Wilhelm Furtwängler, bust by Alexander Archipenko

Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886–1954) succeeded Arthur Nikisch as conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic (Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester) in 1922. Unlike his predecessor he immediately became a champion of the contemporary repertoire, which, after
Hitler seized power, aroused the Nazis’ displeasure. And yet the regime held Furtwängler in high esteem as a conductor, although he never joined the Party and regarded himself as apolitical. In 1945 he was banned from conducting by the Allies, but in a 1947 tribunal he was de-Nazified and thus able once again
to conduct the Berliner Philharmoniker. It was not until 1952, however, that he was officially reinstated as the orchestra’s chief conductor, a position he held until his death two years later.