Only one other death occurring in post-war Berlin has moved Germans and especially Berliners so deeply as the loss of Wilhelm Furtwängler—that of Ernst Reuter, Lord Mayor of this city during the years of suffering. It was as if a personal blow had struck not only the huge masses of regular concertgoers, but those people, too, who normally switch off their radios if a concert of classical music is announced. For both of them Furtwängler was more than just a great conductor, in him, they felt, the very essence of German music was embodied.