Handwritten letter from Schenker to Röntgen, dated March 15, 1901 15. März 1901 Verehrter, lieber Herr Professor! In einer rein geschäftlichem Angelegenheit – erschrecken Sie nicht! Österreich rüstet sich seit kurzem musikalisch-wirtschaftlich sich von Deutschland, spec[if?]ich den beiden grössten Verbilligungsfirmen – Br&Härtel, u Peters – zu emancipiren. Ein Comité bereitet eine neue Edition vor, umfassend sämmtliche Werke der Musikliteratur!! Die Arbeit ist trotz der ungeheuren Zahl der Mitarbeiter auf mehrere Jahre hinaus, wie selbtstverständlich, projectirt, u. ich weiss es privat von einem massgebenden Finanzmann, dass {2} das Unternehmen auf die solideste Millionenbasis gestellt ist. Die Edition soll nicht nur die östlichen Hinterländer (Balkanstaeten u.s.w.) beglücken, sondern auch Deutschland, England, Frankreich ergreifen: Kurz, sie soll nach allen Richtungen ausstrahlen. Und schon jetzt sind Erfolge zu verzeichnen, die sowohl jenen Finanzmann, als auch das Comité von fetten Jahren träumen lassen! Damit der internationale Charakter dem Werke aufgeprägt bleibe, wendete sich das Comité an die bedeutendsten Künstler des Auslands (Deutschlands, Frankreichs etc.) um Mitarbeit. Eine erste Rate von Arbeit, umfassend dringlichkeitsarbeiten, ist im vollsten Zuge. {3} Verleger Weinberger,1 den ich kürzlich sprach, meldete mir sein Unglück, Sie nicht mehr in Berlin getroffen zu haben. Er wollte mündlich seine Anträge machen, wissen, ob Sie theilnehmen wollten, was Sie gerne ediren möchten etc. Prof. Messchaert2 hat leider abgelehnt wegen Mangel an Zeit. An seiner Statt arbeiten Stockhausen,3 Iffert|4 etc. mit. Nachdem ich vorausschicke, dass die Arbeiten sehr gut honorirt worden, übernehme ich es, von Weinberger zu Hilfe gerufen, Sie zur Mitarbeit einzuladen, Sie zu bitten, Etwas, das Ihnen am besten passt, zu übernehmen. Fassen Sie mich beileibe nicht für einen Agenten auf, – als Künstler habe ich natürlich den heissesten Wunsch, von Ihnen, {4} den ich so hoch schätze, just im Gegensatz zu den Nur-Virtuösen, eine Ausgabe (Bezeichnung, Fingersatz) zu spielen. Ich meinte Weinberger, den Einflussreichsten im Comité, aufmerksam, was von Ihnen in Hinsicht auf Beethoven, Scarlatti oder Schumann Hochbedeutendes zu erwarten ist. Reicher hat der verdammte Prof. Barth5 Scarlatti (18 Stücke) an sich gerissen! Kurz, ich bitte, sagen Sie mir, ob Sie bereit wären, Ihr Ausserordentliches beizutragen. Fassen Sie Ihr “Ja” so in Worte, dass ich Ihren Brief unverzüglich Weinberger einsenden kann. Alles Andere wird dann zwischen Ihnen u. Weinberger (oder Comité) vertragsmässig gemacht werden. Sagen Sie, bitte, “ja”! (Meine6 „Nova”7 kommen bald, u. dann sende ich, sie, wie ich versprochen, ein). Mit besten Grüssen © In the public domain, reproduced with kind permission of the Nederlands Muziek Instituut, Den Haag. |
Handwritten letter from Schenker to Röntgen, dated March 15, 1901 March 15, 1901 Honored, dear Herr Professor, Do not be frightened by a matter of business alone! Austria has recently been preparing to emancipate itself from Germany—specifically, from the two great discount firms, Br[eitkopf] & Härtel and Peters. A committee is making preparations for a new edition, to include all works in the musical literature!! The project, in spite of the enormous number of collaborators, is naturally projected to take several years, and I personally know from an authoritative financier that {2} the undertaking rests soundly upon a foundation of millions. The edition should delight not only the eastern hinterlands (the Balkan provinces, etc.), but will also touch upon Germany, England, France—in short, it will radiate outward in all directions. And successes have already been scored, prompting both the financier and the committee to dream of fat years to come! To assure that the project is stamped with an international character, the committee has turned to the most distinguished foreign artists (from Germany, France, etc.) as collaborators. The first round of work, addressing a number of urgent tasks, is already in full swing. {3} The publisher, Weinberger,1 with whom I spoke briefly, expressed to me his misfortune at not having seen you again in Berlin. He wanted to ask, in person, whether you wish to participate, what you would like to edit, etc. Unfortunately, Prof. Messchaert2 has declined for lack of time. In his place, Stockhausen,3 Iffert,4 etc. are contributing. After determining that the work would come with a very good honorarium, I have taken it upon myself, having been called by Weinberger to help, to invite your participation, and to ask you to take on whatever seems most appealing to you. By no means take me be an agent. As an artist, I naturally have the most ardent wish to play an edition (annotations, fingerings) prepared by you, {4} whom I esteem so highly, in sharp contrast to those mere-virtuosos. I think that Weinberger, the most influential member of the committee, is eager to hear what might be expected from you in terms of important works by Beethoven, Scarlatti, or Schumann. The cursed Prof. Barth5 has greedily seized Scarlatti (18 pieces) for himself! In short, I ask that you tell me whether you are ready to contribute your exceptional talents. Give me your “yes” in words, and I’ll send your letter directly to Weinberger. Everything else will then be settled contractually between you and Weinberger (or the committee). Please, say “yes”! (My6 new publications7 will be finished soon, and I will send them as promised.) With best wishes, © Translation Kevin Karnes, 2006. |
COMMENTARY: FOOTNOTES: 1 Josef Weinberger (1855-1928), Viennese music publisher. Weinberger, who had run his own music publishing outfit since 1885, was principal shareholder in the cooperative publishing firm Universal Edition, established formally in June 1901. At the time of its founding, Universal Edition aimed—as expressed in an early catalogue—to publish “a comprehensive collection of model editions of all the works needed in schools and for private study covering all the various levels of piano, violin, and voice instruction; of classical compositions for piano, solo song, and chamber music; as well as four-hand transcriptions of all classical symphonies, quartets, overtures, etc.” It was in this endeavor that Schenker sought, in this letter, to secure Röntgen’s collaboration. Schenker’s contact with Weinberger and his firm extends back to 1899; the latter published Schenker’s Syrische Tänze für Pianoforte zu 4 Händen (Vienna: Josef Weinberger, n. d.). (Ian D. Bent, “‘That Bright, New Light’: Schenker, Universal Edition, and the Origins of the Erläuterung Series, 1901-1910,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 58, no. 1 [2005], 71-75 [cited at p. 72]; Hellmut Federhofer, Heinrich Schenker. Nach Tagebüchern ... (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1985), 17, 189-92.) 2 Click on Johannes Messchaert. 3 Julius Stockhausen (1826-1906), Parisian-born German baritone. Stockhausen dedicated himself to singing at age nineteen after early training on numerous instruments. His studies took him to England, where he befriended the soprano Jenny Lind, with whom he became a frequent collaborator. Stockhausen sang for the Paris Opéra Comique during the 1857-58 season and served as director of the Hamburg Singakademie from 1862-67. He toured Denmark with Brahms in 1868 and performed as soloist in the premiere of Brahms’s German Requiem in April of that year. In 1879, he founded his own singing academy in Frankfurt, where he worked for the rest of his life. His widely used, two-volume Gesang-Unterrichts-Methode, co-authored with Max Friedlaender, was published in 1886-87. Johannes Messchaert was among his students. Despite Schenker’s statement, Stockhausen does not appear to have completed any editorial work for UE. (Hans Kühner, “Julius Stockhausen,” in MGG, ed. Friedrich Blume (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1949-86), vol. 12, col. 1367; Forbes, “Johannes Messchaert.”) 4 August Iffert (1859-1930), German baritone. After a brief career on the stage, Iffert taught privately in Leipzig before being appointed to the faculty of the Cologne Conservatory in 1891. He moved to the Dresden Conservatory in 1893 and was appointed Professor at the Vienna Conservatory in 1904. He retired from the latter five years later and spent his remaining years teaching privately in Dresden. Iffert edited Vaccai’s Modo pratico, for voice and keyboard, and Bordogni’s Vocalises and Nouvelles Vocalises, for UE. (Hans Joachim Moser, Musik Lexikon [Hamburg: Sikorski, 1955], vol. 1, 535.) 5 Karl Heinrich Barth (1847-1922), German pianist. A student of Bülow, Barth taught piano at the Stern Conservatory from 1868 until 1871. In the latter year, he was appointed professor at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, where he taught until his retirement in 1921; Anton Rubinstein was among his students. Barth’s edition of Domenico Scarlatti: Klavierwerke was published by UE in 1901 (U.E. 450-453). (Federhofer, Heinrich Schenker nach Tagebüchern ..., 221; Moser, Musik Lexikon, vol. 1, 86.) 6 Left-hand parenthesis in left margin. 7 Simultaneously with NMI C 176-01, April 13, 1901, S sent R a packet of materials, the contents of which can be deduced from that and the following letters as his own compositions Sechs Lieder, Op.3 and Zweistimmige Inventionen, Op.5 (both Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1898 and 1901). Nova is commonly used is publishers’ catalogs to denote newly-released publications. SUMMARY: © Commentary, Footnotes, Summary Kevin Karnes, 2006
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