Schenker Correspondence Project

Typed letter from Josef Weinberger (UE) to Schenker, dated October 21, 1905

[UE letterhead]
Wien, 21. October, 1905.

Hochwolgeboren
Herrn PROFESSOR Dr. HEINRICH SCHENKER ,
W I E N .
-------------

Euer Hochwolgeboren !

Wir beehren uns Ihnen höfl. mitzutheilen, dass unsere Comité Ihr geschätztes Anerbieten, betreffend " Neue musikalische Theorien"¹ in Erwägung gezogen hat und eventuell bereit wäre, demselben näherzutreten, wenn ihm Gelegenheit geboten würde, Einsicht in das Werk zu nehmen.

Wir sind als geschäftliches Unternehmen² gezwungen, nach allen Seiten hin Rücksichten zu beobachten, welche möglicherweise in Ihrem geschätzten Werke, das ja vom fachmännischen Standpunkte aus gewiss untadelhaft ist,³ nicht gewahrt sein dürften, da dasselbe nach Ihren w/. Schreiben⁴ zu urtheilen, polemischen Inhalts zu⁵ sein scheint.

Wir gestatten uns deshalb, falls Sie unter diesen Verhältnissen auf unsern Verlag reflectiren, Sie zu bitten, uns das Werk zur Durchsicht auf ganz kurze Zeit zur Verfügung zu stellen.

Ihrer gütigen Entschliessung gewärtig, zeichnen wir mit besonderer Hochachtung

Ihre ergebenste
[ stamp: ] Universal-Edition Aktiengesellschaft
[ sign'd/stamp?: ] Josef Weinberger

© Universal Edition A.G., Wien.
© Transcription Ian D. Bent 2004.

Typed letter from Josef Weinberger (UE) to Schenker, dated October 21, 1905

[UE letterhead]
Vienna, October 21, 1905

PROFESSOR HEINRICH SCHENKER, Esq.,
VIENNA
---------

Revered Sir,

We have the honor of informing you that our committee has considered your esteemed proposal regarding “New Musical Theories,”¹ and would possibly be prepared to look further at the same if the opportunity were given it to inspect the work.

As a business enterprise,² we are compelled to look at matters from all angles, to see any aspects of your highly valued work that, while undoubtedly irreproachable from the specialist point of view,³ might not be warranted; since, to judge from your own est’d letter,⁴ the said work seems to be polemical in content.⁵

We take the liberty, therefore, of asking you, in the event of your [still] being interested in our publishing house under these circumstances, to place the work at our disposal for a very short time for inspection.

Awaiting your kind decision, we remain with particular respect

Yours truly,
[ stamp: ] Universal Edition & Co
[ sign’d/stamp?: ] Josef Weinberger

© Translation Ian D. Bent 2004.

COMMENTARY:
Format: 1-p letter, single sheet recto; UE letterhead, body of letter typed, holograph signature
Sender address:
Recipient address: Vienna

FOOTNOTES:

¹ i.e. vol.1 =Harmonielehre. For initial rejection, see OC 52/442, dated April 13, 1905. In the interim, he had submitted the proposal to Breitkopf & Härtel, for the latter replied negatively on September 6 (probably OJ 9/20, quoted in Federhofer, Nach Tagebüchern, p.22), and then to Brockhaus, to whom Eugen d'Albert wrote a letter of recommendation on September 7, 1905 (Federhofer, Nach Tagebüchern, pp.64-65; WSLB 236, January 18, 1914). On November 8, he proposed it to J. G. Cotta, who initially rejected it but, after intervention by Eugen d'Albert on November 13, accepted it for publication: OJ 9/31, [1] (November 9), OJ 9/31, [2] (November 14), and OJ 9/31, [3] (November 15).

² "geschäftliches Unternehmen" underlined by S.

³ "das ... ist" underlined by S.

⁴ This letter does not appear to survive. (The earliest letter from S to UE is dated 1908 = WSLB 1.)

⁵ "polemischen Inhalts zu" underlined by S.

SUMMARY:
[ Harmonielehre: ] Committee is willing to reconsider the work if S will make it available; concerned that work is polemical in content.

© Commentary, Footnotes, Summary Ian D. Bent 2004.

Bent, Ian
Weinberger, Josef
[ Harmonielehre: ] Committee is willing to reconsider the work if S will make it available; concerned that work is polemical in content.
DE
Cambridge University Faculty of Music-Ian Bent
IPR: Universal Edition A.G., reproduced here by kind permission; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Ian D. Bent 2004.
Weinberger, Josef; Schenker, Heinrich; Harmonielehre; Harmony; Neue Musikalische Theorien und Phantasien, vol.1; publication
Typed letter from Josef Weinberger (UE) to Schenker, dated October 21, 1905
letter
academic; musicology; music theory
OC 52/443
1905-10-21
2004-11-08
Weinberger
UE
email from Aygün Lausch (Universal Edition) to Ian Bent, 2004-09-09, confirming UE's ownership of IPR and granting permission to post to pilot website
UE letterhead; typed body of letter; holographic signature
Schenker, Heinrich (1905-1935)--Schenker, Jeanette (1935-1938)--Oster, Ernst (1938-c.1939)—New York Public Library (c.1939-)
IPR: Universal Edition, A.G.; Image: New York Public Library, New York; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Ian D. Bent.
Vienna
1905