In October 1926, out of the blue, Furtwängler wrote to ask for the score and parts of Lebendig begraben. Unfortunately Schoeck was still struggling with the scoring of the work and had to turn him down. Furtwängler never did conduct it. But then an opportunity for advancement of a different kind presented itself to Schoeck with the death of Hermann Suter, the conductor of the orchestra in Basel. This was a far more prestigious post than the one Schoeck currently held in St. Gallen, and several people now recommended him for the job, including Furtwängler. But Schoeck refused to kowtow to the authorities and waited instead for them to approach him. He was invited to conduct a concert there in February of the following year, which he had assumed would be to test his competency. But he had made a complete miscalculation. Long before his concert, the city of Basel achieved a small coup by procuring Felix Weingartner for the post, one of the most respected conductors in the world. The job was officially coupled with the directorship of the city theater and of the city conservatory. Not only had Schoeck never run any institution, but he had as far as possible avoided managerial duties with his choirs in Zurich and with his orchestra in St. Gallen. If he had seriously thought himself available candidate in Basel, then he was not a little deluded.