Schenker Correspondence Project

Last Will and Testament, in Schenker’s Hand, dated June 18, 1929, with codicil dated May 20, 1934

Mein letzter Wille !

Mein gesamtes bewegliches wie unbewegliches Eigentum vermache ich meiner Frau Jenny Schenker!

Alle Freunde unseres Hauses, auch alle Freunde meines Lebenswerkes bitte ich, der Wittwe [sic] Teilnahme und Hilfe zu schenken: sie mögen immer dessen eingedenk bleiben, daß mein Werk auch ihr Werk gewesen.

Ich bitte um eine Gruft für mich und meine Frau !

{p.2}
Mein letzter Wille !
Fortsetzung

Der Band “der freie Satz” hat die Widmung an

“Meine geliebte Frau”¹

zu tragen. Ohne ihre werktätige Hilfe im Großen und Kleinen wäre² das Werk nicht zustandegekommen.

Meine Grabschrift

“Hier ruht, der die Seele der Musik vernommen, ihre Gesetze im Sinne der Großen verkündet wie Keiner vor ihm[.”]

[signed:] Heinrich Schenker
20. 5. 34

© In the public domain.
© Transcription Ian D. Bent 2005.

Last Will, in Schenker’s Hand, dated June 18, 1929, with codicil dated May 20, 1934

My Last Will and Testament

I bequeath all my possessions, fixed and moveable, to my wife Jenny Schenker.

I appeal to all our intimate friends, and also to all supporters of my life’s work, to offer active assistance to my widow: let them ever be mindful that my work was her work, too.

I ask for grave for myself and my wife.

signed: Dr. Heinrich Schenker
June 18, 1929

{p.2}
My Last Will and Testament
Codicil

The volume Free Composition is to carry the dedication to:

“My Beloved Wife.”¹

Without her practical help down to the very last detail the work would² not be completed.

My Epitaph

“Here lies the body of one who perceived the soul of music and communicated its laws, as the great musicians understood them, and as no one before him had done.”

[signed:] Heinrich Schenker
May 20, 1934

© Translation Ian D. Bent 2005.

COMMENTARY:
Format: Will and codicil each 1 sheet, holograph content and signature.

FOOTNOTES:

¹ It appears, on, p.⁵, as “MEINER GELIEBTEN FRAU”.

² wäre: subjunctive: it had not yet been published in May 1934.

SUMMARY:
S leaves all his possessions to his wife Jeanette, and appeals others to support her. The codicil determines the dedication to Der freie Satz, and his epitaph.

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

Bent, Ian
Schenker, Heinrich
S leaves all his possessions to his wife Jeanette, and appeals others to support her. The codicil determines the dedication to Der freie Satz, and his epitaph.
DE
Cambridge University Faculty of Music-Ian Bent
IPR: in the public domain; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Ian D. Bent 2005.
Schenker, Heinrich; Schenker, Jeanette; will; possession; friends; supporters; grave; codicil; Der freie Satz; Free Composition; dedication; epitaph
Will, dated June 18, 1919, with codicil, dated May 20, 1934
will
academic; musicology; music theory
OJ 35/6, [1]
1929-06-18
1934-05-20
2006-02-28
Will
This document is deemed to be in the public domain as of January 1, 2006. Any claim to intellectual rights should be addressed to the Schenker Correspondence Project, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, at schenkercorrespondence@mus.cam.ac.uk.
holograph will, codicil, and signatures
Schenker, Heinrich (1929-1935)--Schenker, Jeanette (1935-1938)--Oster, Ernst (1938-c.1939)—New York Public Library (c.1939-)
IPR: Universal Edition, A.G.; Image: New York Public Library, New York; Transcription, Translation, Commentary, Footnotes, and Summary: Ian D. Bent.
Vienna
1929