good and bad art.
tra. Shortly afterwards he was appointed to the presHowever, while the dividing line between Jews
tigious Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, again in succesand non-Jews is being drawn with a downright
sion to Nikisch.[7] Furtwngler made his London debut
merciless theoretical precision, that other diin 1924, and continued to appear there before the outviding line, the one which in the long run is so
break of World War 2 as late as 1938, when he conducted
important for our music life, yes, the decisive
Richard Wagner's Ring.[1] (Furtwngler later conducted
dividing line between good and bad, seems to
in London many times between 1948 and 1954.) In 1925
have far too little signicance attributed to it
he appeared as guest conductor of the New York Phil[...] If concerts oer nothing then people will
harmonic Orchestra, making return visits in the following
not attend; that is why the QUALITY is not just
[1]
two years.
an idea: it is of vital importance. If the ght
In January 1945 Furtwngler ed to Switzerland. It was
against Judaism concentrates on those artists
during this period that he completed what is considered
who are themselves rootless and destructive
his most signicant composition, the Symphony No. 2
and who seek to succeed in kitsch, sterile virin E minor. It was given its premiere in 1948 by the
tuosity and the like, then it is quite acceptable;
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Furtwnglers dithe ght against these people and the attitude
rection and was recorded for Deutsche Grammophon.
they embody (as, unfortunately, do many nonJews) cannot be pursued thoroughly or systemFollowing the war, he resumed performing and recording,
atically enough. If, however, this campaign is
and remained a popular conductor in Europe, although
also directed at truly great artists, then it ceases
his actions in the 1930s and 40s were a subject of ongoto be in the interests of Germanys cultural life
ing criticism. He died in 1954 in Ebersteinburg, close to
[...] It must therefore be stated that men such
Baden-Baden. He is buried in the Heidelberg Bergfriedas Walter, Klemperer, Reinhardt etc. must be
hof.
allowed to exercise their talents in Germany in
the future as well, in exactly the same way as
Kreisler, Huberman, Schnabel and other great
instrumentalists of the Jewish race. It is only
just that we Germans should bear in mind that
in the past we had Joseph Joachim one of the
greatest violinists and teachers in the German
1.1 Third Reich controversy
classical tradition, and in Mendelssohn even a
great German composer - for Mendelssohn is a
Furtwnglers relationship with and attitudes towards
part of Germanys musical history.[13]
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party were a matter of much
controversy.
In June 1933, for a text which was to be the basis for a
1.1
Third Reich controversy
discussion with Goebbels, Furtwngler went further, writing, The Jewish question in musical spheres: a race of
brilliant people!" He threatened that if boycotts against
Jews were extended to artistic activities, he would resign
all his posts immediately, concluding that at any rate to
continue giving concerts would be quite impossible without [the Jews] - to remove them would be an operation
which would result in the death of the patient.[14]
Because of his high prole, Furtwnglers public opposition prompted a mixed reaction from the Nazi leadership. Heinrich Himmler wished to send Furtwngler
to a concentration camp.[15] Goebbels and Gring ordered their administration to listen to Furtwnglers requests and to give him the impression that they would
do what he asked.[16] This led him to believe that he had
some positive inuence to stop the racial policy. He subsequently invited several Jewish and anti-fascist artists
(such as Yehudi Menuhin, Artur Schnabel, and Pablo
Casals) to perform as soloists in his 1933/34 season, but
they refused to come to Nazi Germany.[17] Furtwngler
subsequently invited Jewish musicians from his orchestra
such as Szymon Goldberg to play as soloists.
3
meeting became a shouting match.[27] Berta Geissmar
wrote, After the audience, he told me that he knew now
what was behind Hitlers narrow-minded measures. This
is not only antisemitism, but the rejection of any form of
artistic, philosophical thought, the rejection of any form
of free culture...[28][29]
1.1.2 Mannheim Concert
On April 26, 1933, Furtwngler and the Berlin Philharmonic performed a joint concert in Mannheim with the
local orchestra to mark the 50th anniversary of Wagners
death and to raise money for the Mannheim orchestra.
The concert had been organised before the Nazis came
to power. The Nazied Mannheim Orchestra Committee demanded that the Jewish leader of the Berlin orchestra, Szymon Goldberg, give way to the leader of the
Mannheim orchestra for the evening. Furtwngler refused, and the concert took place as planned. Before
the banquet organized for the evening, members of the
Mannheim Orchestra Committee came to remonstrate
with Furtwngler, accusing him of a lack of national
sentiment.[30][31] Furtwngler furiously left before the
banquet to rejoin Berta Geissmar and her mother. The
fact that Furtwngler had preferred to spend the evening
with his Jewish friends rather than with Nazi authorities caused a controversy. He subsequently refused to
conduct again in Mannheim,[32]
The Gestapo built a case against Furtwngler, noting that

he was providing assistance to Jews. Furtwngler gave all
his fees to German emigrants during his concerts outside
Germany.[18] The German literary scholar Hans Mayer
was one of these emigrants. Mayer later observed that
for performances of Wagner operas in Paris prior to the
war, Furtwngler cast only German emigrants (Jews or [33] only returning 21 years later in 1954.
political opponents to the third Reich) to sing.[19] Georg
Gerullis, a director at the Ministry of Culture, remarked
in a letter to Goebbels, Can you name me a Jew on whose 1.1.3 The Hindemith Case
behalf Furtwngler has not intervened?"[20]
In 1934, Furtwngler publicly described Hitler as an enFurtwngler never joined the Nazi Party.[21] He refused
emy of the human race and the political situation in Gerto give the Nazi salute, to conduct the Horst-Wesselmany as a Schweinerei (pigsty).[34]
Lied, or to sign his letters with Heil Hitler, even
those he wrote to Hitler.[1][15][22] However, Furtwn- On November 25, 1934, he wrote a letter in the
gler was appointed as the rst vice-president of the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Der Fall Hindemith, The
Reichsmusikkammer and Staatsrat of Prussia, and ac- Hindemith Case, in support of the composer Paul
cepted these honorary positions to try to bend the Hindemith. Hindemith had been labelled a degenerracial policy of Nazis in music and to support Jewish ate artist by the Nazis. Furtwngler also conducted a
musicians.[23][24] For concerts in London and Paris be- piece of Hindemith's, Mathis der Maler although the
[35]
The concert
fore the war, Furtwngler refused to conduct the Nazi an- work had been banned by the Nazis.
[25]
received enormous acclaim and unleashed a political
thems or to play music in halls adorned with swastikas.
During the universal exposition held in Paris in 1937, a storm. The Nazis (especially Alfred Rosenberg, the Nazi
picture of the German delegation was taken in front of Partys chief racial theorist) formed a violent conspirthe Arc de Triomphe. In the picture, Furtwngler is the acy against the conductor, who resigned from his oonly German not giving the Nazi salute. This picture was cial positions, including his titles as vice-president of the
Reichsmusikkammer and of Staatsrat of Prussia. His ressuppressed at the time.
ignation from the latter position was refused by Gring.
In 1933, Furtwngler met with Hitler to try to stop
He was also forced by Goebbels to give up all his artistic
the new antisemitic policy in the domain of music.
positions.[36]
He had prepared a list of signicant Jewish musicians:
[37]
these included the composer Arnold Schoenberg, the Furtwngler decided to leave Germany, but the Nazis
[38][39]
They seized the opportunity to
musicologist Curt Sachs, the violinist Carl Flesch, and prevented him.
Jewish members of the Berlin Philharmonic.[26] Hitler aryanize the orchestra and its administrative sta. Most
did not listen to Furtwngler, who lost patience, and the of the Jewish musicians of the orchestra had already left
the country and found positions outside Germany, with
1 BIOGRAPHY
Furtwnglers assistance.
Goebbels did not reveal the second part of the deal.[52]

However, the agreement between was largely respected.
At his subsequent denazication trial, Furtwngler was
charged with conducting only two ocial concerts for
the period 19331945. Furtwngler appeared in only two
short propaganda lms.
The main target of the Nazis was Berta Geissmar. She

was so close to the conductor that she wrote in her book
about Furtwngler that the Nazis had begun an investigation to know if she was his mistress. After having harassed her for a period of two years, she moved to London
when she became Sir Thomas Beecham's main assistant. Other Nazi leaders were not satised with the comproIn the book she wrote on Furtwngler in England in 1943, mise, since they believed that Furtwngler had not cashe said:
pitulated: Rosenberg demanded in vain that Furtwngler apologise to the regime.[53] Goebbels, who wanted
to keep Furtwngler in Germany, wrote in his diary that
Furtwngler, although he had decided to
he was satised with the deal and laughed at the incredremain in Germany, was certainly no Nazi [...]
ible navety of artists.[54]
He had a private telephone line to me which
was not connected via the exchange [...] Before
going to bed, he used to chat with me over telephone. Sometimes I told him amusing stories
to cheer him up, sometimes we talked about
politics. One of the main threats the Nazis used
against Furtwngler and myself later on was the
assertion that they had recorded all these conversations. I should not have thought that it
was possible! Was there enough shellac? If
the Nazis really did this, their ears must certainly have burnt, and it was not surprising that
Furtwngler was eventually put on their black
list, let alone myself.[40]
Goebbels refused to meet Furtwngler to clarify his situation for several months.[41] During the same period, many
members of the orchestra and of his public were begging
him not to emigrate and desert them.[42][43] In addition,
Goebbels sent him a clear signal that if he left Germany
he would never be allowed back, frightening him with the
prospect of permanent separation from his mother (to
whom he was very close) and his children.[44] Furtwngler considered himself responsible for the Berlin Philarmonic and for his family, and decided to stay.[45][46][47]
1.1.4
The compromise of 1935
On February 28, 1935, Furtwngler met Goebbels, who

wanted to keep Furtwngler in Germany, since he considered him, like Richard Strauss and Hans Ptzner, a national treasure. Goebbels asked him to pledge allegiance
publicly to the new regime. Furtwngler refused.[48][49]
Goebbels then proposed that Furtwngler acknowledge
publicly that Hitler was in charge of cultural policy.
Furtwngler accepted: Hitler was a dictator and controlled everything in the country. But he added that it
must be clear that he wanted nothing to do with the policy
and that he would remain as a non-political artist, without
any ocial position.[50][51] The agreement was reached.
Goebbels made an announcement declaring that Furtwnglers article on Hindemith was not political: Furtwngler
had spoken only from an artistic point of view, and it was
Hitler who was in charge of the cultural policy in Germany.
Hitler now allowed him to have a new passport. When

they met again in April, Hitler attacked Furtwngler for
his support of modern music, and made him withdraw
from regular conducting for the time being, save for his
scheduled appearance at Bayreuth.[55] However, Hitler
conrmed that Furtwngler would not be given any ofcial titles, and would be treated as a private individual.
But Hitler refused Furtwnglers request to announce this,
saying that it would be harmful for the prestige of the
State.[56]
Furtwngler resumed conducting. On April 25, 1935, he
returned to the Berlin Philharmonic with a program dedicated to Beethoven. Many people who had boycotted
the orchestra during his absence came to the concert to
support him.[57] He was called out seventeen times.[56]
On May 3, in his dressing room before conducting the
same program, he was informed that Hitler and his entire
sta would attend the concert. He was given the order
to welcome Hitler with the Nazi salute.[58][59] Furtwngler was so furious that he ripped the wooden panelling
o a radiator.[60][61] Franz Jastrau, the manager of the
orchestra, suggested that he keep his baton in his right
hand all the time.[62] When he entered the hall, all the
Nazi leaders were present making the Hitler salute, but
Furtwngler kept hold of his baton and began the concert
immediately. Hitler probably could not have imagined
that such an aront was possible but decided to put up a
good show: he sat down and the concert went on.[59]
At the end of the concert, Furtwngler continued to keep
his baton in his right hand. Hitler understood the situation and jumped up and demonstratively held out his right
hand to him.[63][64] The same situation occurred during
another concert later on, when a photographer had been
mobilized by the Nazis for the occasion: the photo of
the famous handshake between Furtwngler and Hitler
was distributed everywhere by Goebbels.[54] Goebbels
had obtained what he desired: to keep Furtwngler in
Germany and to give the impression to those who were
not well informed (especially outside the country) that
Furtwngler was now a supporter of the regime.
Furtwngler wrote in his diary in 1935 that there was a
complete contradiction between the racial ideology of the
Nazis and the true German culture, the one of Schiller,
1.1
Goethe and Beethoven.[65] He added in 1936: living today is more than ever a question of courage.[66]
Furtwngler avoided the 1936 Summer Olympics in

Berlin, and canceled all his public engagements during
the following winter season in order to compose.[76] He
returned to the Berlin Philharmonic in 1937, performing
1.1.5 The New York Philharmonic Orchestra
with them in London for the coronation of George VI,
and in Paris for the universal exposition, where he again
On September 1935, the baritone Oskar Jlli, a mem- refused to conduct the Horst-Wessel-Lied or to attend the
ber of the Nazi party, reported to the Gestapo that political speeches of German ocials.[25]
Furtwngler had said, Those in power should all be
shot, and things in Germany would not change until this The Salzburg Festival was considered to be a festival
was done.[67] Hitler forbade him to conduct for sev- of the free world and a centre for anti-fascist artists.
forbidden all German musicians from performeral months, until Furtwnglers ftieth birthday in Jan- Hitler had[77]
[68]
ing
there.
In 1937, Furtwngler was asked to conduct
uary 1936.
Hitler and Goebbels allowed him to conBeethovens
ninth
symphony in Salzburg. Despite strong
duct again and oered him presents: Hitler an annual
opposition
from
Hitler
and Goebbels, he accepted the
pension of 40,000 Reichsmarks, and Goebbels an or[78]
invitation.
nate baton made of gold and ivory. Furtwngler refused
them.[45][67][69]
Arturo Toscanini, a prominent anti-fascist, was furious
Furtwngler was oered the principal conductors post to learn that Furtwngler would be at the Festival. He
at the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, which was accepted his engagement in Salzburg on the[79]condition
But the
then the most desirable and best paid position in inter- that he would not have to meet Furtwngler.
[70]
two
did
meet,
and
argued
over
Furtwnglers
actions.
national musical life. He was to have followed Arturo
Toscanini, who had declared that Furtwngler was the Toscanini argued: I know quite well that you are not
only man to succeed him.[71][72] Furtwngler accepted the a member of the Party. I am also aware that you have
post, but his telephone conversations were recorded by helped your Jewish friends [...] But everyone who conducts in the Third Reich is a Nazi!". Furtwngler emthe Gestapo.[15]
phatically denied this and said: By that, you imply that
While Furtwngler was travelling, the Berlin branch of art and music are merely propaganda, a false front, as it
the Associated Press leaked a news story on Hermann were, for any Government which happens to be in power.
Gring's orders.[73] It suggested Furtwngler would prob- If a Nazi Government is in power, then, as a conductor,
ably be reappointed as director of the Berlin State Opera I am a Nazi; under the communists, I would be a Comand of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.[45][71] This munist; under the democrats, a democrat... No, a thoucaused the mood in New York to turn against him: it sand times no! Music belongs to a dierent world, and is
seemed that Furtwngler was now a supporter of the above chance political events. Toscanini disagreed and
Nazi Party.[74] On reading the American press reaction, that ended the discussion.[80]
Furtwngler chose not to accept the position in New
York. Nor did he accept any position at the Berlin Opera. Furtwngler returned to the Bayreuth festival, his relationship with Winifred Wagner worse than ever. He did
not appear again in Bayreuth until 1943.[78] He wrote
1.1.6 1936-37
a letter to Winifred Wagner, sending copies to Hitler,
Gring and Goebbels, accusing her of having betrayed
Furtwngler conducted at the Bayreuth festival in 1936 Wagners heritage by applying racial and not artistic rules
for the rst time since 1931, in spite of his poor rela- in the choice of the artists, and of putting her trust in
tionship with Winifred Wagner. Hitler and Goebbels at- the powers of an authoritarian state.[67] This clear attended the festival and attempted to force him to accept tack on Hitler caused a sharp reaction: Hitler wanted to
an ocial position. Friedelind Wagner, the composers drop Furtwngler from Bayreuth after all.[67] In the event,
anti-Nazi granddaughter, witnessed a meeting between Furtwngler did conduct. Goebbels wrote in two entries
Hitler and Furtwngler at her mothers Bayreuth home:
of his diary in 1937 that Furtwngler was constantly helping Jews, half-Jews and his small Hindemith.[81]
I remember Hitler turning to Furtwngler
and telling him that he would now have to allow himself to be used by the party for propaganda purposes, and I remember that Furtwngler refused categorically. Hitler ew into a
fury and told Furtwngler that in that case there
would be a concentration camp ready for him.
Furtwngler quietly replied: In that case, Herr
Reichskanzler, at least I will be in very good
company. Hitler couldn't even answer, and
vanished from the room.[75]
According to the historian Fred Prieberg, by the end of

1937 nobody who was correctly informed could accuse
Furtwngler of working for the Nazis.[67] For the Nazi
leadership, especially for Hitler, it became necessary to
prove to him that he was not irreplaceable.
1.1.7 Herbert von Karajan
The Nazi leaders searched for another conductor to counterbalance Furtwngler.[82] A young, gifted Austrian con-
1 BIOGRAPHY
ductor now appeared in the Third Reich: Herbert von

Karajan. Karajan had joined the Nazi Party early and
was much more willing to participate in the propaganda
of the new regime than Furtwngler.[83]
Furtwngler had attended several of his concerts, praising his technical gifts but criticizing his conducting style;
he did not consider him a serious competitor. However, when Karajan conducted Fidelio and Tristan und
Isolde in Berlin in late 1938, Gring decided to take the
initiative.[82] The music critic Edwin von der Nll wrote
a review of these concerts with the support of Gring. Its
title, The Karajan Miracle, was a reference to the famous article The Furtwngler Miracle that had made
Furtwngler famous as a young conductor in Mannheim.
Von der Nll championed Karajan saying, A thirty-yearold man creates a performance for which our great ftyyear-olds can justiably envy him. Furtwnglers photo
was printed next to the article, making the reference
clear.[84]
The article was part of a broader attack made against
Furtwngler.[84] The Nazi press criticized him of being
a man of the Nineteenth century whose political ideas
were obsolete and who did not understand and accept the
new changes in Germany. The situation became intolerable for Furtwngler. He obtained from Goebbels an
undertaking that these attacks would be stopped.[85]
However, Furtwnglers position was weakened: he knew
that if he left Germany, Karajan would immediately become the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. It was
the beginning of an obsessive hate and contempt for Karajan that never left him until his death. He often refused
to call Karajan by his name, calling him simply Herr
K. Hitlers opinion was that even if Furtwngler was innitely better than Karajan as a conductor, it was necessary to keep Karajan in reserve since Furtwngler was
not politically trustworthy.
1.1.8
The Kristallnacht and the Anschluss
Furtwngler was very aected by the events of the

Kristallnacht. Berta Geissmar, who met him in Paris described him as greatly depressed.[86] Friedelind Wagner, who saw him also in Paris, wrote that he was a very
unhappy man.[87] Andrew Schulhof, who met him in
Budapest said that he had the impression that what he
had done before for his Jewish friends had been lost.[88]
Goebbels wanted to eliminate the Vienna Philharmonic

and to convert the Vienna Opera and the Salzburg Festival into branches of the Berlin Opera and the Bayreuth
Festival respectively.[92] In addition, he wished to conscate the largest musical collection in the world, belonging to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna and to
move it to Berlin. Hitlers goal was to deny that Austria
had developed its own culture independently of Germany.
Austrian musical circles asked Furtwngler, who was the
honorary president of the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, to help them.[90]
Furtwngler campaigned to convince Nazi leaders to
abandon their plans. According to historian Fred K.
Prieberg, he conducted concerts (often with the Vienna
Philharmonic) in the presence of German leaders during
this period in exchange for the conservation of the orchestra. He organized several concerts of Austrian music in Berlin and Vienna for Hitler, to highlight Austrian
culture. The Nazi leadership, who wanted to take advantage of this situation, invited Furtwngler in 1938 to
conduct Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg with the Vienna
Philharmonic in Nrnberg for the Nazi party congress.
Furtwngler accepted to conduct, as long as the performance was not during the party congress. Hitler eventually accepted Furtwnglers conditions:[93] the concert
took place on 5 September and the political event was
formally opened the following morning.[94] This concert,
along with one given in Berlin in 1942 for Hitlers birthday, led to heavy criticism of Furtwngler after the war.
However, Furtwngler had managed not to participate in
the party congress. He had also succeeded in conserving
the Vienna Philharmonic, and the musical collections of
Vienna and the Vienna Opera, where he persuaded Hitler
and Goebbels to agree to the appointment of Karl Bhm
as artistic director.[92] At the Vienna Philharmonic, as at
the Berlin Philharmonic, Furtwngler succeeded in protecting 'half-Jews or members with 'non-aryan' wives until the end of the war (these were exceptional cases in
Germany during the Nazi period).[94] However, in contrast to his experience with the Berlin Philharmonic, he
could not save the lives of 'full-blooded' Jews: they were
persecuted, with a number dying in concentration camps.
Goebbels was satised that Furtwngler had conducted
the concerts in Vienna, Prague and Nrnberg, thinking
that these concerts gave a cultural justication to the
annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia.[95] During this
period he said that Furtwngler was willing to place himself at my disposal for any of my activities, describing him as an out-and-out chauvinist.[96] However, he
regularly complained that Furtwngler was helping Jews
and 'half-Jews, and his complaints continued during the
war.[97] Goebbels wrote in his diary that Furtwnglers
goal was to bypass Nazi cultural policy. For instance,
Goebbels wrote that Furtwngler supported the Salzburg
festival to counterbalance the Bayreuth festival, a keystone of the Nazi regime.[95]
Furtwngler approved of the Anschluss that had occurred

on 12 March 1938.[89] But he quickly disagreed with
the Nazi leaders decision to annex Austrian culture by
abolishing independent cultural activity in Austria and
subordinating it to Berlin.[90] Just after the Anschluss,
Furtwngler discovered that a huge Swastika ag was displayed in the hall of the Musikverein. He refused to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic as long as the rag is visiFurtwngler was very aected by the events of the 1930s.
ble. The ag was nally removed.[91]
1.1
Fred K. Prieberg describes Furtwngler in 1939 as a broken man.[98] The French government awarded him the
Legion of Honour in 1939, which may support the theory that western diplomatic services knew Furtwngler
was not a supporter of the Nazi regime. Hitler forbade
news of the award to be spread in Germany.[88]
1.1.9
World War II
7
fore to ask him to agree to conduct the symphony but the
latter refused arguing that he had no time to rehearse and
that he had to perform several concerts in Vienna. But
Goebbels forced the organizers in Vienna (by threatening
them) to cancel the concerts and ordered Furtwngler to
return to Berlin[108] In 1943 and 1944, Furtwngler provided false medical certicates in advance to be sure that
such a situation would not happen again.[107][109]
Furtwngler conducted in Denmark and in unoccupied
countries such as Sweden and Switzerland. His concerts
were often broadcast to German troops to raise morale,
though he was limited in what he was allowed to perform.
He later said that he had tried to protect German culture
from the Nazis.[110] It is now known that he continued
to use his inuence to help Jewish musicians and nonmusicians escape the Third Reich.[15][111][112] He managed to have Max Zweig, a nephew of conductor Fritz
Zweig, released from Dachau concentration camp. Others, from an extensive list of Jews he helped, included
Carl Flesch, Josef Krips and the composer Arnold Schnberg.[113]
During the war, Furtwngler tried to avoid conducting in

occupied Europe. He said: I will never play in a country
such as France, which I am so much attached to, considering myself a 'vanquisher'. I will conduct there again only
when the country has been liberated.[99][100] He refused
to go to France during its occupation, although the Nazis
tried to force him to conduct there.[101][102][103] Since he
had said that he would conduct there only at the invitation of the French, Goebbels forced the French conductor Charles Munch to send him a personal invitation. But
Munch wrote in small characters at the bottom of his letter in agreement with the German occupation authorities. Furtwngler declined the invitation.[104]
Furtwngler refused to participate in the propaganda lm
Furtwngler did conduct in Prague in November 1940 Philharmoniker. Goebbels wanted Furtwngler as to feaand March 1944. The 1940 program, chosen by Furtwn- ture in it, but Furtwngler declined to take part. The
gler, included Smetanas Moldau. According to Prieberg, lm was nished in December 1943 showing many conThis piece is part of the cycle in which the Czech master ductors connected with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchescelebrated 'M vlast (My Country), and [...] was intended tra, including Eugen Jochum, Karl Bhm, Hans Knap[114]
to support his compatriots ght for the independence pertsbusch, and Richard Strauss, but not Furtwngler.
from Austrian domination [...] When Furtwngler began Goebbels also asked Furtwngler to direct the music in
with the 'Moldau' it was not a deliberate risk, but a state- a lm about Beethoven, again for propaganda purposes.
ment of his stance towards the oppressed Czechs.[105] They quarralled violently about this project. Furtwngler
The 1944 concert marked the fth anniversary of the told him You are wrong, Herr Minister, if you think you
in a lm. Goebbels gave up his
German occupation and was the result of a deal between can exploit Beethoven
[115]
plans
for
the
lm.
Furtwngler and Goebbels: Furtwngler did not want to
perform in April for Hitlers birthday in Berlin. He said In April 1944, Goebbels wrote:
to Goebbels in March (as he had in April 1943) that
he was sick. Goebbels asked him to perform in Prague
Furtwngler has never been a National Soinstead,[106] where he conducted the Symphony No. 9 of
cialist. Nor has he ever made any bones about
Antonn Dvok. He conducted in Oslo in 1943, where
it. Which Jews and emigrants thought was
he helped the Jewish conductor Issay Dobrowen to ee to
sucient to consider him as one of them, a
Sweden.[106]
key representative of so-called 'inner emigraIn April 1942, Furtwngler conducted a performance
of Beethovens ninth symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic for Hitlers birthday. At least the nal minutes of the performance were lmed and can be seen
on YouTube. At the end, Goebbels came to the front
of the stage to shake Furtwnglers hand. This concert
led to heavy criticism of Furtwngler after the war. In
fact, Furtwngler had planned several concerts in Vienna
during this period to avoid this celebration.[107] But after the defeat of the German army during the Battle of
Moscow, Goebbels had decided to make a long speech on
the eve of Hitlers birthday to galvanize the German nation. The speech would be followed by Beethovens ninth
symphony. Goebbels wanted Furtwngler to conduct the
symphony by whatever means to give a transcendent dimension to the event. He called Furtwngler shortly be-
tion'. Furtwngler['s] stance towards us has not

changed in the least.[108][116][117][118]
Friedelind Wagner (an outspoken opponent of the Third
Reich) reported a conversation with her mother Winifred
Wagner during the war, to the eect that Hitler did not
trust or like Furtwngler, and that Gring and Goebbels
were upset with Furtwnglers continuous support for
his undesirable friends. Yet Hitler, in gratitude for
Furtwnglers refusal to leave Berlin even when it was being bombed, ordered Albert Speer to build a special air
raid shelter for the conductor and his family. Furtwngler refused it, but the shelter was nevertheless built in the
house against his will.[119] Speer related that in December 1944 Furtwngler asked whether Germany had any
chance of winning the war. Speer replied in the negative,
1 BIOGRAPHY
and advised him to ee to Switzerland from possible Nazi

retribution.[120] In 1944, he was the only prominent German artist who refused to sign the brochure 'We Stand
and Fall with Adolf Hitler'.[121]
had refused his resignation) and with making an antisemitic remark against the part-Jewish conductor Victor
de Sabata.[129][130] The chair of the commission, Alex Vogel, started the trial with the following statement:
Furtwnglers name was included on the Gottbegnadeten

list (God-gifted List) of September 1944, but was removed on December 7, 1944 because of his relationships
with German resistance.[122] Furtwngler had strong links
to the German resistance which organized the 20 July
plot. He stated during his denazication trial that he knew
an attack was being organized against Hitler, although he
did not participate in its organization. He knew Claus
von Stauenberg very well[123] and his doctor, Johannes
Ludwig Schmitt, who wrote him many false health prescriptions to bypass ocial requirements, was a member
of the Kreisau Circle.[109] Furtwnglers concerts were
sometimes chosen by the members of the German resistance as a meeting point. Rudolf Pechel, a member of the
resistance group which organized the 20 July plot said to
Furtwngler after the war: In the circle of our resistance
movement it was an accepted fact that you were the only
one in the whole of our musical world who really resisted,
and you were one of us.[124] Graf Kaunitz, also a member of that circle, stated: In Furtwnglers concerts we
were one big family of the resistance.[125]
The investigations showed that Furtwngler had not been

a member of any [Nazi] organization, that he tried to
help people persecuted because of their race, and that
he also avoided ... formalities such as giving the Hitler
salute.[129]
Grove Online states that Furtwngler was within a few

hours of being arrested " by the Gestapo when he ed
to Switzerland, following a concert in Vienna with the
Vienna Philharmonic on January 28, 1945. The Nazis
had begun to crack down on German liberals. At
the concert he conducted Brahmss Second Symphony,
which was recorded and is considered one of his greatest
performances.[126]
1.1.10
Post World War II
At the end of the trial, musicians certied that Furtwngler helped many people during Nazi era such as Hugo
Strelitzer, who declared:
If I am alive today, I owe this to this great
man. Furtwngler helped and protected a great
number of Jewish musicians and this attitude
shows a great deal of courage since he did it
under the eyes of the Nazis, in Germany itself.
History will be his judge.[131]
As part of his closing remarks at his denazication trial,
Furtwngler said,
I knew Germany was in a terrible crisis; I
felt responsible for German music, and it was
my task to survive this crisis, as much as I
could. The concern that my art was misused
for propaganda had to yield to the greater concern that German music be preserved, that music be given to the German people by its own
musicians. These people, the compatriots of
Bach and Beethoven, of Mozart and Schubert,
still had to go on living under the control of a
regime obsessed with total war. No one who
did not live here himself in those days can possibly judge what it was like. Does Thomas
Mann [who was critical of Furtwnglers actions] really believe that in 'the Germany of
Himmler' one should not be permitted to play
Beethoven? Could he not realize that people
never needed more, never yearned more to hear
Beethoven and his message of freedom and human love, than precisely these Germans, who
had to live under Himmlers terror? I do not
regret having stayed with them.[132]
Furtwngler was required to submit to a process of

denazication. He was charged with having conducted
two Nazi concerts during the period 19331945. The rst
was for the Hitler Youth on 3 February 1938. It was presented to Furtwngler as a way to acquaint younger generations with classical music. According to Fred Prieberg:
when he looked at the audience he realized that this was
more than just a concert for school kids in uniform; a
whole collection of prominent political gures were sitting there as well [...] and it was the last time he raised
He was eventually cleared on all the counts.[129]
his baton for this purpose.[127]
The second concert was the performance of Wagners
Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg with the Vienna Philharmonic on 5 September 1938, on the evening before the
Nazi congress in Nremberg.[128] Furtwngler had agreed
to conduct this concert to help preserve the Vienna Philharmonic, and at his insistence the concert was not part
of the congress.[128]
The violinist Yehudi Menuhin was, with Arnold Schoenberg, Bronisaw Huberman and Nathan Milstein, among
the Jewish musicians who had a positive view of Furtwngler. In 1933 Menuhin had refused to play with him,
but in the late 1940s, after a personal investigation of
Furtwngler, he changed his opinion, and performed and
recorded alongside him.[133]
He was charged for his honorary title of Staatsrat of Prus- Yehudi Menuhin sent a wire to General Robert A. Mcsia (he had resigned from this title in 1934, but the Nazis Clure in February 1946:
9
Unless you have secret incriminating evidence against Furtwngler supporting your accusation that he was a tool of Nazi Party, I
beg to take violent issue with your decision to
ban him. The man never was a Party member. Upon numerous occasions, he risked his
own safety and reputation to protect friends and
colleagues. Do not believe that the fact of remaining in ones own country is alone sucient
to condemn a man. On the contrary, as a military man, you would know that remaining at
ones post often requires greater courage than
running away. He saved, and for that we are
deeply his debtors, the best part of his own
German culture... I believe it patently unjust
and most cowardly for us to make of Furtwngler a scapegoat for our own crimes. If the
man is guilty of specic crimes, accuse him and
convict him. As far as I can see, it is no punishment to be banned from sordid, lthy Berlin
and if the man now old and ill is willing and
anxious to return to his exacting task and responsibilities he should be encouraged for that
is where he belongs, right in Berlin...[134]
1.1.11 Taking Sides

British playwright Ronald Harwood's play Taking Sides
(1995), set in 1946 in the American zone of occupied
Berlin, is about U.S. accusations against Furtwngler of
having served the Nazi regime. In 2001 the play was
made into a motion picture directed by Istvn Szab and
starring Harvey Keitel and featuring Stellan Skarsgrd in
the role of Furtwngler.[136]
2 Career
2.1 Conducting style
Furtwngler is most famous for his performances of
Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, and Wagner. He was a
champion of modern music, notably the works of Paul
Hindemith and Arnold Schoenberg,[137] and conducted
the World premiere of Sergei Prokoev's Fifth Piano
Concerto (with the composer at the piano) on October
31, 1932[138] as well as performances of Bla Bartk's
Concerto for Orchestra.
Furtwngler had a unique philosophy of music. He saw

symphonic music as creations of nature that could only
be realised subjectively into sound. Composers such
In 1949 Furtwngler accepted the position of principal as Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner were central to
conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. How- Furtwnglers repertoire, and he identied them as great
ever the orchestra was forced to rescind the oer un- forces of nature.
der the threat of a boycott from several prominent musicians including Arturo Toscanini, George Szell, Vladimir Neville Cardus wrote in the Manchester Guardian in 1954
Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein, Isaac Stern and Alexander of Furtwnglers conducting style:
Brailowsky.[135] According to a New York Times report,
He did not regard the printed notes of the
Horowitz said that he was prepared to forgive the small
score as a nal statement, but rather as so many
fry who had no alternative but to remain and work in Gersymbols of an imaginative conception, ever
many. But Furtwngler was out of the country on sevchanging and always to be felt and realised suberal occasions and could have elected to keep out.[135]
jectively...Not since Nikisch, of whom he was
Rubinstein likewise wrote in a telegram, Had Furtwna disciple, has a greater personal interpreter of
gler been rm in his democratic convictions he would
orchestral and opera music than Furtwngler
have left Germany.[135] Yehudi Menuhin was upset with
been heard.[139]
this boycott, declaring that some of the main organizers
had admitted to him that they had organized it only to
eliminate Furtwnglers presence in North America.[134] And the conductor Henry Lewis:
I admire Furtwngler for his originality and
honesty. He liberated himself from slavery to
the score; he realized that notes printed in the
score, are nothing but SYMBOLS. The score is
neither the essence nor the spirit of the music.
Furtwngler had this very rare and great gift
of going beyond the printed score and showing
what music really was.[140]
His tomb in Heidelberg
Many commentators and critics regard him as the greatest conductor in history.[141][142][143][144][145][146][147][148]
In his book on the symphonies of Johannes Brahms, musicologist Walter Frisch writes that Furtwnglers recordings show him to be the nest Brahms conductor of his
10
generation, perhaps of all time, demonstrating at once

a greater attention to detail and to Brahms markings than
his contemporaries and at the same time a larger sense of
rhythmic-temporal ow that is never deected by the individual nuances. He has an ability not only to respect,
but to make musical sense of, dynamic markings and
the indications of crescendo and diminuendo[...]. What
comes through amply ... is the rare combination of a conductor who understands both sound and structure.[149]
He notes Vladimir Ashkenazy who says that his sound
is never rough. Its very weighty but at the same time
is never heavy. In his fortissimo you always feel every
voice.... I have never heard so beautiful a fortissimo in an
orchestra, and Daniel Barenboim says he had a subtlety
of tone color that was extremely rare. His sound was always 'rounded,' and incomparably more interesting than
that of the great German conductors of his generation.
CAREER
On the other hand, the critic David Hurwitz, a spokesman

for modern literalism and precision, sharply criticizes
what he terms the Furtwngler wackos who will forgive him virtually any lapse, no matter how severe, and
characterizes the conductor himself as occasionally incandescent but criminally sloppy.[150]
what he was trying to do: you didn't need

any reference to spiritual dimension. There
was a certain order in the way the music
was presented. With Toscanini I never felt
anything spiritual. With Furtwngler on the
other hand, I understood that there I was
confronted by something completely dierent:
metaphysics, transcendence, the relationship
between sounds and sonorities [...] Furtwngler was not only a musician, he was a creator
[...] What happens to those who don't understand the manifold variety of musical performance? Who are unable to hear that famous
astral octave because they are deaf to music?
Then their integration is related only to a part
of a musical score, to the least important one,
the raw material. But thats precisely what music is not about [...] Then you nd each tempo
too slow. Because the slowness or fastness are
determined by the complexity of these musical
manifestations. Furtwngler had the ear for it:
not the physical ear, but the spiritual ear that
captures these parallel movements.[151]
Unlike conductors such as Carlos Kleiber or Sergiu Celibidache, Furtwngler did not try to reach the perfection in
details, and the number of rehearsals with him was small.
He said,
Conductor and pianist Christoph Eschenbach has said of

Furtwngler that he was a formidable magician, a man
capable of setting an entire ensemble of musicians on re,
sending them into a state of ecstasy.[152]
I am told that the more you rehearse, the

better you play. This is wrong. We often try to
reduce the unforeseen to a controllable level,
to prevent a sudden impulse that escapes our
ability to control, yet also responds to an obscure desire. Lets allow improvisation to have
its place and play its role. I think that the true
interpreter is the one who improvises. We have
mechanized the art of conducting to an awful
degree, in the quest of perfection rather than of
dream [...] As soon as rubato is obtained and
calculated scientically, it ceases to be true.
Music making is something else than searching
to achieve an accomplishment. But striving to
attain it is beautiful. Some of Michelangelo's
sculptures are perfect, others are just outlined
and the latter ones move me more than the rst
perfect ones because here I nd the essence of
desire, of the wakening dream. Thats what really moves me: xing without freezing in cement, allowing chance its opportunity.[140]
Furtwngler commemorated on a stamp for West Berlin, 1955
His style is often contrasted with that of his contemporary Arturo Toscanini. Instead of perfection in details, Furtwngler was famous for his exceptional inarticulacy
Furtwngler was looking for the spiritual in art. Sergiu when speaking about music. His pupil Sergiu Celibidache
Celibidache explained,
remembered that the best he could say was, Well, just
listen (to the music). Carl Brinitzer from the German
Everybody was inuenced at the time by
BBC service tried to interview him, and thought he had
Arturo Toscanini - it was easy to understand
an imbecile before him. A live recording of a rehearsal
2.2
Inuence
with a Stockholm orchestra documents hardly anything

intelligible, only hums and mumbling. On the other
hand, a collection of his essays, On Music, reveals deep
thought. Furtwngler remained highly respected amongst
musicians. Even Arturo Toscanini, usually regarded as
Furtwnglers complete antithesis (and sharply critical of
Furtwngler on political grounds), once said when asked
to name the Worlds greatest conductor apart from himself Furtwngler!"
11
ence on her husband.[167] Schenker considered Furtwngler as the greatest conductor in the world and as the only
conductor who truly understood Beethoven.[168]
Furtwnglers recordings are characterized by an extraordinary sound wealth[160] ", special emphasis being placed on cellos, double basses,[160] percussion and
woodwind instruments.[169] According to Furtwngler, he
learned how to obtain this kind of sound from Arthur
Nikisch. This richness of sound is partly due to his
vague beat, often called a uid beat.[170] This uid
beat created slight gaps between the sounds made by
the musicians, allowing listeners to distinguish all the
instruments in the orchestra, even in tutti sections.[171]
Vladimir Ashkenazy once said: I never heard such
beautiful fortissimi as Furtwnglers.[172] According to
Yehudi Menuhin, Furtwnglers uid beat was more difcult but superior than Toscaninis very precise beat.[173]
Unlike Otto Klemperer, Furtwngler did not try to suppress emotion in performance, instead giving a hyper romantic aspect[174] to his interpretations. The emotional
intensity of his World War II recordings is particularly
famous. He desired to retain an element of improvisation and of the unexpected in his concerts, each interpretation being conceived as a re-creation.[160] However,
melodic line as well as the global unity were never lost
with Furtwngler, even in the most dramatic interpretations, partly due to the inuence of Heinrich Schenker
and to the fact that Furtwngler was a composer and had
studied composition during his whole life.[175]
Furtwnglers art of conducting is considered as the synthesis and the peak of the so-called Germanic school
of conducting.[153][154] This school was initiated by
Richard Wagner. Unlike Mendelssohn's conducting style,
which was characterized by quick, even tempos and imbued with what many people regarded as model logic and
precision [...], Wagners way was broad, hyper-romantic
and embraced the idea of tempo modulation.[155] Wagner considered an interpretation as a re-creation and put
more emphasis on the phrase than on the measure.[156]
The fact that the tempo was changing was not something
new; Beethoven himself interpreted his own music with
a lot of freedom. Beethoven wrote: my tempi are valid
only for the rst bars, as feeling and expression must have
their own tempo, and why do they annoy me by asking
for my tempi? Either they are good musicians and ought
to know how to play my music, or they are bad musicians
and in that case my indications would be of no avail.[157]
Beethovens disciples, such as Anton Schindler, testied
that the composer varied the tempo when he conducted
his works.[158] Wagners tradition was followed by the
rst two permanent conductors of the Berlin Philharmonic.[159] Hans von Blow highlighted more the uni- 2.2 Inuence
tary structure of symphonic works, while Arthur Nikisch
stressed the magnicence of tone.[160] The styles of these One of Furtwnglers protgs was the pianist prodigy
Karlrobert Kreiten who was killed by the Nazis in 1943
two conductors were synthesized by Furtwngler.[160]
because he had criticized Hitler. He was an important
In Munich (1907-1909), Furtwngler studied with Felix
inuence on the pianist/conductor Daniel Barenboim, of
Mottl, a disciple of Wagner.[161] He considered Arthur
whom
Furtwnglers widow, Elisabeth Furtwngler, said,
Nikisch as his model.[162] According to John Ardoin,
Er furtwnglert (He furtwnglers). Barenboim has
Wagners subjective style of conducting led to Furtwnconducted a recording of Furtwnglers 2nd Symphony,
gler and Mendelssohns objective style of conducting led
with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Other conductors
to Toscanini.[159]
known to speak admiringly of Furtwngler include Valery
Furtwnglers art was deeply inuenced by the great Gergiev, Claudio Abbado, Carlos Kleiber, Carlo Maria
Jewish music theorist Heinrich Schenker with whom he Giulini, Simon Rattle, Sergiu Celibidache, Otto Klemworked between 1920 and Schenkers death in 1935. perer, Karl Bhm, Christoph Eschenbach, Alexander
Schenker was the founder of musical analysis (called Frey, Eugen Jochum, Zubin Mehta, Kurt Masur and
the Schenkerian analysis), emphasizing underlying long- Christian Thielemann. For instance, Carlos Kleiber
range harmonic tensions and resolutions in a piece thought that nobody could equal Furtwngler.[176]
of music.[163][164] Furtwngler read Schenkers famous George Szell, whose precise musicianship was in many
monograph on Beethovens Ninth symphony in 1911, ways antithetical to Furtwnglers, always kept a picture
subsequently trying to nd and read all his books.[165] of Furtwngler in his dressing room. Herbert von KaraFurtwngler met Schenker in 1920, and they continuously jan, who in his early years was Furtwnglers rival, mainworked together on the repertoire which Furtwngler tained throughout his life that Furtwngler was one of the
conducted. Schenker never secured an academic position great inuences on his music making, even though his
in Austria and Germany, in spite of Furtwnglers eorts cool, objective, modern style had little in common with
to support him.[166] Schenker depended on several pa- Furtwnglers white-hot Romanticism. Karajan said:
trons including Furtwngler. Furtwnglers second wife
certied much later that Schenker had an immense inuHe certainly had an enormous inuence on
12
3 NOTABLE RECORDINGS
me [...] I remember that when I was Generalmusikdirektor in Aachen, a friend invited me
to a concert that Furtwngler gave in Cologne
[...] Furtwnglers performance of the Robert
Schumann's Fourth, which I didn't know at
the time, opened up a new world for me. I
was deeply impressed. I didn't want to forget this concert, so I immediately returned to
Aachen.[177]
The conductor who most clearly represented a continuity

with Furtwnglers incandescent style was Jascha Horenstein; he had worked as an assistant to Furtwngler in
Berlin during the 1920s.
Furtwnglers performances of Beethoven, Wagner,
Bruckner, and Brahms remain important reference points
today, as do his interpretations of other works such as
Haydns 88th Symphony, Schuberts Ninth Symphony,
and Schumanns Fourth Symphony. His performances
are grounded in the spontaneous exibility that Wagner
referred to as the elastic phrase.
The musicians who have expressed the highest opinion
about Furtwngler are some of the most prominent ones
of the 20th century such as Arnold Schnberg,[178] Paul
Hindemith,[179] or Arthur Honegger.[180] Soloists such as
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,[181][182] Yehudi Menuhin[183]
Pablo Casals and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf[184] who have
played music with almost all the major conductors of the
20th century have clearly declared upon several occasions
that, for them, Furtwngler was the most important one.
John Ardoin has reported the following discussion he has
had with Maria Callas in August 1968 after having listened to Beethovens Eight with the Cleveland orchestra
conducted by George Szell:
Well, she sighed, you see what we have
been reduced to. We are now in a time when
a Szell is considered a master. How small he
was next to Furtwngler. Reeling this disbelief - not at her verdict, with which I agreed,
but from the unvarnished acuteness of it - I
stammered, But how do you know Furtwngler? You never sang with him. How do you
think?" she stared at me with equal disbelief.
He started his career after the war in Italy [in
1947]. I heard dozens of his concerts there. To
me, he was Beethoven.[185]
Notable recordings
There are a huge number of Furtwngler recordings currently available, mostly live. Many of these were made
during World War II using experimental tape technology.
After the war they were conscated by the Soviet Union
for decades, and have only recently become widely available, often on multiple legitimate and illegitimate labels.
In spite of their limitations, the recordings from this era

are widely admired by Furtwngler devotees.
This is only a small selection of some of Furtwnglers
most famed recordings. For more information, see his
discography and list of currently available recordings.
The French Wilhelm Furtwngler Society also has a list
of recommended recordings.
Johann Sebastian Bach, St Matthew Passion (rst
half only), live performance with the Vienna Philharmonic, 1952 (SWF)
Bartk, Violin Concerto No. 2, studio recording
with Yehudi Menuhin and with the Philharmonia
Orchestra, 1953 (EMI)
Beethoven, Third Symphony, live performance with
the Vienna Philharmonic, December 1944 (Music
and Arts, Preiser, Tahra)[186][187]
Beethoven, Third Symphony, live performance with
the Berlin Philharmonic, December 1952 (Tahra)
Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, live performance with
the Berlin Philharmonic, June 1943 (Classica d'Oro,
Deutsche Grammophon, Enterprise, Music and
Arts, Opus Kura, Tahra)
Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, live performance with
the Berlin Philharmonic, Mai 1954 (Tahra)
Beethoven, Sixth Symphony, live performance with
the Berlin Philharmonic, March 1944 (Tahra)
Beethoven, Seventh Symphony, live performance
with the Berlin Philharmonic, October 1943 (Classica d'Oro, Deutsche Grammophon, Music and
Arts, Opus Kura)[188]
Beethoven, Ninth Symphony, live performance with
the Berlin Philharmonic, March 1942 with Tilla
Briem, Elisabeth Hngen, Peter Anders, Rudolf
Watzke, and the Bruno Kittel Choir (Classica d'Oro,
Music and Arts, Opus Kura, Tahra, SWF)[189][190]
Beethoven, Ninth Symphony, live performance at
the July 29, 1951 re-opening of Bayreuther Festspiele (not to be confused with EMIs release) with
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth Hngen, Hans
Hopf and Otto Edelmann. (Orfeo D'or, 2008).[191]
Beethoven, Ninth Symphony, ostensibly a live
performance at the July 29, 1951 re-opening of
Bayreuther Festspiele but purported by the President
of the Wilhelm Furtwngler Society of America to
actually be dress rehearsal takes edited by EMI into
one recording, all performed prior to the actual public performance. (EMI, 1955).[192]
13
Beethoven, Ninth Symphony, live performance
at the 1954 Lucerne Festival with the London
Philharmonia, Lucerne Festival Choir, Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf, Elsa Cavelti, Ernst Haeiger and Otto
Edelmann (Music and Arts, Tahra).[193]
Beethoven, Violin Concerto, studio recording with
Yehudi Menuhin and with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, 1947 (Testament)
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5, studio recording with Edwin Fischer and with the Philharmonia
Orchestra, 1951 (Naxos)
Beethoven, Fidelio, live performance with the
Vienna Philharmonic with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,
Kirsten Flagstad, Anton Dermota, Julius Patzak,
Paul Schoeer, Josef Greindl, and Hans Braun, August 1950 (Opus Kura)
Beethoven, Fidelio, both live and studio recordings,
with Martha Mdl, his preferred soprano, in the title role, and Wolfgang Windgassen, Otto Edelmann,
Gottlob Frick, Sena Jurinac, Rudolf Schock, Alfred Poell, Alwin Hendriks, Franz Bierbach, and the
Vienna Philharmonic.
Brahms, First Symphony, live performance with the
North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg, October 1951 (Music and Arts, Tahra).[194]
Brahms, Second Symphony, live performance with
the Vienna Philharmonic, January 1945 (Deutsche
Grammophon, Music and Arts)
Brahms, Third Symphony, live performance
with the Berlin Philharmonic, December 1949
(EMI).[195]
Brahms, Fourth Symphony, live performance with
the Berlin Philharmonic, December 1943 (Tahra,
SWF)
Brahms, Fourth Symphony, live performance with
the Berlin Philharmonic, October 1948 (EMI)
Brahms, Violin Concerto, studio recording with
Yehudi Menuhin and with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, 1949 (Tahra, Naxos)
Brahms, Piano Concerto No. 2, live performance
with Edwin Fischer and with the Berlin Philharmonic, 1942 (Testament)
Bruckner, Fourth Symphony, live performance with
the Berlin Philharmonic, October 1941 (WFCJ)
Bruckner, Fifth Symphony, live performance with
the Berlin Philharmonic, October 1942 (Classica
d'Oro, Deutsche Grammophon, Music and Arts,
Testament).[196]
Bruckner, Sixth Symphony (the rst movement is

missing), live performance with the Berlin Philharmonic, November 1943 (Music and Arts)
Bruckner, Seventh Symphony (adagio only), live
performance with the Berlin Philharmonic, April
1942 (Tahra).[197]
Bruckner, Eighth Symphony, live performance with
the Vienna Philharmonic, October 1944 (Deutsche
Grammophon, Music and Arts)
Bruckner, Ninth Symphony, live performance with
the Berlin Philharmonic, October 1944 (Deutsche
Grammophon)
Franck, Symphony, live performance with the
Vienna Philharmonic, 1945 (SWF)
Furtwngler, Second Symphony, live performance
with the Vienna Philharmonic, February 1953 (Orfeo)
Gluck, Alceste Ouverture, studio recording with the
Vienna Philharmonic, 1954 (SWF)
Haendel, Concerto Grosso Opus 6 No. 10, live performance with the Berlin Philharmonic, February
1944 (Melodiya)
Haendel, Concerto Grosso Opus 6 No. 10, live performance with the Teatro Coln Orchester, 1950
(Disques Refrain)
Haydn, 88th Symphony, studio recording with the
Berlin Philharmonic, 5 December 1951 (Deutsche
Grammophon)
Mahler, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, live performance with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and the
Vienna Philharmonic, 1951 (Orfeo)
Mahler, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, studio
recording with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and the
Philharmonia Orchestra, 1952 (Naxos, EMI)
Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto, studio recording
with Yehudi Menuhin and with the Berlin Philharmonic, 1952 (Naxos, EMI)
Mozart, Don Giovanni, the 1950, 1953 and 1954
Salzburg Festival recordings (in live performance).
These have been made available on several labels,
but mostly EMI. A videotaped performance of Don
Giovanni is also available, featuring Cesare Siepi,
Otto Edelmann, Lisa Della Casa, Elisabeth Grmmer, and Anton Dermota.
Mozart, Die Zauberte, a live performance from
August 27, 1949, featuring Walther Ludwig,
Irmgard Seefried, Wilma Lipp, Gertrud GrobPrandl, Ernst Haeiger, Hermann Uhde, and Josef
Greindl.
14
5 NOTABLE COMPOSITIONS
Schubert, Eighth Symphony (rst movement only),

live performance with the Berlin Philharmonic, December 1944 (SWF)
Schoenberg, Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31,

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin, December
2, 1928
Schubert, Ninth Symphony, live performance with

the Berlin Philharmonic, 1942 (Deutsche Grammophon, Magic Master, Music and Arts, Opus
Kura)
Prokoev: Piano Concerto No. 5, the composer as

soloist, Berlin Philharmonic, October 31, 1932
Schubert, Die Zauberharfe Overture, live performance with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,
September 1953 (Deutsche Grammophon)
Richard Strauss, Four Last Songs, Kirsten Flagstad

as soloist, Philharmonia Orchestra, London, May
22, 1950
Schumann, Fourth Symphony, studio recording

with the Berlin Philharmonic, Deutsche Grammophon, May 1953 (Deutsche Grammophon).[198]
Hindemith, suite from Mathis der Maler, Berlin

Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin, March 11, 1934
5 Notable compositions
Sibelius, En Saga, live performance with the Berlin 5.1 For orchestra
Philharmonic Orchestra, February 1943 (SWF)
Early works
Tchaikovsky, Fourth Symphony, studio recording
with the Vienna Philharmonic, 1951 (Tahra)
Overture in E Major, Op. 3 (1899)
Tchaikovsky, Sixth Symphony Pathtique, studio
recording with the Berlin Philharmonic, HMV,
1938 (EMI, Naxos).[199]
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, studio recording with
Flagstad, HMV, June 1952 (EMI, Naxos).[200]
Symphony in D major (1st movement: Allegro)

(1902)
Symphony in B minor (Largo movement) (1908; the
principal theme of this work was used as the leading
theme of the 1st movement of the Symphony No. 1,
in the same key)
Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen, 1950 (live Mature works

recording from La Scala in Milan with Kirsten
Flagstad)
Symphonic Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
(1937, rev. 1954) (Many themes from this work
Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen with Wolfgang
were also incorporated into Furtwnglers unnished
Windgassen, Ludwig Suthaus, and Martha Mdl,
Symphony No. 3 in C minor).
1953 (EMI) (recorded live in the RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) studios).
Symphony No. 1 in B minor (1941)
Wagner, Die Walkre, his last recording in 1954.
Symphony No. 2 in E minor (1947)
EMI planned to record Der ring des Nibelungen
in the studio under Furtwngler, but he only n Symphony No. 3 in C minor (1954)
ished this work shortly before his death. The cast includes Martha Mdl (Brnnhilde), Leonie Rysanek
(Sieglinde), Ludwig Suthaus (Siegmund), Gottlob 5.2 Chamber music
Frick (Hunding), and Ferdinand Frantz (Wotan).
Piano Quintet (for two violins, viola, cello, and piano) in C major (1935)
He walked out of a Toscanini concert once, calling him
a mere time-beater!". Unlike Toscanini, Furtwngler
Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor (1935)
sought a weighty, less rhythmically strict, more bass Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major (1939)
oriented orchestral sound, with a more conspicuous use
[201]
of tempo changes not indicated in the printed score.
5.3 Choral
Notable premieres
Bartk, First Piano Concerto, the composer as
soloist, Theater Orchestra, Frankfurt, July 1, 1927
(all early works)

Schwindet ihr dunklen Wlbungen droben (Chorus of
Spirits, from Goethes Faust) (19011902)
15
Religser Hymnus (1903)
[17] Audrey Roncigli, Le cas Furtwngler, Paris, Imago, 2009,

p. 46.
Te Deum for Choir and Orchestra (19021906) (rev.

[18] Fred K. Prieberg, Trial of Strength, Wilhelm Furtwngler
1909) (rst performed 1910)
and the Third Reich, Quartet Books, 1991, p. 319.
Media

p. 109.
Bibliography

Furtwngler, Wilhelm. Notebooks 19241954.

Edited by Michael Tanner. Translated by Shaun
Whiteside. London: Quartet Books, 1989. ISBN
0704302209.
Ardoin John, The Furtwngler Record. Portland:
Amadeus press,1994. ISBN 0-931340-69-1.
Notes
[1] David Cairns Wilhelm Furtwngler in The New Grove

Dictionary of Music and Musicians London: Macmillan,
1980
[2] Cowan, Rob. Furtwngler Man and Myth. Gramophone. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
[3] Geissmar p 12
[4] Geissmar p 15
[5] Geissmar pp 20-5 and 143-7
[6] Geissmar p 23
[7] Geissmar pp 20-5 & p 30
[8] Curt Riess, Furtwngler, Musik und Politik, Berne, Scherz,
1953, p. 89.
[9] Berta Geissmar, The Baton and the Jackboot', Morrison and Gibb ltd., London and Edinburgh, rst published
1944, pp. 6667.
p. 37.
and the Third Reich, Quartet Books, 1991, pp. 5760.
[15] John Ardoin, The Furtwngler Record, 1994. p.56.
[16] Hans-Hubert Schnzeler, Furtwngler, Portland (Ore.),
Timber press, 1990, p. 53.
[21] Galo, Gary A., Review of The Furtwngler Record by

John Ardoin (December 1995). Notes (2nd Ser.), 52 (2):
pp. 483485.
and the Third Reich, Quartet Books, 1991.
and the Third Reich, Quartet Books, 1991, Chapter 2.
1953, p. 113.
[27] John Ardoin, The Furtwngler Record, Portland,
Amadeus press, 1994, p. 50.
[28] Berta Geissmar, The Baton and the Jackboot, Morrison
and Gibb ltd., London and Edinburgh, rst published
1944, p. 86.
p. 45.
1953, p. 109.
[31] Geissmar pp 81/2
1944, p. 82.
1953, p. 110.
[34] L'atelier du Matre , article by Philippe Jacquard on the
web site of the french Wilhelm Furtwngler society: read
on line.
[36] Frederick Spotts Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics, p.291
p. 48.
[38] Berta Geissmar, The baton and the Jackboot, Morrison
1944, p. 144.
16
8 NOTES

1953, p. 139.


1944, p. 132.

1953, p. 153.

1953, p. 141.
1944, p. 159.
1953, p. 142.
1953, p. 144.
p. 52.
[46] Elisabeth Furtwngler, Pour Wilhelm, Paris, L'Archipel,
2004, p. 51 and p. 128.
[47] Klaus Lang, Celibidache et Furtwngler [ Celibidache
und Furtwngler ], Paris, Buchet/Chastel, 2012, p. 55.
and the Third Reich, Quartet Books, 1991, chapter 5.
1953, p. 143.
1953, p. 145.

[65] Wilhelm Furtwngler (trad. Ursula Wetzel, Jean-Jacques
Rapin, prf. Pierre Brunel), Carnets 1924-1954 : suivis
dcrits fragmentaires, Genve, ditions Georg, 1995, p.
39.
[66] Wilhelm Furtwngler (trad. Ursula Wetzel, Jean-Jacques
Rapin, prf. Pierre Brunel), Carnets 1924-1954 : suivis
dcrits fragmentaires, Genve, ditions Georg, 1995, p.
11.
[67] Fred K. Prieberg, Trial of strength, Wilhelm Furtwngler
and the Third Reich, Quartet Books, 1991, p.188.
p. 104.
1953, p. 155.
1953, p. 156.
1953, p. 157.
[72] ASIN 0761501371
1953, p. 157-159.
[74] Music: Partisans on the Podium. Time. April 25, 1949.


p. 53.
[53] Fred K. Prieberg, Trial of Strength, Wilhelm Furtwngler and the Third Reich, Quartpresentset Books, 1991,
p. 173.

p. 54.

p. 51.

1953, p. 165.
[55] Frederic Spotts. Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics, p. 293


1953, p. 151.

1953, p. 166.


1953, p. 168-169.

p. 253.
[81] Audrey Roncigli, Le cas Furtwngler, Imago, 2009,

p.102.



1953, p. 152.


Timber press, 1990, p.74.

17
[85] Fred K. Prieberg, Trial of Strength, Wilhelm Furtwngler [110]

[111]
[112]
1944, p. 352.
http://www.classicalnotes.net/features/furtwangler.html
F. K. Prieberg, Trial of Strength. Wilhelm Furtwngler
and the Third Reich, Quartet Books, Londres, 1991.
The Baton and the Jackboot, Berta Geissmar, Columbus
Books Ltd, August 1988.

[113] Shirakawa, Sam, chap. 15
p. 59.
[114] F. K. Prieberg, Trial of Strength. Wilhelm Furtwngler

and the Third Reich, Quartet Books, Londres, 1991, p.
320.

1953, p. 191.
[116] Fred K. Prieberg, Trial of Strength, Wlihelm Furtwngler
1953, p. 174.
and the Third Reich, Quartet books, 1991, p. 306.
[91] Curt Riess, Furtwngler, Musik und Politik, Berne, Scherz, [117] Joseph Goebbels, Reden 19321939, hrsg. von Helmut
1953, p. 176.
Heiber, Dsseldorf, Droste Verlag, 1972, p. 282.
[92] Curt Riess, Furtwngler, Musik und Politik, Berne, Scherz, [118] Wilfried von Oven, Finale furioso, Mit Goebbels zum
1953, p. 175.
Ende. Tbingen, Grabert Verlag, 1974, p. 268.
[120]
[121]
p. 57.
[122]
[96] Frederic Spotts. Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics, p. 295
Frederic Spotts. Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics, p. 87

Albert Speer, Inside the Third Reich (1970) Macmillan pp
548.
Fred K. Prieberg, Trial of Strength, Wilhelm Furtwngler
Audrey Roncigli, Le cas Furtwngler, Paris, Imago, 2009,
p. 171.
[97] Audrey Roncigli, Le cas Furtwngler, Paris, Imago, 2009, [123] Audrey Roncigli, Le cas Furtwngler, Imago, 2009,
p. 102.
p.174.
[98] Fred K. Prieberg, Trial of Strength, Wilhelm Furtwngler [124] Hans-Hubert Schnzeler, Furtwngler, Portland (Ore.),
[99] Martin Hrlimann, Wilhelm Furtwngler im Urteil seiner [125] Hans-Hubert Schnzeler, Furtwngler, Portland (Ore.),
Zeit, Atlantis Verlag, 1955, p. 215.
[100] Audrey Roncigli, Le cas Furtwngler, Paris, Imago, 2009, [126] Bernard D. Sherman. (1997) [1999]. Brahms: The Symphonies/Charles Mackerras. Fanfare. Retrieved 2010p. 60.
09-05.
[101] See David Cairns, ibid
[102] Martin Hrlimann, Wilhelm Furtwngler im Urteil seiner
Zeit, Atlantis Verlag, 1955, p. 215.
[103] Audrey Roncigli, Le cas Furtwngler, Imago, 2009, p.60.
[104] Curt Riess, Furtwngler, Musik und Politik, Berne, Scherz, [129] Roger Smithson (1997). Furtwnglers Silent Years:
194547 (.RTF). Socit Wilhelm Furtwngler. Re1953, p. 185.
trieved 2007-07-21.
[130] Monod, David (2005). Settling Scores: German Music,
Denazication, and the Americans, 19451953. The Uni[106] Audrey Roncigli, Le cas Furtwngler, Imago, 2009,
versity of North Carolina Press. p. 149. ISBN 0-8078p.115.
2944-7.
[132]
[133]
In Memoriam Furtwngler, Tahra 2004.

Quoted from John Ardoin's The Furtwngler Record
Wilhelm Furtwngler. James C.S. Liu, M.D. Retrieved
2006-07-06.
18
8 NOTES
[134] John Ardoin's The Furtwngler Record, Amadeus Press, [153] Harold Schnberg, The great conductors, Simon and
1994, p.58.
Schuster, 1967.
[135] Taubman, Howard (1949-01-06). Musicians Ban on [154] John Ardoin, The Furtwngler Record, Portland,
Furtwaengler Ends His Chicago Contract for '49. New
Amadeus press, 1994.
York Times. reprinted in McLanathan, Richard B K; Gene
Brown (1978). The Arts. New York: Arno Press. p. 349. [155] John Ardoin, The Furtwngler Record, Portland,
Amadeus press, 1994, p.18.
ISBN 0-405-11153-3.
[136] Taking Sides (2001) at the Internet Movie Database
[137] Michael H Kater The Twisted Muse, p.198
[138] Daniel Ja Sergey Prokoev, p.128 (London: Phaidon,
1998)
[139] Martin Kettle (26 November 2004). Second coming.
The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2007-07-21.
[140] Wilhelm Furtwngler, CD Wilhelm Furtwngler In Memoriam FURT 10901093, Tahra, 2004, p. 54.
[141] Arguably the greatest conductor of all time, The Furtwangler Legacy on BBC radio, November 2004..

Amadeus press, 1994, p.1920.
[157] Beethoven, CD Furtwngler, Beethovens Choral Symphony, Tahra FURT 11011104, p. 28.
[160] (French) Patrick Szersnovicz, Le Monde de la musique,
December 2004, p. 6267.
[161]
[142] The most inuential and important orchestral conductor of the recorded era, Furtwngler, Second coming,
article by Martin Kettle in The Guardian, Friday 26 [162]
November 2004..
[163]
John Ardoin, The Furtwngler Record, Portland,

Elisabeth Furtwngler, Pour Wilhelm, Paris, 2004, p. 32.
SchenkerGUIDE By Tom Pankhurst, p. 5
[143] Amazing, spur-of-the-moment inspirational intensity,

[164] Schenker Documents Online.
probably unsurpassed by any other conductor before or
since, Sinni Music, Top 20 conductors, November [165] Sami Habra, CD Furtwngler, Beethovens Choral Sym2012..
phony, Tahra FURT 11011104, p. 18.
[144] Wilhelm Furtwngler is widely considered the one of [166] (French) Biography of Schenker on the Internet site of Luthe greatestif not the very greatestconductors of the
ciane Beduschi and Nicolas Mees.
twentieth century, Ten Perfect Orchestral Recordings
on The New Yorker, article by David Denby, May 1, [167] Elisabeth Furtwngler, Pour Wilhelm, Paris, 2004, p.54.
2012..
[168] CD Furtwngler, Beethovens Choral Symphony, Tahra
FURT 11011104, p. 19.
[145] Maybe the greatest conductor in history, Patrick Szersnovicz, Le Monde de la musique, December 2004, p. 62
[169] David Cairns, CD Beethovens 5th and 6th Symphonies,
67.
427 775-2, DG, 1989, p. 16.
[146] Maybe the greatest conductor in history, probably the
[170] John Ardoin, The Furtwngler Record, 1994, p. 12.
greatest Beethovenian, L'orchestre des rites et des
dieux, editor: Autrement, series mutation, volume 99, [171] Patrick Szersnovicz, Le Monde de la musique, December
1994, p. 206.
2004, p. 66
[147] Why was Wilhelm Furtwngler the greatest conductor [172] CD Wilhelm Furtwngler, his legendary post-war
in history?" Professor Joachim Kaiser, course in German
recordings, Tahra, harmonia mundi distribution, FURT
available on the web site of the Sddeutsche Zeitung news1054/1057, p. 15.
paper.
[173] Yehudi Menuhin, DVD The Art of Conducting - Great
[148] Wilhelm Furtwngler Biography. Naxos. Retrieved
Conductors of the Past, Elektra/Wea, 2002.
2007-07-21.
[174] Wilhelm Furtwngler, Carnets 19241954, 1995, p. 103.
[149] cite book | last=Frisch | rst=Walter | title=Brahms: The
Four Symphonies | year=2003 | publisher=Yale University [175] Elisabeth Furtwngler, Pour Wilhelm, 2004, p. 55.
Press | isbn=0=300-09965-7 | pages=183185
[176] Carlos Kleiber, un don et une maldiction. Le Hunton
Post. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
[150] http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=
12213
[177] Herbert von Karajan, CD Wilhelm Furtwngler In Memoriam FURT 10901093, Tahra, 2004, p. 57.
[151] Sergiu Celibidache, CD Wilhelm Furtwngler In Memoriam FURT 10901093, Tahra, 2004, p. 57.
[178] Grard Gfen, Furtwngler, une Biographie par le disque,
[152] Christoph Eschenbach Own Words on His Life
Belfond, 1986, p. 51.
19
[179] Leins Hermann, Diener der Musik, herausgegeben von [189] Harry Halbreich wrote in his analysis of this performance
Martin Mller und Wofgang Mertz, Rainer Wunderlich
that, for the rst movement, nobody has ever approached
Verlag, 1965, p. 180187.
Furtwngler in the evocation of this terrifying release of
cosmic forces and about the Adagio: in its superhuman
[180] About Furtwnglers second symphony, Honneger wrote:
spaciousness, which seems to seek to renounce human
the man who can write a score so rich as this is not to be
time and to align itself with that of creation, was not this
argued about. He is of the reace of great musicians. CD
Adagio the highest achievement of Wilhelm Furtwnglers
Wilhelm Furtwngler The Legend, 9 08119 2, EMI, 2011,
art? Certainly no other conductor allowed himself such inp. 7.
terpretative scope, and none put himself so much at risk.
Yet on actual hearing the tempi prove so right, so natural
[181] Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jupiter und ich : Begegnunlending themselves so perfectly to the whole presentation
gen mit Furtwngler, Berlin University Press, 2009 (ISBN
of the musical thought that one can hardly imagine any978-3940432667).
thing dierent. For the Finale, he says: from bar 321
[182] http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/may/20/
Furtwngler imperiously asserts his presence with a gradclassicalmusicandopera2 Interview of Dietrich Fischerual allargando building up to the colossal fortissimo of bar
Dieskau for The Guardian.
330 followed by a timeless pause, a divine vision in which
Beethoven, thanks to an interpreter worthy of him, equals
[183] Yehudi Menuhin, La lgende du violon , Flammarion,
the stature of the Michelangelo of the Sistine Chapel",
2009, p. 242.
Harry Halbreich, CD Beethoven, Ninth Symphony, SWF
891R, 2001, p.810.
[184] DVD The Art of Conducting - Great Conductors of the
Past, Elektra/Wea, 2002.
[190] The 1942 performance in Berlin is one of the most
[185] John Ardoin's The Furtwngler Record, Amadeus Press,
convincing proofs of Furtwnglers rebellion during Ger1994, p.12.
manys tragic era, while the nazis tried in vain to bury the
great German musical heritage by using it for their sinister
[186] About this recording, often considered as one of the most
ends. Furtwngler fought for it and strived to save it from
important ones of the 20th century, John Ardoin wrote:
their cluthes, Sami Habra, CD Furtwngler, Beethovens
The magnicent 1944 performance with the Vienna
Choral Symphony, Tahra FURT 11011104, p. 19.
Philharmonic [is] an authenticated performance that is not
only Furtwnglers noblest and most compelling Eroica,
[191] Sami Habra wrote regarding this very famous concert:
but one unrivalled on disc, John Ardoin, The FurtwnYet, after the war, he had to prove to the World that
gler record, Amadeus Press, 1994, p.120.
German musical Art had indeed survived that fateful period as well as some attempts by the Allies to ignore or
[187] A performance of prodigious classicism, it presents us
undermine German culture. The whole musical world
with gures that seem to us to be made of stone by virtue
retained its breath while Beethoven was universally reof their nobility and of re because of their compelling urborn when Furtwngler conducted the Ninth for the regency, but which, on the wings of a scherzo at the pace of a
opening of Bayreuth in 1951, Sami Habra, CD Furtwnmarch, suddently releases the innite - placed on record",
gler, Beethovens Choral Symphony, Tahra FURT 1101
Andr Tubeuf, EMI C 051-63332, 1969.
1104, p. 19.
[188] Harry Halbreich wrote in his analysis of this performance:
Does the second movement remain an Allegretto under [192] Kees A. Schouhamer Immink (2007).
Shannon,
Furtwnglers baton? Many critics have raised this quesBeethoven, and the Compact Disc. IEEE Information
tion, troubled by the spaciousness even more than in Berlin
Theory Newsletter: 4246. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
than in Vienna [in 1950]. And yet, why hesitate? From
the rst bars, this perfection overrules us - beyond doubt, [193] Sami Habra said: The Lucerne 1954 concert, Furtwnthis is humanely, organically the right tempo and it would
glers last performance of the Ninth, allowed the listener
be completely insensitive and unmusical to argue otheran even deeper insight into the great conductors art, the
wise [...] Who could describe the incredible beauty of
most important impression being that of abyssal depths
phrasing of the song of violas and cellos [...] the sublime
that permeate this Swan song: no doubt Furtwngler
expressiveness of the violins? [...] The second theme on
sensed his end was near..., Sami Habra, CD Furtwngler,
its reappearance seems still more moving and expressive
Beethovens Choral Symphony, Tahra FURT 11011104,
[...] This Finale was always one of Furtwnglers great
p. 19.
warhorses and undoubtedly the summit of this interpretation [...] Furtwngler relives his unbelievable perfor- [194] This Brahms 1st turned out to be Furtwnglers best version [...] More than ever, the broad opening, with the
mance of the end of the Fifth Symphony in June 1943, four
hammering of Friedrich Weber on the timpani and the
months before, launching into a break-taking acceleration
soaring strings of that magnicent ensemble, impress the
without the unleashed forces ever escaping the control of
listener. The special quality of the string section, miracthe brilliant leader. I am the Bacchus who distils the
ulously dense and transparent at the same time, permedelicious nectar for mankind, and brings them to divine
ates the whole work. The four great fortissimi of the
frenzy of the spirit": thus Beethoven explained himself.
rst movement have an irresistible "lan, the long lyriBut it takes a demiurge like Furtwngler, that autumn day
cal phrases of the second movement enchant the listener
in 1943, to bring that frenzy to life in sound!", Harry Halbreich, CD Furtwngler conducts Beethoven, SWF 941,
with their intensity. The third movement is Furtwngler
1994, p.11.
at his most feverish here, and full of serenity is reached
20
REFERENCES
only after the repeated trumpet calls [...] The 4th move- [199] According to Friedland Wagner, this 1938 performance
ment is played with unmistakable grandeur and solemof the "Pathetique" by Furtwngler was so overwhelmnity, as indeed the whole work is. While keeping Brahms
ing that Toscanini, in his house at Riverdale, played this
personality in mind, Furtwngler nevertheless brings out
recording again and again to his guests on a memorable
Beethovens inuence on Brahms [...] No wonder the
day, pointing out with enthusiasm all its ne points [...]
French critics bestowed upon this recording the DiapaWe can safely say that no one has probed as deeply as
son d'Or of the century...., Sami Habra, CD Wilhelm
Furtwngler into the abyss of the tragic contents and pesFurtwngler, his legendary post-war recordings, Tahra,
simistic forebodings of the "Pathetique" [...] The last
harmonia mundi distribution, FURT 1054/1057, p. 19.
movement would probably have contained a glimmer of
hope, had it not been for the fateful events that were to
[195] Furtwnglers interpretations of Brahms go beyond the
plunge the World into its darkest hours. Many observers
merely composed notation and realise the vision of
have asserted that Furtwngler had foreseen what was to
the organic form that hovered before Brahms but can
happen, Sami Habra, CD Furtwngler revisited , FURT
no longer be attained. Herein lies the explanation of
1099, Tahra, 2005, p.9.
the awless formal architecture of his interpretations as
well as the psychical compulsion of their musical per- [200] Produced in 1952, this recording, now reissued, has long
formance that never becomes lost in detail but, to the
been something of a landmark in recent history - rightly
contrary, always keeps the work as a whole in view. In
so, for its importance and its uniqueness are unquestionthis recording, notwithstanding his traditional interpretaable [...] Wilhelm Furtwnglers architectural greatness
tive style Furtwngler, unlike many a younger composer,
is communicated so directly, so forcefully from the very
lays more stress on the characteritics beyond the classirst bar that one immediately forgets the small imperfeccal model symphony that herald the new trend: Spiritual
tions of the mono recording [...] The most striking thing is
life which Furtwngler traces and creates anew in each
certainly the cogency of this interpretation. Nowhere are
work - in this symphony, energetic and vigorous though it
there hiatuses, breaks in the musics ow. Furtwngler,
is, spiritual life is not concentrated on the dualism of the
though far from being a perfectionist in individual detail,
themes, the dramatic development and the intensity of the
invariably seems to see the entire conception before him,
nale, but above all on the variety of tone-colours which
so grippingly does he span the works long arches, so magare here formative energy that puts a constantly changing
nicently does he weld together the various components.
complexion on the scarcely modulated themes and motifs
[...] His feeling for form is so compelling in its certainty
and becomes the favourite means of musical expression.,
that one does not stop to consider for a moment that it is
Sigurd Schimpf, EMI C 049-01 146.
not the only way of interpreting a particular phrase or sequence [...] The idea of Furtwngler seeking eect from
[196] The interpretation is typically manic: very fast, and
a series of 'purple passages is unthinkable ; and yet the
very slow. It lurches about impulsively and has thrilling
great emotional crescendi, the great climaxes, have a dramomentsbut also some pretty distressing examples of
matic power scarcely matched elsewhere, Gerhard Brunshoddy ensemble, particularly in the scherzo and nale. It
ner, CD Tristan und Isolde, EMI CDS 7 47322 8, p. 20.
was all too seldom that Furtwngler managed to keep his
band together to allow him to time his climaxes optimally. [201] The dierence is sometimes mis-characterized by the
A classic case of overshoot occurs at the end of the
terms objective and subjective, but Furtwnglers
rst movement, which sounds terribly rushed. The Adatempo inections were often planned and reected his
gio, though, is magnicent..., Bruckner: Symphony No.
studies with the harmonic theorist Heinrich Schenker
5/Furtwngler. classicstoday.com. Retrieved November
from 1920 to 1935.
2012.
[197] Furtwngler has always been Bruckners greatest exponent [...] Again, the tragic element and grandeur are unequalled here. This is a desert island recording, fortunately restored for music lovers of this World to cherish
all their life, Sami Habra, CD Furtwngler revisited ,
FURT 1099, Tahra, 2005, p.10.
[198] Schumanns Fourth [has] long [been regarded] as the
recording of the century (along with the HMV Tristan)
[...] Before the boisterous last movement starts, there
is the famous transitional passage in which Furtwngler
builds up the most impressive crescendo ever heard. This
crescendo is referred to by Conservatoire teachers and
conductors as being the very perfection, in spite of its
infeasibility. Celibidache and Karajan have tried to imitate Furtwngler in this part on some occasions, but both
conductors run out of breath towards the middle of the
crescendo. This Furtwngler performance has yet to be
equalled..., Sami Habra, CD Furtwngler revisited ,
FURT 1099, Tahra, 2005, p.11.
9 References
Cairns, David Wilhelm Furtwngler in The New
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians London:
Macmillan, 1980.
Kater, Michael H. The Twisted Muse: Musicians and
Their Music in the Third Reich Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Spotts, Frederic Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics.
London: Hutchinson, 2002. ISBN 0-09-179394-7
Shirakawa, Sam H. The Devils Music Master: The
controversial life and career of Wilhelm Furtwngler
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992 ISBN 0-19506508-5
21
Frisch, Walter Brahms: The Four Symphonies New
Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2003
ISBN 0-30009965-7
Geissmar, Berta The Baton and the Jackboot,
Hamish Hamilton, 1944.
10
External links
Wilhelm Furtwngler at AllMusic

Large collection of public domain Furtwngler
recordings
22
11
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Wilhelm Furtwängler

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Wilhelm Furtwngler

Portrait of Wilhelm Furtwngler by Emil Orlik

Wilhelm Furtwngler (January 25, 1886 November Wilhelm Furtwngler

the nancial insecurity of a career as a composer, led him

On April 10, 1933, Furtwngler wrote a public letter to

Third Reich controversy

The Gestapo built a case against Furtwngler, noting that

Goebbels did not reveal the second part of the deal.[52]

The main target of the Nazis was Berta Geissmar. She

The compromise of 1935

On February 28, 1935, Furtwngler met Goebbels, who

Hitler now allowed him to have a new passport. When

Third Reich controversy

Furtwngler avoided the 1936 Summer Olympics in

According to the historian Fred Prieberg, by the end of

ductor now appeared in the Third Reich: Herbert von

The Kristallnacht and the Anschluss

Furtwngler was very aected by the events of the

Goebbels wanted to eliminate the Vienna Philharmonic

Furtwngler approved of the Anschluss that had occurred

Third Reich controversy

During the war, Furtwngler tried to avoid conducting in

tion'. Furtwngler['s] stance towards us has not

and advised him to ee to Switzerland from possible Nazi

Furtwnglers name was included on the Gottbegnadeten

The investigations showed that Furtwngler had not been

Grove Online states that Furtwngler was within a few

Post World War II

Furtwngler was required to submit to a process of

1.1.11 Taking Sides

Furtwngler had a unique philosophy of music. He saw

His tomb in Heidelberg

generation, perhaps of all time, demonstrating at once

On the other hand, the critic David Hurwitz, a spokesman

what he was trying to do: you didn't need

Conductor and pianist Christoph Eschenbach has said of

I am told that the more you rehearse, the

with a Stockholm orchestra documents hardly anything

The conductor who most clearly represented a continuity

In spite of their limitations, the recordings from this era

Bruckner, Sixth Symphony (the rst movement is

Schubert, Eighth Symphony (rst movement only),

Schoenberg, Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31,

Schubert, Ninth Symphony, live performance with

Prokoev: Piano Concerto No. 5, the composer as

Richard Strauss, Four Last Songs, Kirsten Flagstad

Schumann, Fourth Symphony, studio recording

Hindemith, suite from Mathis der Maler, Berlin

Symphony in D major (1st movement: Allegro)

Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen, 1950 (live Mature works

(all early works)

[17] Audrey Roncigli, Le cas Furtwngler, Paris, Imago, 2009,

Te Deum for Choir and Orchestra (19021906) (rev.

[19] Audrey Roncigli, Le cas Furtwngler, Paris, Imago, 2009,

[20] Fred K. Prieberg, Trial of Strength, Wilhelm Furtwngler

Furtwngler, Wilhelm. Notebooks 19241954.

[1] David Cairns Wilhelm Furtwngler in The New Grove

[21] Galo, Gary A., Review of The Furtwngler Record by

[39] Curt Riess, Furtwngler, Musik und Politik, Berne, Scherz,

[62] Hans-Hubert Schnzeler, Furtwngler, Portland (Ore.),

[40] Berta Geissmar, The baton and the Jackboot, Morrison

[63] Curt Riess, Furtwngler, Musik und Politik, Berne, Scherz,

[41] Curt Riess, Furtwngler, Musik und Politik, Berne, Scherz,

[64] Hans-Hubert Schnzeler, Furtwngler, Portland (Ore.),