Dear members,

The speaker who was supposed to give the conference on 15 December will not be able to do so.

We will come back to you soon in case we find a possibility for this conference to be held for the first time after so long.

Dear members,

Our Ordinary General Meeting will take place on 26 November. In preparation for this meeting, please find here:

1) The notice of meeting and the agenda for our OGM on 26 November
2) A Proxy, in case you can’t attend
3) The candidate list for the Executive Board
4) The reply form on whether or not you would like to attend the “pot de l’amitié” (get-together for drinks) which will take place at the end of the OGM
5) The document prepared by the candidate list in French, in English and in German.

Looking forward to seeing you again

We are carrying on with the redesign of past studies. The study on Furtwängler’s years in Lübeck, published as a paper brochure and scanned as such, is now presented in the new graphic charter.

However, due to its length, it was not possible to translate it into English.

There it is.

Everyone who makes frequent use of the list of Furtwängler’s concerts featured on this site knows that almost all of the concerts are listed. There are however still a number that do not give details of the programmes, principally the concerts given by the BPO during tours at the end of the 1930s and the very early 1940s. As new information is found, we are keen to complete our documentation.

And that is the case with this BPO concert in Dresden, given at the beginning of 1941 in the ‘Gewerbehaus’, the home of the city’s Philharmonic Orchestra. Our list agrees with Peter Muck’s voluminous tome on the Berliners, showing the date as 5 February, yet the official programme — reproduced below — gives it as 5 January. Which prompts us to ask whether we are all wrong.

Not at all! If Erich Knoblauch, the concert agent, had consulted his calendar, he would have noticed that ‘5 Januar’ was not a ‘Mittwoch’ (Wednesday) as he writes, but a ‘Sonntag’ (Sunday), whereas 5 February was indeed a Wednesday. And, when under Hermann Zilcher’s Concerto he added the word ‘Uraufführung’, he was well aware that the official world premiere would take place in Berlin, during the series of subscription concerts on 2, 3 and 4 February. The day after the last of these concerts, on their visit to Dresden, the Berliners only needed to repeat the same programme (with the exception of the Overture to The Bartered Bride by Smetana).

Finally, for those who might be interested, this Concerto (no 2) by Zilcher can be heard on Youtube.

More than twenty-five years ago, Michel Chauvy wrote a study on “Furtwängler and Switzerland” for the SWF, published as a “newsletter”.

The text of his study is still as good as new. It is rich in information and the comments on some of Furtwängler’s performances — one thinks of the rehearsal of the 7th Symphony or Beethoven’s First Concerto — are of a rare relevance.

Although the original “paper” brochure was quite attractive, the PDF available to members on the previous website had become outdated and not particularly inviting to read. We therefore thought it best to give it a new layout, by re-editing the text in the same design as the other studies, adding footnotes, and illustrating it with a dozen or so photographs, some of them unpublished or rare.

For the first time, the study is published in both French and English, thus bringing this essential document to a wider audience.

In addition, one of our Swiss members, Christophe Lambinet, wrote a “complement”, shedding new light on Furtwängler’s “Swiss” discography.

To discover these studies, click on the images below.

Furtwängler conducted only one concert in Warsaw. It was on January 22, 1936, with the BPO, in the beautiful Philharmonic Hall.

This concert did not go unnoticed, with the patronage of two Polish government ministers and the German ambassador.

Here is the programme — in an uncommon format —which was attached to the concert, we were able to correct the content.

The Wilhelm Furtwängler Centre of Japan announces two new releases.
Informations and orders only with the WF Centre of Japan : info@furt-centre.com

We recently uploaded the 40th programme —  we mean the 40th PDF file of a printed booklet accompanying a concert. And we have some more in store, which will be published in the future.

Through publications on specialized sites or — notably online — sales, we have also been able to recover many ‘programme pages’, we mean the page — and only this page — of the original programme with the details of the concert, or a flyer. Our site already had quite a few (almost 150!). We add about twenty more today — details below:

BPO 31/10/1921 — BPO 12/12/1921 — Gewandhaus 6/03/1923 — BPO 16/03/1928 — BPO 10/03/1931 — BPO 30/03/1931 — BPO 14/04/1934 — BPO 11/12/1938 — VPO 23/11/1941 — VPO 29/03/1942 — VPO 7/11/1943 — VPO 19/12/1943 — Hamburg 9/06/1947 — VPO 29/11/1947 — BPO 8/06/1950 — BPO 12/06/1950 — VPO 17/09/1950 — Salzburg 7/08/1951 — Salzburg 19/08/1951 — BPO 6/05/1952 — BPO 18/01/1953

We wish you happy holidays. See you again at the end of August.

In 1942, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is sixty years old. In the midst of WW2, it is obviously unthinkable that the event could be celebrated as the fiftieth anniversary had been.

At least the orchestra publishes a small brochure at the return from the summer holidays; very interesting with hindsight, as its writing reflects the highlights and taboos of the moment.

Click here to read this brochure.

This eighty-year-old document had been acquired at the time by Marie-Luise Lüdeling, music teacher in Berlin-Lichterfelde. Thank you, Madam.

A few days after recording Bruckner’s Ninth with his Berlin Philharmonic for a “Magnetofonkonzert” — a disc that became famous — Furtwängler conducts this symphony for the last time in the grandiose setting of the abbey of Saint Florian. A small study evokes this musical event.

Concerts of December 7-8, 1952

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – 1937

Informations and orders only with the Japanese WF Society : info@furt-centre.com

On Saturday May 21, 2022, members of the Board and members of the SWF met informally to discuss the the conclusions of the consultation of the members of the SWF.

Although few in number (17 answers, approximately 7% of the members), the answers received were very interesting.

The six main themes that emerged from the survey are:

1. Conferences

Conferences is a strong request. The 2022-2023 season is therefore to be prepared, with 5 or 6 evenings. If you would like to host one, do not hesitate to contact us.

Desired topics are: WF and Berlioz, WF opera conductor, WF accompanist. Georges Zeisel proposes a conference on WF and the violinist Bronislaw Huberman. Christian Lemaire proposes an evening around Lauritz Melchior.

A relocation of the conferences in the provinces is requested by members but to do this, it would be necessary that, on the spot, someone manages the logistics: finding the room, advertising, etc.

A broadcast by Zoom (or other) of the conferences could be considered. The problem of sound quality and other technical aspects remains to be seen. One of our members could help us on these subjects.

2. SWF Editorial Policy

The download policy is not called into question. However, on-demand engravings should be made possible.

Exceptional CD editions could be considered, in a richly documented and illustrated edition (Ex: Wagner in London in the 1930s). Such a project requires economic viability. A subscription is therefore necessary, which could be done in collaboration with the other WF societies.

The downloading of our exhausted references will go on.

A project to put a French music program online is proposed. Debussy : Nuages, Fêtes / Ravel : Rhapsodie Espagnole. 

3. Collaborations with other associations (outside Furtwängler societies)

Some members wish to collaborate with the Richard Wagner Society or the Beethoven Society, for example. It would be necessary to see in what framework these collaborations could be made.

4. General Assemblies

The possibility of a retransmission of our GA via Zoom (or other) has been requested by members. The technical aspect (large screen, etc.) is to be considered. One of our members offers to give the SWF an overhead projector.

5. How to attract a younger audience?

Important subject but not easy to answer. Are young people interested in the CD or the download? Could a Facebook (or other) page be a lead?

6. Organization of concerts with works by Furtwängler

One of our members told us about the violinist Jean-Luc Richardoz who particularly likes WF sonatas. In which context to organize a concert? For the next ordinary general meeting? Beforehand, we will contact Mr. Richardoz.

Next ordinary general meeting

It will take place on Saturday November 26, 2022.

The members present expressed their satisfaction with this informal meeting.