Schenker Correspondence Project

Handwritten letter from Hermann Wunsch to Schenker, dated March 29, 1924

Berlin W 30, den 29. III. 24
Aschaffenburgerstr. 8

Sehr geehrter Herr Professor!¹

In dankbarem Andenken an Sie gestatte ich mir, Ihnen einen Ausschnitt aus der Rheinischen Musik- u. Theaterzeitung zuzuschicken, in der Sie einiges über mich lesen können.² Ich tue das nur, weil ich Ihnen versprochen habe, Sie von Zeit zu Zeit über dies und jenes, was mich – als Ihren unbekannten Schützling – betrifft, zu unterrichten.³ Hoffentlich gelingt es mir bald, dahinzukommen[?], wo ich ohne Eitelkeit glaube, stehen zu können. Auf jeden Fall aber werde ich stets gerne an Sie denken.

Ich würde mich sehr freuen, wenn ich in Wien einmal eine Aufführung einer meiner größeren Arbeiten herausbringen könnte. Leider habe ich gar keine Fühlung mit Wiener Künstlern, außer ^mit Ihnen. Vielleicht haben Sie die Güte, mir den einen oder andern Weg zu weisen. Die Herren v. Hausegger (München)⁴ und Prof. Dr. Dohrn (Breslau)⁵ die meine II. Sinfonie brachten, sind sicher gerne bereit, Sie zu unterstützen, wenn es überhaupt angängig ist. Wie gerne sähe ich einmal Wien! Die Stätte[?], an der alle meine Götter[?] wirkten[?]!

Mit erg. Grüßen[?]
Ihr
[ sign’d: ] Hermann Wunsch

© Under investigation
© Transcription Ian Bent, 2006.

Handwritten letter from Hermann Wunsch to Schenker, dated March 29, 1924

Berlin W 30, March 29, 1924
Aschaffenburgerstraße 8

Dear Professor,¹

In grateful recollection, I take the liberty of sending you a clipping from the Rheinische Musik- und Theaterzeitung, in which you can read something about me.² I do this only because I promised to notify you from time to time about things that concern myself³—as your unknown protégé. I hope that I shall be able soon to reach the position that I believe, without conceit, that I am capable of occupying. But in any case I will always gladly think of you.

I should be delighted if I could some time bring about a performance of one of my larger-scale works. Unfortunately, I have no contact whatsoever with Viennese musicians, other than ^with you. Perhaps you would be so kind as to put me on the right path. Mssrs. von Hausegger (Munich)⁴ and Professor Dorn (Breslau),⁵ who performed my Second Symphony, are very willing to back you up, if that were at all feasible. How glad I should be to see Vienna one day! The place toward which all my aspirations point[?]!

With cordial greetings,[?]
Yours,
[ sign’d: ] Hermann Wunsch

© Translation Ian Bent, 2006.

COMMENTARY:
Format: 1p letter, holograph message and signature
Sender address: Berlin W 30, Aschaffenburgerstraße 8
Recipient address: --

FOOTNOTES:

¹ Hermann Wunsch (1884–1954), German composer, studied in Düsseldorf and Cologne, later at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where he subsequently taught. He composed six symphonies, chamber operas, masses, three violin concertos, one piano concerto, and works for other forces. (Baker’s 1971). S awarded him a stipend from the fund allocated for his disposal by Sofie Deutsch (died January 5, 1917) in her will “for impecunious skilled composers and similarly qualified composition pupils.” See OJ 12/52, January 12, 1917 in which Fritz Mendl first set out its provisions. Wunsch seems to have been the second composer to whom S allocated such a stipend, the first being August Halm.

² “Hermann Wunsch, ein rheinischer Musiker,” XXV/7–8 (February 23, 1924), pp. 38–9; the clipping survives as OJ 15/31, [2].

³ In OJ 15/31, [1], January 1, 1924.

⁴ Siegmund von Hausegger (1872–1948), Austrian conductor and composer. From 1920 to 1936 he was conductor of the Munich Konzertverein Orchestra (later the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra), with which among many things he conducted the first performances of Bruckner’s Fifth and Ninth Symphonies. He was Director and later President of the Akademie der Tonkunst, Munich (1920–34). (NGDM2) OJ 15/31, [1] tells us that Hausegger had given a performance of Wunsch’s Second Symphony prior to January 31, 1924.

⁵ Professor Georg Dohrn (dates?), teacher and conductor, active in Breslau (Wrocław), conducted the Breslauer Orchester-Verein around this time, known for performing works by Furtwängler and other lesser-known composers. OJ 15/31, [1] tells us that a performance of Wunsch’s Second Symphony was to take place on February 11, 1924.

SUMMARY:
Sends an article about himself, and asks S to guide him in procuring a performance in Vienna.

© Commentary, Footnotes, Summary Ian Bent 2006

Bent, Ian
Wunsch, Wilhelm
DE
Cambridge University Faculty of Music-Ian Bent
Wunsch, Wilhelm; Schenker, Heinrich; Deutsch, Sofie; Sophie; Rheinische Musik- und Theaterzeitung; Hausegger, Siegmund von; München; Munich; Dohrn, Georg; Breslau; Wrocław; Vienna; Second Symphony
Handwritten letter from Wunsch to Schenker, dated March 29, 1924
OJ 15/31, [3]
1924-03-29
2006-10-17
Deutsch, Sofie
Wunsch, Wilhelm
This document is presumed to be in the public domain. Any claim to intellectual rights on this document should be addressed to the Schenker Correspondence Project, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, at schenkercorrespondence@mus.cam.ac.uk.
Schenker, Heinrich (1924-1935)--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 Bent.
Berlin
1924