Schenker Correspondence Project

Handwritten letter from Cotta to Schenker, dated June 5, 1906
= CA 28 = OJ 59/9, p.4|¹

[Cotta letterhead]
STUTTGART, den 5. Juni. 1906.

Herrn Dr. Heinrich Schenker, Wien IX. [sic]

Sehr geehrter Herr!

Ihrem gefl.² Briefe vom 4. d. M. für den wir bestens danken, entnehmen wir, daß Sie beabsichtigen, das Nachwort von dem Hauptwerk “Musikalische Theorien und Phantasieen” [ sic ] zu trennen und unter besonderem Titel, etwa “Beethoven oder Wagner”³ erscheinen zu lassen. Da Sie auf das Nachwort mit Rücksicht auf die Tendenz des Werkes ein großes Gewicht legen, so pflichten wir Ihrer Absicht bei; jedoch möchten wir dringend davon abraten, das Nachwort gleichzeitig mit dem Hauptwerk erscheinen zu lassen, da nach unserer Überzeugung dies dem Absatz des Hautpwerkes nichts weniger als förderlich⁴ ist. Da-{ verso } gegen würde der Herausgabe des Nachwortes nach Verlauf etwa eines halben Jahres oder einer längeren Frist nach Erscheinen des Hauptwerkes nichts im Wege stehen. Es ist die getrennte Erscheinungsweise der einzelnen Teile namentlich bei wissenschaftlichen Werken sehr gebräuchlich und hierbei trägt der später erscheinende Teil in der Regel zur Förderung des Absatzes des früheren Teiles bei indem er auf diesen erneut aufmerksam macht.

Ihrem Wunsche, die Notenbeispiele des zweiten Teiles bis Ende Juni|⁵ zur Korrektur zu erhalten, werden wir nach Möglichkeit gern nachkommen. Den Text einschließlich der in demselben enthaltenen Notenbeispiele hat die Druckerei bis Ende dieses Monats zu liefern zugesagt, die ohne Text (als Anhang)⁶ beigegebenen Notenbeispiele werden dagegen erst Anfang Juli im Satze fertig. Jedenfalls werden wir unsererseits die Fertigstellung nach Kräften zu beschleunigen suchen.

Mit vorzüglicher Hochachtung
[ sign’d: ] J. G. Cottasche Buchhandlung Nachf.

© Heirs of Heinrich Schenker; reproduced here by kind permission of the Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Cotta-Archiv (Stiftung der Stuttgarter Zeitung), Marbach am Neckar.
© Transcription Ian D. Bent 2005.

Handwritten letter from Cotta to Schenker, dated June 5, 1906
= CA 28 = OJ 59/9, p.4|¹

[Cotta letterhead]
STUTTGART, June 5, 1906

Dr. Heinrich Schenker, Vienna IX. [sic]

Dear Sir!

We are grateful for your est’d² letter of the 4th inst, from which we gather that you have in mind separating the Afterword from the main work, Musical Theories and Fantasies, and publishing it under separate title, along the lines of “Beethoven or Wagner.”³ Since you lay great stress on the Afterword considering the views it expresses, we agree with your opinion. However, we would strenuously advise you against releasing the Afterword and the main work simultaneously, since we are convinced that this is less than advantageous⁴ to the sales of the main work. Conversely, there would be nothing against publication of the Afterword perhaps six months or a longer period of time after the appearance of the main work. The separate appearance of the individual parts is very common especially in scholarly works, and by this means the part appearing later as a rule helps promote the sales of the earlier part by renewing attention in it.

We will gladly comply as far as possible with your wish to receive the music examples of Part II for correction no later than the end of June.⁵ The printers have promised to supply text that includes music examples within it by the end of this month; music examples that appear without text (as appendix),⁶ on the other hand, will not be ready set until the beginning of July. In any case, we will do everything in our power to speed up completion.

With kind regards,
[ sign’d: ] Heirs of J. G. Cotta’s Bookdealership

© Translation Ian D. Bent 2005.

COMMENTARY:
Format: handwritten letter, holograph signature, oblong format 2pp, L-R
Sender address: Stuttgart and Berlin
Recipient address: Vienna IX [ sic ]

FOOTNOTES:

¹ CA 28 = Cotta’s carbon copy; OJ 59/9 = Jonas’s transcription of excerpts of the Cotta correspondence.

² OJ 59/9 reads incorrectly as “Hier im” (Here in).

³ “Beethoven or Wagner”: S’s full putative title, given in CA 27, is [‚]„Beethoven oder Wagner?“ ein
Nachwort zu den M. Th. u. Ph.’ (“Beethoven or Wagner?”: an Afterword to Musical Theories and Fantasies ). S evidently still had this title in mind two years later when he wrote to Ernst Rudorff in a letter draft of September 28, 1908: “... it is a regrettable twist of fate ... that it is from now on bound to be seen in terms of “Beethoven or Wagner,” and not the two as almost synonymous and alike.” (quoted Federhofer: Tageb., p.201), to which Rudorff replied (October 1, 1908): “... You are absolutely right in saying ‘not Beethoven and Wagner, but Beethoven or Wagner.” (ibid, 205). It was this Afterword that S later entitled Über den Niedergang der Kompositionskunst,—eine technisch-kritische Untersuchung (The Decline of the Art of Composition–a Technical-Critical Inquiry), which remained unpublished, and survives in OC 31/pp.28–153 as a complete but untitled typescript, subsequently heavily reworked by S. S states in the Vorwort to the Harmonielehre (p.VII): “For the same reasons, I will also not neglect, before the publication of my Psychologie des Kontrapunktes, to publish a supplementary essay entitled “On the Decline of the Art of Composition—a Technical-Critical Study,” as a reinforcement and application of the present Harmonielehre.”

⁴ Original has “nothing less than advantageous”.

⁵ So that he can depart for his annual holiday in the South Tyrol at that time. Cf. undated draft letter of 1905 or 1906, OJ 5/6, [2], stating that he wanted to keep the Spring and Summer clear for enjoying music.

⁶ Perhaps he means music examples that fall at the end of §-sections. There is no “appendix” as such.

SUMMARY:
[ NMTP = Harmonielehre:] Acks CA 27; advises against simultaneous publication of main work and Afterword; will try to accommodate S's timetable for proofs.

© Commentary, Footnotes, Summary Ian D. Bent 2005

Bent, Ian
Cotta, J. G.
[ NMTP = Harmonielehre:] Acks CA 27; advises against simultaneous publication of main work and Afterword; will try to accommodate S's timetable for proofs.
DE
Cambridge University Faculty of Music-Ian Bent
IPR: In public domain; reproduced here by kind permission of the Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Cotta-Archiv (Stiftung der Stuttgarter Zeitung), Marbach am Neckar; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Ian D. Bent 2005.
Cotta, J. G.; Schenker, Heinrich; NMTP; Harmonielehre; Afterword; separate publication; Part II; proofs; timing
Handwritten letter from Cotta to Schenker, dated June 5, 1906
letter
academic; musicology; music theory
OJ 9/31, [9]
CA 28
OJ 59/9, p.4
1906-06-05
2005-06-01
Cotta

Cotta letterhead; handwritten body of letter; holographic signature
Schenker, Heinrich (1906-1935)--Schenker, Jeanette (1935-c.1942)--Ratz, Erwin (c.1942-c.1955)--Jonas, Oswald (c.1955-1978)--University of California, Riverside (1978--)
IPR: In public domain; reproduced here by kind permission of the Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Cotta-Archiv (Stiftung der Stuttgarter Zeitung), Marbach am Neckar; Image: University of California, Riverside; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Ian D. Bent.
Vienna
Stuttgart
1906