Once again, examining newspapers from the period sheds interesting light on concert programming. An announced concert does not always mean an actual concert, and one date can hide another…
This was the case with the concerts given by Furtwängler in the short series with the BPO, preceding his appointment in 1922 as conductor of the Philharmonic concerts.
On 2 March 1919, an advertisement announced the upcoming concert on the 14th at the Philharmonie: Furtwängler would conduct Beethoven's Leonore II Overture and Violin Concerto, Schoenberg's Transfigured Night and Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel. And, for the first time, Bronislaw Huberman would be his soloist. The concert did not take place, and we have been unable to ascertain the reason for its cancellation. Huberman and Furtwängler did not appear together for the first time until December 1925, performing Brahms' Concerto.
Similarly, on 2 November, a BPO concert with Edwin Ficher is announced for the 14th. The programme included Bruckner's Eighth Symphony, Mozart's Concerto in E flat major (presumably No. 22) and the overture to Der Freischütz. However, this concert did not take place. The two musicians would performed together on 13 February, with Brahms' Second Concerto featuring in the second half of the programme. With Bruckner's Eighth, it's a very light menu...
