Schenker Correspondence Project

Handwritten letter from Schenker to Cotta, dated December 16, 1907

[ not in Schenker’s hand: ] 16/12 [/] Schenker

Sehr geehrter Herr !

In Erwiederung [ sic ] Ihres w. Schreibens vom 12. d.,¹ für das ich hiermit herzlichst[?] danke, erlaube ich mir Ihnen mitzuteilen, daß ich Ihnen gegenüber zwar seinerzeit [ corr ] eine Lüftung des Pseudonyms|² zugestanden habe, sobald sachliches Interesse in Frage kommen sollte, daß ich aber durch ein besonderes Moment augenblicklich doch noch gehindert bin, meinen Namen bekanntzugeben. Sobald dieses Moment vorüber sein wird —, u. der Zeitpunkt kann nicht mehr fern sein — werde ich mir erlauben, mich H. Dr Grunsky mit umso größerem Vergnügen zur Verfügung zu stellen, als ich ja den Ernst seiner Arbeiten, die ich meistenteils zu kennen glaube, schätzen gelernt habe. Wollen Sie nur die Güte haben, H. Dr. Grunsky im Namen des³ Verfassers der „N. m. Th. u. Ph.“ um ein klein wenig Geduld zu bitten ? Besten Dank für Ihre Mühe.

Ich vermute, daß auch Ihrem Verlag die ausführliche {2} in Otto Tesomann’s[?] „Allg. Musik-Zeitung,“ Berlin, No. 38 vom Dozenten[ corr ] Dr._ Max Burckhardt_ verfaßte Kritik bekannt geworden ist.⁴ Sie fiel – ich gestehe es – über.....erten[?] gut u. ehrend aus : besonders die Confrontation mit Prof Riemann, dem gefährlichtsten Musik-Bazillus in Deutschland tat gut.

In allernächsten Zeit sende ich das Manuscript des „Cp“ ein, u. hoffe ich damit, den wenigen bereits gewonnenen Freunden eine viel, viel größere Freude zu machen, als mit Bd. I.

Nochmals besten Dank für Sendung u. Mühe.

Mit ausgez. Hochachtung
[ sign’d: ] H Schenker
16. 12. 07

Beibringend Brief H. Dr Grunsky.

© Heirs of Heinrich Schenker, with the permission of the Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach, Cotta-Archiv (Stiftung der Stuttgarter Zeitung), Marbach am Neckar.
© Transcription Ian D. Bent 2005.

Handwritten letter from Schenker to Cotta, dated December 16, 1907

[ not in Schenker’s hand: ] 16/12 [/] Schenker

Dear Sir,

In reply to your est’d missive of the 12th inst.¹, for which my most sincere thanks, I beg to inform you that, while I did indeed concede to you on a previous occasion that my real name might be disclosed² so long as an intrinsic interest was involved, just now one specific consideration prevents me from making my name known. Once this consideration is no longer a factor—and that cannot be far off now—I will take the opportunity of divulging my name to Dr. Grunsky with all the greater pleasure for the fact that I have really come to value the seriousness of his works, the bulk of which I believe I know. Please would you just be so kind as, on behalf of³ the author of New Musical Theories and Fantasies, to ask Dr. Grunsky to be patient a little while longer? Many thanks for taking the trouble.

I assume that the detailed review published by the university lecturer[?] Dr. Max Burkhardt published {2} in Otto Tesomann’s[?] Berliner Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung, No.38.⁴ has come to the attention even of your publishing house. It turned out[?]—I must confess—overwhelmingly[?] good and gratifying: the comparison with Prof. Rieman, the most dangerous musical bacillus in Germany, was especially well done[?].

I shall be dispatching the manuscript of Counterpoint in the very near future, and I hope to afford the few friends that I have already gained a treat far, far greater than that with vol. I.

With thanks once again for forwarding [the letter] and for the trouble you have taken,

With kind regards,
[ sign’d: ] H Schenker
16. 12. 07

I am enclosing the letter from Dr. Grunsky.

© Translation Ian D. Bent 2005.

COMMENTARY:
Format: holograph letter and signature, 2pp
Sender address: --
Recipient address: --

FOOTNOTES:

¹ OJ 12/27, [10] = CA 70, in which Cotta asked whether they might disclose his name to Dr. Karl Grunsky.

² The first edn of Harmonielehre went under the pseudonym “von einem Künstler” (by an artist). Schenker’s own name appeared on the titlepage only with the second edition, 1910, after Kontrapunkt had already been published over his real name. The previous occasion had been CA 64, January 8, 1907, in response to Cotta’s inquiry of the previous day, OJ 12/27, [4] = CA 63.

³ or “in the matter of the name of ...”

⁴ Max Burkhardt: “Neue musikalische Theorien und Phantasien. Von einem Künstler,“ BAMZ, September 20, 1907 (preserved in OC 2). To view German text: Click here.

SUMMARY:
[ NMTP I = Harmonielehre:] Refuses to allow identity to be disclosed for a specific (undeclared) reason; Have they seen Burkhardt's review in BAMZ ? —[ NMTP II = Kontrapunkt:] MS to be dispatched in the near future.

© Commentary, Footnotes, Summary Ian D. Bent 2005.

Bent, Ian
Schenker, Heinrich
[ NMTP I = Harmonielehre:] Refuses to allow identity to be disclosed for a specific (undeclared) reason; Have they seen Burkhardt's review in BAMZ ? —[ NMTP II = Kontrapunkt:] MS to be dispatched in the near future.
DE
Cambridge University Faculty of Music-Ian Bent
IPR: Heirs of Heinrich Schenker; reproduced here by kind permission of the Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Cotta-Archiv (Stiftung der Stuttgarter Zeitung), Marbach am Neckar; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Ian D. Bent 2005.
Schenker, Heinrich; Cotta, J. G.; NMTP; vol. I; Harmonielehre; Harmony; review; Burkhardt, Max; Grunsky, Karl; vol. II; Kontrapunkt; Counterpoint; MS
Handwritten letter from Schenker to Cotta, dated December 16, 1907
letter
academic; musicology; music theory
CA 71
1907-12-16
2005-08-17
Cotta
All reasonable steps have been taken to locate the heirs of Heinrich Schenker. 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.
letter; holograph message and signature
J.G. Cotta’sche Nachfolger/Stuttgarter Zeitung (1907-c.1954); Cotta-Archiv, Schiller-Nationalmuseum, Marbach a. N., Germany (c.1954-)
IPR: Heirs of Heinrich Schenker; reproduced here by kind permission of the Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Cotta-Archiv (Stiftung der Stuttgarter Zeitung), Marbach am Neckar; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Ian D. Bent.
Vienna
Stuttgart
1907