Furtwängler, Wilhelm. (1886-1954) Signed Letter regarding Stuckenschmidt

Furtwängler, Wilhelm. (1886-1954)

Signed Letter regarding Stuckenschmidt

Typed letter signed "Wilhelm Furtwangler." 1 page. Berlin, 29/6/32. In very good condition, slighly trimmed to 7.5 x 9.5 inches, mounting remnants on verso. Translated in full: "I thank you for your letter dated the 16th of this month and your interest in me which is shown therein. - Were you more familiar with Berlin"s music critics, you would not be so very much surprised regarding Stuckenschmidt [Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt (1901 - 1988), German composer, musicologist, and historian and critic of music]. Recently, a great and internationally renowned artist remarked to me, no doubt correctly, that large German cities, particularly Berlin and Vienna, represent the most unpleasant atmosphere with regard to the artistic world that has ever existed. The unscrupulous way by which facts are tampered with and the public is misled to serve biased and tedious party doctrines and intentions, can hardly be surpassed. The only positive thing, however, is that gradually the public is no longer listening to what the Mr. Stuckenschmidt etc. proclaim which, with regard to us artists, is most sensible. Where would we be if we had to be concerned with those things?"

In 1929, Stuckenschmidt succeeded Adolf Weissmans as the music critic at the Berliner Zeitung am Mittag. Shortly after Furtwangler penned the present letter, Stuckenschmidt responded to pressure from the newly-empowered Nazi regime and left the paper, eventually moving to Prague. After the end of the war, he became the director of "new music" at the RIAS American-run radio station in Berlin, and in 1947, the music critic of the Neuen Zeitung and of the influential Berlin Newspaper Der Tagesspiegel , later also becoming a professor at the Music Department of the Technische Universität Berlin. Amongst his most prominent work were works concerning the music of Arnold Schoenberg, Boris Blacher, Ferruccio Busoni and Maurice Ravel. Stuckenschmidt received numerous honours for his work, and was a member of the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung, Darmstadt. (8291)

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