We know that Furtwängler toured a large part of Europe, not to mention the United States and Latin America. But he never set foot on the Iberian Peninsula.
To be fair, he came very close to performing in Portugal and Spain, precisely in Barcelona at the prestigious Liceu. Three concerts scheduled for 23, 24 and 25 April 1944, and the first step in a long tour by the Berlin Philharmonic, running from 23 April to 6 June (the 9th in Paris on the way home). Three weeks before his departure, the conductor wrote to Gerhart von Westerman, the orchestra's intendant:
« First I have to see the doctor (I'm having a serious relapse, just like in the worst moments of last year). In any case, I would like to ask you to think about appointing another experienced conductor as a substitute. I won't be able to give a definitive answer for a few days. When it comes to health, I'm now a ‘scalded cat’. I don't like talking about it and I do everything I can to avoid looking like a sick person. But between you and me, I can't hide the fact that I have a lot on my mind. » (1st April 1944)
Real health concerns? Or more likely a diplomatic illness designed — as in the Spring of 1943 — to obtain a medical certificate so that he could avoid the chore of celebrating the Führer's birthday, baton in hand, just before his departure? Knappertsbusch in the end took charge of the tour, as well as the official concert on 20 April... (1)
The attached booklet, the programme for the Barcelona concerts, remains.
(1) Some footage from this concert celebrating Hitler's birthday still exists, as well as footage from the performance at the Alhambra in Granada in May, which was incorporated into the film Die Philharmoniker.
