Soundcheck

The Devil's Music Master: The Controversial Life and Career of Wilhelm Furtwängler by Sam H. Shirakawa | Wilhelm Furtwängler (Trude Fleishman / Wilhelm Furtwängler Society)

Furtwängler: Hero or Villain?

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Fifty years after his death, the great German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler remains one of the most controversial political figures in all of musical history. Having lived and worked in Germany throughout the Nazi regime, he was forced to conduct for Hitler and his henchmen. But how complicit was he really? Did Furtwängler see himself as the guardian of German culture during a troubled time, or was his role more sinister? And how much can we reasonably expect or demand of an individual in opposing that tyranny? Daniel Barenboim, music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and an advocate of Furtwängler’s music in recent years joins us along with Sam H. Shirakawa, Furtwängler’s biographer. We'll also be taking your calls.

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