Oswald Jonas (1897-1978). One of the leading first-generation Schenkerian scholars and advocates of Schenker’s theory. Born in Vienna, Oswald Jonas first studied piano with Schenker's close friend Moriz Violin, who referred him to Schenker for further study. He was a pupil of Schenker during 1918/19 and 1919/20, and after 1920 with Hans Weisse; during the same period he studied Law at Vienna University (as had Schenker 1884-90), taking his doctorate in 1921. Subsequently, he taught at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin 1930-34, then returned to Vienna to help found the Schenker Institute at the Neues Konservatorium der Stadt Wien, and with Felix Salzer to found and edit the journal Der Dreiklang 1937-38 (nine issues). In 1938, he emigrated to the US, teaching at Roosevelt University in Chicago 1941-64. Thereafter, he taught for one year at the Vienna Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, then as Regents' Professor, and subsequently as adjunct professor, at the University of California, Riverside until his death in 1978. Jonas built up a substantial library of historical editions and microfilms of manuscripts, and also acquired a large part of the Schenker Nachlaß from Erwin Ratz. These materials were deposited in the Special Collections Library at Riverside at his death. He wrote articles, many of them on sketches and autograph manuscripts by Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, others on Schenker and his theory, and also books, notably Das Wesen des musikalischen Kunstwerks: Einführung in die Lehre Heinrich Schenkers (Vienna: Saturn-Verlag, 1934; 2nd edn Universal Edition, 1973; English translation, 1982; 2nd edn 2005), a work that won high praise from Schenker; he also edited Schenker's Harmonielehre as Harmony, trans. Elisabeth Mann Borgese (Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, 1954), Die letzten fünf Sonaten Beethovens (Vienna: UE, 1971-72 in 4 vols, titles modified), and Der freie Satz (Vienna: UE, 1956). Jonas and Heinrich Schenker corresponded extensively between 1918 and 1935, and correspondence continued with Jeanette Schenker until 1938: OJ 5/18 (Schenker to Jonas), OJ 12/6 and OC 44, 9, 20–22, 43, 46 (Jonas to the Schenkers). Jonas is mentioned elsewhere in: OJ 10/18, [6], September 22, 1933 (Elias to Schenker) Authors: John Rothgeb and Ian Bent |
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| Oswald Jonas (1897-1978). One of the leading first-generation Schenkerian scholars and advocates of Schenker’s theory. Born in Vienna, Oswald Jonas first studied piano with Schenker's close friend Moriz Violin, who referred him to Schenker for further study. He was a... | |