(western) classical music discussion

[Rev. Rye]

That must have been an obvious provocation. Or just a lot of cognitive dissonance on all sides?

Irony was lost on the regime. And I daressay, it was lost on Furtwängler also. Going by his career record. As opposed to other artists, he adapted just fine. Without having at least some instances of making a stand.

I have looked into it, and it really seems that while he did stay during the Nazi period, he did whatever he could to distance himself. I've seen close-up footage of that concert, and after shaking Goebbel's hand, he seems to be trying to rub off Goebbels' touch with his handkerchief without making it too obvious. Hell, apparently, he tried to schedule some concerts in Vienna specifically to avoid having to do that concert. He spent a lot of time clashing with Goebbels over participation in propaganda films (including one about Beethoven that he refused to and Goebbels once wrote:

[quote="Joseph Goebbels"]Furtwängler has never been a National Socialist. Nor has he ever made any bones about it. Which Jews and emigrants thought was sufficient to consider him as one of them, a key representative of so-called 'inner emigration'. Furtwängler['s] stance towards us has not changed in the least[/url]

Reportedly, he was aware of the July 20 plot against Hitler, but didn't actually participate, and one of the surviving organisers of the plot later told him: "In the circle of our resistance movement it was an accepted fact that you were the only one in the whole of our musical world who really resisted, and you were one of us."


I could go on about this, but it seems Furtwangler was more aware of the irony than he let on.