Schenker Correspondence Project

Handwritten letter from Halm to Schenker, dated January 20, 1918

20.I.18

Sehr geehrter Herr Professor!

Haben Sie Dank für Ihren lieben Brief.¹ Es war schon lang mein Wunsch, etwas Näheres über Sie zu wissen. Nun bin ich aber gegenwärtig so in Anspruch genommen, daß ich nur kurz schreiben kann. Zunächst zur Hauptsache. Sie weisen mir einen Widerspruch nach, den ich, vorerst, als solchen gelten lasse. Ich glaube eben an das Volk etwa in dem Sinn Kants: handle so als ob es das gäbe.² Gern verweise ich auf den u. jenen Aufsatz, (Einiges von m[einem] Standpunkt u. wohl das Hauptsächliche steht in m[einem] Aufs. üb. Bruckner im Juli Heft des “Neuen Österreich.”)³ aber Drucksachen gehen ja so schwer über die {2} Grenze. Deshalb sandte ich Ihnen die Fr. Schulg.-Nummer (die übrigens sehr lang erst noch im Abzug der Fahne erschien u. die Sie kaum mit ^{heute nennenswerter} Verspätung erhalten haben dürfen) nicht direkt zu. Zu dem “Neuen Österreich” (vermutlich Septemb. u. Novemb. oder Dezember Heft.)⁴ kam ein Aufsatz von mir: “Von meinem Schaffen,” (worin ich Ihrer Beeth.-Ausgabe kurz erwähnte).⁵ Haben Sie den zu gesicht bekommen? Ich selbst sah die betreffende Nummer noch nicht, u. vermute, daß ein Belegexemplar an der Grenze festgehalten wurde.

Herzlich grüß ich Sie. Ihr [ sign’d: ] A. Halm

{3} Nachschrift

Daß Ihr Verleger nichts beifügt, ist ganz verlegerhaft. Er will natürlich nicht, daß man auf den Gedanken komme, er könne etwa an Ihnen froh sein. Ich schrieb ihm übrigens (d.i. der Universaledition),⁶ daß meine Besprechung ihn vielleicht veranlaßt, mir auch die anderen bei ihm erschienenen Arbeiten von Ihnen zur Besprechung zu senden. Es scheint aber, {4} nach seinem Schweigen zu schließen, daß er das nicht will. Ehe ich sie anschaffe, wollte ich Sie fragen, ob Sie noch einige Exemplare (Ich meine in erster Linie die Ornamentik u. die Analyse der IX. Symph.]⁷ übrig haben u. es Ihnen recht wäre, wenn ich Sie darum bitte u. Ihnen als Gegengabe Sache von mir zusenden ließe?

Aber verneinen Sie ruhig, wenn Ihnen das nicht paßt.

Es muß noch so weit kommen, daß die führenden Menschen einem Verlag vom⁸

© In the public domain.
© Transcription Lee Rothfarb, 2006.

Handwritten letter from Halm to Schenker, dated January 20, 1918

January 20, 1918

Dear Professor,

Thank you for your kind letter.¹ It has been my wish for some time to know more about you. Currently, I am so busy that I can write only briefly. First, to the point. You alert me to a contradiction that I will accept as valid for the moment. I believe in the folk somewhat in Kant’s sense: I act as though it exists.² I refer gladly to one and another essay (Something of my viewpoint and surely the essential aspect appears in my essay on Bruckner in the July issue of Neues Österreich.),³ but printed materials cross the {2} border with such difficulty. I therefore did not send you the Freie Schulgemeinde issue directly (which by the way appeared some time ago in galley proofs, and which you may have received with a delay hardly worth mentioning nowadays). In Neues Österreich (probably September and November or December issue)⁴ an essay of mine appeared: “On My Creative Output” (where I briefly mention your Beethoven edition).⁵ Have you seen it? I have not yet seen the relevant issue and presume that a copy was held up at the border.

With cordial regards, Yours [ signed: ] A. Halm

{3} Postscript

It is wholly like a publisher that your publisher does not enclose anything. He of course does not want it to occur to anyone that he could perchance be happy about you. By the way, I wrote him (that is, to Universal Edition)⁶ that my review might prompt him to send me the other works by you for review as well. However, {4} to conclude from his silence, it appears that he does not want it. Before I buy them, I wanted to ask you whether you still have a few copies left (I mean primarily your Ornamentation and the analysis of the Ninth Symphony),⁷ and it were agreeable to you if I ask you for them and as reciprocation I have things of mine sent to you?

But feel free to decline if that does not suit you.

It has to come so far that the leading people to a publisher⁸

© Translation Lee Rothfarb, 2006.

COMMENTARY:
Format: 4-p letter, with marginal entries, holograph message and signature
Sender address: --
Recipient address: --

FOOTNOTES:

¹ i.e. DLA 69.930/2, January 17, 1918.

² Federhofer transcribes this one sentence from the letter (“Sie weisen...gäbe”) in Heinrich Schenker: Nach Tagebüchern und Briefen, 138.

³ „Einiges ... Österreich.“ ("Something ... Österreich.") written vertically in left margin, placed in parentheses here for clarity: Halm refers here to his essay “Anton Bruckner,” Das neue Österreich 2 (1917), 56-59, which also appeared in Das hohe Ufer 1 (1919), 251-256.

⁴ “vermutlich ... Heft.” (“presumably ... issue”) written vertically in left margin, placed in parentheses here for clarity.

⁵ Halm, “Von meinem Schaffen,” Das hohe Ufer 1 (1919), 300 (footnote). The article originally appeared in Das neue Österreich 2.9 (1917), 58-62.

⁶ “d.i. der Universaledition” (“that is, to Universal Edition”) written in left margin, placed in parentheses here for clarity.

⁷ “Ich meine ... Symph.” (“I mean ... Symphony”) written upside-down in top margin, placed in parentheses here for clarity.

⁸ Text ends abruptly.

SUMMARY:
Acks DLA 69.930/2, January 17, 1918. S has accused him of a contradiction, and he concedes it, referring to several of his publications. UE has not responded to his request for review copies of Schenker works, so suggests an exchange with S.

© Commentary, Footnotes, Summary Lee Rothfarb 2006

Rothfarb, Lee
Halm, August
Acks DLA 69.930/2, January 17, 1918. S has accused him of a contradiction, and he concedes it, referring to several of his publications. UE has not responded to his request for review copies of Schenker works, so suggests an exchange with S.
DE
Cambridge University Faculty of Music-Ian Bent
IPR: In the public domain; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Lee Rothfarb 2006.
Halm, August; Schenker, Heinrich; contradiction; Das neue Österreich; Kant, Imanuel; Bruckner; Freie Schulgemeinde; Beethoven; UE; Ornamentik; Ornamentation; Ninth Symphony; exchange
Handwritten letter from Halm to Schenker, dated January 20, 1918
letter
academic; musicology; music theory
OJ 11/35, 7
1918-01-20
2006-03-06
Halm
This document is deemed to be in the public domain as of January 1, 2000, and is published with the agreement of the heirs of August Halm 2006.
holograph message and signature
Schenker, Heinrich (1918-1935)--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: Lee Rothfarb.
Stuttgart
1918