We propose a study by Rudolf Ondrich, graduate of the Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia).
He writes: 'The aim of the article is to demonstrate how Furtwängler's work (both his written philosophy and music making) can be analysed alongside German legal philosophy. The first part of the article analyses Furtwängler's written philosophy of music alongside the work of German jurists Friedrich Carl von Savigny (1779 - 1861) and Carl Schmitt (1888 - 1985). As these thinkers spring forth and come from a common intellectual and cultural tradition, Furtwängler's philosophy of music shares parallels with the work of these German legal philosophers. The second part of the article analyses Furtwängler's 1942 performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for Hitler's birthday through the lens of Schmitt's idea of sovereignty, namely as he who 'decides on the exception' to suspend the normal operation of the law. By suspending the normal love and humanism of the Ninth Symphony and instead conducting it in a violent manner, Furtwängler is able to protect that love and humanism from being associated with the NAZI regime.'
You can read the article here.