On 14 June, we published an announcement for a missing concert — a performance by the Vienna Philharmonic with Furtwängler in Prague, announced for 18 February 1929, which was mysteriously cancelled. The VPO archives were unable to shed any light on the reasons for the cancellation.
Czech Jiry Chromcak has come to the rescue by carrying out research, the results of which solve this mystery.
A cold snap — continental arctic air from Russia — hit Czechoslovakia in the winter of 1929, and on 11 February the thermometer dropped to -42.2°C (-44°F), an all-time record! The decision to cancel had been taken earlier, when the temperature was already -20°C (-4°F), anticipating the difficulties of travelling. In March, it was announced that the concert would still take place, without any indication of the date (the tickets were still valid), but the orchestra's schedule no doubt no longer made it possible to travel for such a short time.
Many thanks to Jiry Chromcak.
Below is the Lidové noviny (‘People's Daily’) of 18 February 1929, which covers the subject as a humorous comic strip...
