Handwritten letter from Schenker to Hertzka (UE), dated April 1, 1914 Sehr geehrter Herr Direktor ! Ich nehme an, daß Ihnen die Rezensionen von Dr. Gr[af] (“Zeit”)2 u. Wetzel (“Musik”)3 bekannt geworden sind[.] Dr Graf hat sich nun bedingungslos auf meine Seite gestellt[.] Wetzel, ein Schüler Riemanns, wird nach op. 110 die Lust (ebenso wie Dr Graf) verlieren, gegen Beethoven zu polemisieren, ich stehe Ihnen gut dafür. Wenn Sie ei[n]sehen wollen, wie “weit” ich schon zur Erfüllung gebracht habe, was ich Ihnen gegenüber so oft prophez[i]erte, mög[en] Sie die erste Abhandlung in der gegenwärtigen Nu[mmer] (1. April!) der “Musik"4 nachlesen. Schon die Fußno[ten] {2} werden Ihnen zeigen, wie die Jugend in Deutschland Nahrung aus meinen Arbeiten zieht, geschweige der Text, der ganz auf die Terminologie meiner Werke gestellt ist, so daß der Autor niemals die Abhandlung hätte schreiben können, wenn nicht als Vorlagen die “IX,” “op. 109” von mir gedient hätten. (Die Citate sagen es ja honnettenweise, denn der mir unbekannte Autor lebt in Deutschland u. nicht in Wien). Es wird aber noch schöner kommen ! Und könnte ich nur so viel arbeiten, als ich eben könnte, wenn nicht so viel Schüler betrauen müßte, so würde ich selbst die erträgnisreichste Quelle den Verlegern werden können. Von 1200 Kr. jährlich läßt sich begreiflicherweise weder leben noch auch arbeiten. Endlich: H. Dahms schrieb mir, er möchte nach Wien kommen, um bei mir Studien zu machen.5 H. Roth aus München|6 sandte mir vor einiger Zei[t] einige [ corr ] Händel-Kantaten zur Ansicht. Auch in diese[m] Falle bin ich es selbst, der ihn animiert hat, Ihnen die Arbeit anzutragen. Die letzte publizierte er bei Peters, ich verwende sie selbst bei meinen Schülern Was ist’s mit Vrieslander’s Arbeit?9 Mit besten Grüßen © Heirs of Heinrich Schenker. |
Handwritten letter from Schenker to Hertzka (UE), dated April 1, 1914 Dear Director, I assume the reviews by Drs Graf ( Die Zeit )2 and Wetzel ( Die Musik )3 have come to your attention. Dr. Graf has now ranged himself unconditionally on my side. Wetzel, a Riemann pupil, will lose his appetite (just as did Dr. Graf) for polemicizing against Beethoven after [reading] Op.110. I can assure you of that. If you would like to see for yourself how "far” I have already got in fulfilling what I so often prophesied to you, you might look up the first article in the current number (April 1!) of Die Musik.4 The footnotes alone {2} will show you how the youth of Germany is drawing nourishment from my writings, not to mention the text, which is couched entirely in the terminology of my works, such that the author could never have written the article if my Ninth Symphony and Op.109 had not served as models. (The citations indeed put it plainly, for the author unknown to me lives in Germany and not Vienna.) However, things will get still better in the future! And if only I could do as much work as I would be able to if [I] did not have to look after so many pupils, then I should myself be able to become the most productive source for the publishers. As you can imagine, 1,200 Kroner a year is enough neither to live on nor even to keep working. Lastly: Mr. Dahms wrote to me that he would like to come to Vienna in order to study with me.5 That would be possible only if he could exchange his post in Berlin for one in Vienna. So far as I can tell from my contacts, I hold out no hope of a reviewer from Die Kreuzzeitung getting a foothold here in Vienna {3}, especially as all the better positions are filled. So, may I ask you whether perhaps you know of anything that might suit him? If you do, please be so kind as to let me know so that I can pass the information on to Mr. Dahms. Let me add that the latter made absolutely no mention of you, but merely turned to me, thus I would ask you to treat this question entirely confidentially, otherwise you could do Dahms, who could always be nothing but useful to UE, some harm. ["!" in left margin ] Mr. Roth from Munich6 sent me some Handel Cantatas a while ago for inspection. In this case, it was I who encouraged him to offer the work to you. He published the last one with Peters; I use it myself with my pupils as thorough-bass material. If you are at all interested in publishing something by Handel, you will find there the finest, most distinctive art of thoroughbass [realization] ready for printing—Roth is a specialist in these matters and even Straube7 told him that he (Roth) understands more about these things than he (Straube) himself, an art that you could not readily get from {4} another musician at this quality. Everything else of this type of material that comes your way is mere dilettante work that is accepted only because no one understands anything about it. So while directing your attention strongly to Mr. Roth, who is incredibly well educated, writes excellently, is totally serious-minded, and might perhaps also be suitable for you in other respects, now or at some later time, I am writing a postcard at the same time to Roth exhorting him to send the items to you (rather than to Peters).8 I believe I am doing you a favor by recommending an association with Roth. What is going on with Vrieslander’s work9? With best wishes, © Translation Ian D. Bent 2004. |
COMMENTARY: FOOTNOTES: 1 of LfS 110. 2 Max Graf: “Beethoven-Schenker,” Die Zeit March 8, 1914: clipping in S's scrapbook OC 2/p.39. 3 Hermann Wetzel: ‘Heinrich Schenker: Die letzten fünf Sonaten ...,” Die Musik, 13 no.12 (March 15, 1914): clipping in S's scrapbook OC 2/p.40. 4 Possibly Walther Vetter: “Der Erste Satz von Brahms’ E-Moll Symphonie,” Die Musik 13 nos.13–15 (April 15–May 1914). Schenker’s exclamation-mark may indicate that being the first article in a multi-issue it should bear the date April 1, i.e. April1, April 15, and May 1: clipping in S's scrapbook OC 2/p.43. 5 Click here: Walter Dahms. 6 Click here: Hermann Roth. 7 Karl Straube: [insert biogfile] choral conductor, editor of early choral music; see OC 7; 31/418; 54/218. 8 Schenker has this as two sentences, the first of which, beginning Wie ich ..., is incomplete. Hence I have joined them together in translation. 9 Vrieslander, Otto [insert biogfile] This refers to Kurze und leichte / Clavierstücke / mit veränderten Reprisen und beigefügter / Fingersetzung für Anfänger von / Carl Philipp Emanuel / Bach / [Berlin: Winter, 1766, 1768] / Neue kritische Ausgabe mit erläuterndem Nachwort / von / Otto Vrieslander // Front cover: Carl Philipp Emanuel / Bach / Kurze und leichte / Clavierstücke / Erläuterungsausgabe von / Otto Vrieslander / Piano Solo // First page of music carries: Copyright 1914 by Universal-Edition. SUMMARY: © Commentary, Footnotes, Summary Ian D. Bent 2005.
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