Recently, we highlighted the importance of consulting newspapers to complete or correct concert listings. This work is paying off, as a rigorous examination has led us to a major discovery.

We know Furtwängler’s activities in Lübeck through symphonic concerts, “popular” concerts and even chamber music sessions. In addition to this, “official” documents and known lists show the conductor’s activity as a guest of the municipal opera house. Three events were recorded: Die Meistersinger in 1913, Fidelio and The Merry Wives of Windsor in 1915.

How could a fourth opera be overlooked? No one can explain it, but one fact is certain: Furtwängler conducted Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio on 27 March 1914. Not only was he able to rely on the cast of the Stadttheater, but also on two distinguished guests: the tenor Karl Erb and the comic actor Ludwig Flaschner.

The only review of the evening is nothing but praise.

This morning we launched a SWF YouTube channel.

It was created by Guilhem Chameyrat, a member of the Board.

The first thing you’ll find on this YouTube channel is, of course, videos. We’ll be providing different formats, for example themed videos on Furtwängler’s art or particular recordings, interviews, or even podcasts.

The channel will also feature playlists. You’ll be able to listen to the best Furtwängler performances, sorted by specific criteria, starting with the magnificent recordings remastered by Studio Art et Son and officially released by Warner on YouTube for streaming.

Here are the links.

– the channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SocieteWilhelmFurtwangler

– introductory video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO8qJNf8eT0&ab_channel=Soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9WilhelmFurtwangler

We had previously announced that the streaming service would be available in mid-November.

A number of imperatives — notably that of presenting a coherent and more extensive catalogue — and a number of technical restrictions lead us to postpone the launch of this service.

Rest assured: this is only a minor postponement. Everything should be up and running by early December.

Reading the newspapers of the time is always a good idea. Thus, when considering Furtwängler’s career, one may discover — in the course of a reading — a concert that went unnoticed, absent from the lists; or possibly correct an error that has gone unreported for decades.

The mistake here is the date of the first Fidelio, conducted by Furtwängler at the Theater Lübeck. No one could explain why the lists indicated March 23, 1915. It was actually March 9. Not a big deal, one might say. Except that this musical performance was of great importance in the conductor’s career. At the end of this evening, a delegation from Mannheim led by Bodanzky announced to Furtwängler that he had been chosen as the new musical director of the Mannheim Opera for the coming season.

Addendum: During the Summer of 1917, Furtwängler reunited with his former Lübeck orchestra and Jani Szanto, who had been his Konzertmeister, for a charity concert given at the Kurhaus in Travemünde, Lübeck’s seaside resort. The concert, performed on the evening of July 27, featured :
– Overture from Der Freischütz
– Dvorak’s Violin Concerto, with Szanto ;
– Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.

Related information: St Matthew Passion from April 1915 was listed as “soloists unknown”. This is no longer the case, nor is the identity of the four choral ensembles that took part.

Our lists have now been corrected.

Travemünde : the Kurhaus

Today, the SWF is not featuring a programme, but a promotional booklet for a festival: the “Festliche Musiktage” in Potsdam in the Summer of 1938. This series of musical events, focusing on Bach and Mozart, was under the artistic direction of Edwin Fischer. The great pianist also gave masterclasses in Potsdam, with Wilhelm Furtwängler, who lived in a beautiful mansion, Die Fasanerie, in the park of Sansouci Castle, as a neighbour. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performed at the festival, and for several years the conductor was also a pianist, playing Bach concertos with Fischer, Kempff and Erdmann, which he conducted from the piano.

Last summer of peace. It should be noted that the layout does everything to attract foreign tourists: the extensive text is trilingual; apart from the mention of Göring’s patronage, the brochure is free of propaganda but also rich in photos of the emblematic buildings of the city of Frederick the Great.

Let’s travel through time and space.