Volume II of our Polydor complete collection will be available on 27 March (SWF D23).

Wagner : Lohengrin, Prelude
Wagner : Tristan & Isolde: Prelude, Isolde’s death
Schubert : Rosamunde, Overture
R. Strauss : Till Eulenspiegel (+ rehearsal)

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you about the flyer (pdf) describing the project, as well as the corresponding video.

We say ‘come back to Prague’, not ‘return to Prague’.

On 11 January 2025, we published an article, which followed on from a previous one published in June 2024. It provided an update on a concert announced by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague for 18 February 1929, which was then cancelled due to severe cold weather.

In fact, after some research, it’s a little more complicated than that.

The concert on 18 February was announced well in advance. But on 7 February, the press broke a real scoop! The concert on the 18th was “Ausverkauft”: it was sold out. So — knowing that the Vienna Philharmonic would not be able to return that year — a second concert was announced for the following day, the 19th. The programme included Weber, Euryanthe, Stravinsky, The Firebird (suite), Brahms, Symphony No. 1.

As we know, concerts have been cancelled, or rather postponed. A newspaper article dated 17 February states that tickets remain valid for two dates, which will be announced in early March. And indeed, on 6 March, the two dates were set: the concerts will take place on 26 and 27 March!

The people of Prague are going to be disappointed! The organisers, or the orchestra, realise that the dates are close to Easter — 31 March — which raises fears that audiences will be relatively sparse. In other words: it is not certain that the hall will be full — an economically untenable situation. The two concerts have once again been postponed. We are still waiting to find out when…

The Lucerna Hall, Prague

Furtwängler’s discographies include the ‘Magnetofonkonzet’ recorded on 19–20 December 1944 in Vienna.

Furtwängler recorded Beethoven’s First Symphony and the ‘Eroica’ for the microphone, without an audience. The latter is well known to us: the surviving tape has given rise to numerous publications, starting with the now famous release by Urania. Some consider it the pinnacle of all Furtwängler’s interpretations of this symphony.

But what about the First Symphony? Nothing remained of it, and it did not seem to have been broadcast on German radio. In fact, it did not even appear on the famous list compiled by Henning Smidth and updated over twenty years ago! People even wondered: had it really been recorded?

The answer is yes. After considerable research, a member of the SWF tracked down the broadcast of this recording. Two local newspapers announced it on 17 March 1945: on Sunday 18 March 1945, all radio transmitters (still available…) would broadcast Beethoven’s First Symphony, as well as the Leonore III overture, the latter taken from the Magnetofonkonzert of 2-3 June 1944. 

This is undoubtedly the last broadcast of a Furtwängler concert before the very end. It was about time…

The Wilhelm Furtwängler Centre of Japan has updated its discography of the conductor. Although the cover bears the year 2024, it was published at the very end of 2025.

As can be seen (below), it is in Japanese. Priced at €15, it is reserved for members of the Japanese association.