Yet another milestone has been attained by Elisabeth Furtwängler. Last December 20th she became 90 years of age and never ceases to amaze us all and in particular her very large family with which she is constantly in contact. Rest assured that the W.F.S.A. is only a tiny part of her tremendously active and exciting life. Let’s face it. Most folks her age are either no longer alive or barely able to putter around some rest home but not this high-energy woman. In fact, in the past year or so alone, she has been to Berlin several times to oversee the production of a film based on the play “Taking Sides” (which is due for release later this year). She also attended the four-day Furtwängler Symposium in Jena/Weimar in March of 2000 and plans to be at the next one this coming November. This past Easter, she hosted all five of her children and spouses along with their children and grandchildren which totalled in excess of 50! Last January, my wife, Libby, and I went to Berlin to celebrate her daughter-in-law Dorothea’s 50th birthday (see Bradleigh Stockwell’s article in News and Events); a two-day event that included a sitdown dinner in nearby Potsdam that lasted until well after midnight, followed the next night by a blowout all night 50s theme party dinner/dance for 200 in Berlin that saw us call it quits somewhere around 5:00 a.m.! And, yes, Elisabeth was seen numerous times on the dance floor with various of her sons, et al - geil! (wild!)

At the same time, she most graciously receives countless visitors, friends and Furtwängler devotees who continually seek her out as the last living contact with Furtwängler himself much like pilgrims on a crusade. As many of you know, I try to visit her at least every year or so in order to access photos and other data from the Clarens Archive that adorn our handsome Newsletters. All the same, she is great fun to be with - witty, interesting, curious and passionate about life while always making guests feel very comfortable and at home. It seems hard to believe that I first met her in 1972 and have known her for nearly 30 years! And I feel so very privileged to have been treated more like one of her nephews than just another Furtwängler fanatic. It’s something I’ve certainly never taken for granted! We recently shared a phone conversation from Lake Como, Italy, where Libby and I celebrated my 51st birthday and I mentioned that my wine colleagues in Germany called me an “UHU” last year when I hit 50. I explained that “UHU” stands for “unter Hundert” (or under hundred) to which she promptly exclaimed - “then I’m an ‘UHU’ too!”

Thus, it is with the -greatest honor and pleasure that the entire membership of the W.F.S.A. wishes Elisabeth Furtwängler a wonderful 90th birthday and many more to come! After all, if anybody is capable of making it from “UHU” to “HU” in fine form it’s Elisabeth Furtwängler!