Furtwängler, Wilhelm. (1886–1954)
"I have no interest in going to America" - Typed Letter Signed
An interesting typed letter signed from the legendary conductor towards the end of his life, regarding the negotiations and politics surrounding his proposed first visit to the United States. Clarens [Switzerland], November 10, 1951. To his friend Lydia Panisch, Furtwängler declines her suggestion to make contact with Mrs. McCloy (possibly the wife of lawyer John J. McCloy, who was involved in German-American relations in the postwar era), explaining that he is already involved in plans to visit the United States with both the Vienna Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic, but that he has no interest in pursuing the matter himself: "I myself—I would like to stress this explicitly—have no interest in going to America. It's all the same to me whether I go today or in ten years, and I also have no intention of taking the smallest step that might appear to be looking for a position." [Full translation below.] In very fine condition. 8.25 x 11.5 inches (21 x 29.5 cm).Furtwängler had a fraught history with American orchestras and the American press. In 1935, in the midst of a period of conflict with the Nazi authorities during which he had been banned from conducting because he did not support the regime, he was offered the post of conductor with the New York Philharmonic. However, a story in the American press implied that he was actually a supporter of the Nazi Party, and American sentiment turned against him. He declined the offer and remained in Germany, where he continued to work, despite his objections, under the Nazi regime.
After World War II, he was required to appear in a denazification trial, where he was eventually cleared on all counts. But another conflict with America came in 1949: he accepted the position of conductor with the Chicago Symphony, but the orchestra then rescinded the offer under the threat of a boycott from several prominent musicians, including Toscanini, Horowitz and Rubinstein. His reputation still too tarnished to work in the United States, he remained in Germany. A Berlin Philharmonic tour of the United States was eventually planned with Furtwängler for 1955, but after his death, it went ahead with Herbert von Karajan taking his place (an irony, since Karajan had actually been a member of the Nazi Party.)
Translated from the German, in full: "Dear Lydia Panisch, I have received your letter to my wife, in which you suggest I write to Mrs. McCloy. I would first of all like to establish the following: I sent Fräulein von Tiedemann to Frankfurt because the Vienna Philharmonic asked me if I would go with them in the next year to America. Because I have been associated with the Viennese for many years in a similar way as with the Berliners, I cannot turn down this request, if it really happens—the Board of the Vienna Philharmonic is traveling to America this week. For various reasons, however, I would find it better if—if I even get over there—if I came for the first time with the Berliners. Because a non-binding contact with the Berliners regarding America had already taken place (as I told Fräulein von Tiedemann), it seemed to me better to find out if it was of interest to the Berliners or not. I myself—I would like to stress this explicitly—have no interest in going to America. It's all the same to me whether I go today or in ten years, and I also have no intention of taking the smallest step that might appear to be looking for a position. For this reason I will also not write to Mrs. McCloy. I am not the person to take a step in this direction; rather, I am available if others think this step would be right. Please take these words for what they are: not an inadmissable presumption, but rather a characterization of the real situation. With best wishes, yours, Wilhelm Furtwängler.
[P.S.] Please understand; I have nothing against visiting Mrs. McCloy, on the contrary, it would be a pleasure and an honor if she received me, but without an agenda on my side, i.e. not as a "supplicant." " (16517)
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