Schenker Correspondence Project

Handwritten letter from Jonas to Schenker, dated February 25, 1931

25. Feb. 31

Sehr verehrter Herr Doktor!

Ich gestatte mir, Ihnen anbei einige Aufsätze von mir einzusenden; vielleicht interessiert Sie einiges daran[corr. from darin]. 2 davon (Skizzen¹ u. Rhythmik²) sind schon über 5 Jahre alt und jetzt nur ein wenig überarbeitet worden. Den dritten schrieb ich jetzt auf Auftrag einer pädagogischen Zeitschrift, die hier vom Zentralinstitut herausgegeben wird – ich bekam ihn zurück mit der Bemerkung, daß er zu theoristisch (die Zeitschrift ist vor allem für Lehrer! gedacht!) sei, wiewohl es einfacher doch kaum mehr möglich ist. Sehr dankbar wäre Ich Ihnen, wenn Sie mir ein paar Zeilen Ihrer Meinung darüber schreiben würden. Da die Aufsätze wieder eingereiht sind,³ möchte ich noch um vorläufige Diskretion bitten.

Empfehlen Sie mich bitte Ihrer werten Frau Gemahlin und seien Sie meiner steten Verehrung gesichert.

Ihr dankbarer
[ sign’d: ] Oswald Jonas

Schönebg
Mühlenstr 2

© Heirs of Oswald Jonas, reproduced here with kind permission.
© Transcription John Rothgeb 2006.

Handwritten letter from Jonas to Schenker, dated February 25, 1931

February 25, 1931

Dear Doctor,

I take the liberty of sending you a few essays by me; perhaps they will interest you. Two of them (on sketches¹ and on rhythm²) are already more than five years old and have now merely been somewhat reworked. The third I wrote at the behest of a pedagogical journal, which is published here by the Central Institute— it was returned to me with the comment that it would be too theoretical (the journal is aimed above all at teachers!), although it could scarcely be simpler. I would be most grateful if you could send me a few lines giving your opinion of them. As the essays have once again been put in line,³ I should still like to request preliminary discretion.

Do please commend me to your esteemed wife, and be assured of my unceasing regard.

Yours gratefully,
Oswald Jonas

Schöneberg
Mühlenstraße 2

© Translation John Rothgeb 2006.

COMMENTARY:
Format: 1-p letter, holograph message and signature
Sender address: Schöneberg, Mühlenstraße 2
Recipient address: --

FOOTNOTES:

¹ Possibly “Beethoven’s Skizzen und ihre Gestaltung zum Werk,” later published in Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft XIV (1934).

² No published article on rhythm by Jonas is known. OJ 61/5 includes a typescript with English text but bearing the German title "Der Weg zu einer umfassenden Theorie des Rhythmus" ("The Path to a Comprehensive Theory of Rhythm"). The accompanying musical examples are in the hand of Ernst Oster, who probably typed the text and may well also have translated the original German text by Jonas into English. That now unknown German original may be the essay mentioned here.

³ In line for publication (?).

SUMMARY:
J sends essays and asks for S's comments.

© Commentary, Footnotes, Summary John Rothgeb, 2006

Rothgeb, John
Jonas, Oswald
J sends essays and asks for S's comments.
DE
Cambridge University Faculty of Music-Ian Bent
IPR: Heirs of Oswald Jonas, reproduced here by kind permission; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: John Rothgeb, 2006.
Jonas, Oswald; Schenker, Heinrich; essays; articles; sketches; rhythm; Zentralinstitut; Central Institute
Handwritten letter from Jonas to Schenker, dated February 25, 1931
letter
academic; musicology; music theory
OJ 12/6, [7]
1931-02-25
2006-05-02
Jonas
Permission to publish on this website granted by the heirs of Oswald Jonas, March 2006.
holograph message and signature
Schenker, Heinrich (1931-1935)--Schenker, Jeanette (1935-c.1942)--Ratz, Erwin (c.1942-c.1955)--Jonas, Oswald (c.1955-1978)--University of California, Riverside (1978--)
IPR: Heirs of Oswald Jonas; Image: University of California, Riverside; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: John Rothgeb.
Berlin
1931