Schenker Correspondence Project

[= OC 1/6, p.50]|¹

Diary entry by Schenker, undated: September/October 1907

Mahler. Man jubelte ihm zu, u. man pries ihn genial, in Allem, was er dachte, unternahm u. vollführte. Endlich, ^{nach langen, längsten Jahren begriff} verstand man — beiläufig —, was er in Wirklichkeit vorstellte. Nun ärgern sich alle diejenigen, die aus dem Wehe aus dem Irrtum herausgetreten, gar über mich, der ich ^sie von vornherein das nur allzubescheidene Maß von Künstlerschaft ^{in M[ahler]} zu lesen xxxx gelehrt hatte. Welch’es lustige^s quiproquo, ^gar mich in einem Widerspruch zu mir selbst zu befinden, statt sich selbst eines solchen zu ziehen^?; ist es nicht damit ähnlich, wie mit der Täuschung zu glauben, die Felder eilten an einem vorüber, während der Zug, in dem man sitzt, vorübereilt. Der sich Bewegende sonst glaubt den Unbeweglichen in Bewegung.

© In public domain.
© Transcription Ian D. Bent, 2006.

[= OC 1/6, p.50]|¹

Diary entry by Schenker, undated: September/October 1907

Mahler. People acclaimed him, people rated him as a genius in all that he thought, undertook and completed. In the end, ^{many, many years later, it dawned on them} they understood—over the course of time—what he really represented. Now all those who have extricated themselves from their lamentations from their error are angry with—of all people!—me, who from the very beginning had ^has taught ^them to perceive how all-too-lowly the extent of artistic mastery ^{in Mahler} was. Isn’t it a merry qui pro quo that they consider me to be in self-contradiction instead of realizing that it is they themselves who are contradictory^? It is just like the illusion that the fields are rushing past one, while in fact it is the train in which one sits that is doing the rushing past. The person who is moving believes the unmoving to be in motion.

© Translation Ian D. Bent, 2006.

COMMENTARY:
Format: two diary entries, one in S's hand with corrections, and a fair copy in Jeanette Kornfeld's hand.

FOOTNOTES:

¹ OJ 1/4, p.27, with moderate corrections and interlinear insertions, in S’s hand; OJ 1/6, p.50, a fair copy in Jeanette Kornfeld's hand.

SUMMARY:
People have come to recognize Mahler for what he is worth, and blame Schenker.

© Commentary, Footnotes, Summary Ian D. Bent 2006.

Bent, Ian
Schenker, Heinrich
People have come to recognize Mahler for what he is worth, and blame Schenker.
DE
Cambridge University Faculty of Music-Ian Bent
IPR: In the public domain; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Ian D. Bent 2006.
Schenker, Heinrich; Mahler, Gustav; genius
Diary entry by Schenker, undated: September/October 1907
diary entry
academic; musicology; music theory
OJ 1/4, p.27
OJ 1/6, p.50
1907-??-??
2006-03-02
Schenker diary
Mahler
This document is deemed to be in the public domain as of January 1, 2006. Any claim to intellectual rights should be addressed to the Schenker Correspondence Project, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, at schenkercorrespondence@mus.cam.ac.uk.
holograph diary entry
Schenker, Heinrich (1907-1935)--Schenker, Jeanette (1935-c.1942)--Ratz, Erwin (c.1942-c.1955)--Jonas, Oswald (c.1955-1978)--University of California, Riverside (1978--)
IPR: In the public domain; Image: University of California, Riverside; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Ian D. Bent.
Vienna
1907