Handwritten letter from Schenker to Jonas, dated July 22, 1934 Böckstein Geehrter, lieber Herr Dr Jonas!1 Und wieder2 das herzlichste Lob voran! Unerwartet tapfer, eindringend, überredend, glücklich in der Wahl u. Lösung der Beispiele, kurz: hätte ich auch 4 solcher Leser u. Könner wie Sie, dann hätten ich u. Sie bald weitere Hunderte u. die Musik würde wieder ihre Augen aufschlagen. Hob.3 ist schon seit Ende April nicht mehr in Garmisch. Er ist in ein kleines holländisches Bad (Bergen am See) gegangen, seine Adresse ist aber: {2} Unter dieser Adresse erreicht ihm alle Post, wie er mir schrieb. Trotzdem Ftw.4 mir hierher eine Empfehlung für den armen Prof. Violin,5 der notgedrungen nach Jerusalem möchte, gern u. herzlich schrieb u. einsandte, glaub O. Vrieslander, Locarno-Saldino Villa Prof. Dr Rhd. Oppel, Leipzig, Könneritzstr. 58III Es wäre sehr schön u. nützlich, wenn ich Sie hier sprechen könnte, wie Sie eben können, ultra possumus|10 usw. In Bayreuth war ich nie. In jungen Jahren reichten meine Mittel nicht hin, {4} dann sagten mir die Wagnerianer niemals zu, ausgenommen Musiker wie Löwe,11 Schalk,12 Foll13 u. ä., die gern auch Brahms-Strahlen auf sich wirken ließen u. daraus den Vorteil besserer Umgangsformen zogen. Ihnen brauche ich nicht zu sagen, daß Wagner größer ist als die Linie aller Wagnerianer, nur stand ihm die Diminution nicht zur Verfügung, aus dieser Verlegenheit erwuchs ihm das “Musikdrama” (nicht Musik, nicht Drama), ähnlich wie die gleiche Verlegenheit Gluck zu seiner Renaissance der Antike drängte; Haydn aber, Mozart u. Beethoven, Brahms etc. schrieben zu gleicher Zeit Musik, wie sie es brauchte. Hoffentlich auf Wiedersehen! Mit besten Grüßen von uns beiden © In the public domain. |
Handwritten letter from Schenker to Jonas, dated July 22, 1934 Böckstein Dear Dr. Jonas,1 And again,2 first of all, heartiest praise! Unexpectedly courageous, penetrating, convincing, felicitous in the choice and solution of the examples; in short: if I just had four such readers and able workers as you, then you and I would soon have hundreds more, and music would again open her eyes. Hoboken3 has no longer been in Garmisch since the end of April. He went to a small Dutch spa (Bergen am See); his address is: {2} Rotterdam All mail will reach him at this address, he wrote me. Despite the fact that Furtwängler4 gladly and cordially wrote and sent me a recommendation for poor Prof. Violin5 who is obliged to go to Jerusalem, I am not convinced of his reliability. A certain understandable insecurity of judgment may be partly responsible; that I did not know the book7 when he was with me in Vienna he was well aware; therefore I could not speak about it. To write him my opinion today, in order to make his assessment easier and more secure—well, it is too late for that. {3} Will you please inquire of Saturn Verlag whether Otto Vrieslander|8 and Professor Oppel|9 are among the subscribers? Should that not be the case, well, then we know the reason, and it would be very advisable to send the two deserving gentlemen, who are still passionately active in our cause, “review copies.” O. Vrieslander, Locarno-Saldino Villa Prof. Dr. Reinhard. Oppel, Leipzig, Könneritzstrasse 58III It would be very good and useful if I could speak with you here, any way you can arrange it, ultra possumus|10 etc. I’ve never been in Bayreuth. When I was young I didn’t have enough money; {4} and then I never cared for the Wagnerians, excepting musicians such as Löwe,11 Schalk,12 Foll13 among others, who also liked to bask in the Brahmsian sunbeams, and thereby gained the advantage of better manners. I need not tell you that Wagner is greater than the line of all Wagnerians, only diminution was not available to him; because of this deficiency he had to take refuge in “music-drama” (not music, not drama) much as the same deficiency drove Gluck toward his renaissance of antiquity; but Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, Brahms etc. at the same time wrote music in a way suited to its own needs. Hoping to see you soon! With best greetings from us both, © Translation John Rothgeb 2006. |
COMMENTARY: FOOTNOTES: 1 This document is apparently not in the Oswald Jonas Memorial Collection; the photocopy of it was supplied to the transcriber by Oswald Jonas, and the current whereabouts of the original is unknown. 2 “Again” is an apparent reference to two earlier postcards from Schenker to Jonas that have become separated from the Oswald Jonas Memorial Collection and are not available for this project. See 12/6, 34. 3 Click on Anthony van Hoboken. 4 Wilhelm Furtwängler [create biogfile and link]. 5 Click on Moriz Violin. 6 With a pen-stroke cancelling the “t,” Schenker converts the past-tense “glaubte” to the present “glaube.” 7 Jonas’s Das Wesen des musikalischen Kunstwerks: Eine Einführung in die Lehre Heinrich Schenkers (Vienna: Saturn-Verlag, 1934). 8 Click on Otto Vrieslander. 9 Rheinhard Oppel [create biogfile and link]. 10 ultra possumus : meaning ... 11 Click on Ferdinand Löwe. 12 Click on Franz Schalk. 13 Ferdinand Foll (1867-1929), editor of Hugo Wolf songs, professional Lieder accompanist. (Or possibly Leo Fall (1873-1925), theater conductor and composer of light operas.) SUMMARY: © Commentary, Footnotes, Summary John Rothgeb 2006.
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