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OC B/273 - Typewritten letter from Louis Koch to Schenker, dated October 23, 1913


⇧ FRANKFURT A. M. ⇧ 23. Okt. 1913.
⇧ KAISERSTRASSE 25

⇧ Hochwohlgeboren Herrn Dr. HEINRICH SCHENKER
WIEN.


Sehr geehrter Herr! 1

Von einer Reise hierher zurückgekehrt finde ich Ihre werten Zeilen vom 29. pto. vor. 2

Von Beethoven-Manuscripten besitze ich die folgenden Piecen: 1.) Ouverture zu „Egmont”, Titelblatt und zahlreiche Correcturen und Bemerkungen von Beethovens Hand. 3

2.) Sonate in As-dur op. 110 , 3ter und 4ter Satz 4

3.) Skizzenbuch aus den Jahren 1815 und 1816 5 52 Seiten;
enthaltend: Noten und Skizzen zur Sonate für Piano und Cello, op. 102
[enthaltend] Liederkreis op. 98, op. 101 etc.

4.) irische Lieder, 22 Seiten: Quartett für 2 Violinen, Cello und Pianoforte. 6

{2} 5.) schottische Lieder, 2 Violinen, Cello und Pianoforte, 24 Seiten op108 7 [.]

Wenn Sie die Sachen interessiren, so stelle ich Ihnen solche gerne hier zur Verfügung.


Mit vorzüglichster Hochachtung!
[signed:] ⇧ Louis Koch

© Transcription Nicholas Marston, 2014

⇧ FRANKFURT AM MAIN ⇧ October 23, 1913
⇧ KAISERSTRASSE 25

⇧ Dr. HEINRICH SCHENKER, Esq.
VIENNA


Dear Sir, 1

Having returned here from a trip, I find your valued lines of the 29th inst. 2

I possess the following manuscript items of Beethoven: 1. Overture to "Egmont", title-page and extensive corrections and annotations in Beethoven's hand. 3

2. Sonata in Aę major, Op. 110 , 3rd and 4th movement 4

3. Sketchbook from the years 1815 and 1816 5 , 52 pages;
containing: notes and sketches for the Sonata for piano and cello, Op. 102 [No. 2]
[containing] Liederkreis, Op. 98, Op. 101, etc.

4. Irish Songs, 22 pages: Quartet for 2 violins, cello and pianoforte 6

{2} 5. Scottish Songs, 2 violins, cello and pianoforte, 24 pages, Op. 108. 7

If these things are of interest to you, I will gladly put them at your disposal here.


With kindest regards!
[signed:] ⇧ Louis Koch

© Translation Nicholas Marston, 2014

⇧ FRANKFURT A. M. ⇧ 23. Okt. 1913.
⇧ KAISERSTRASSE 25

⇧ Hochwohlgeboren Herrn Dr. HEINRICH SCHENKER
WIEN.


Sehr geehrter Herr! 1

Von einer Reise hierher zurückgekehrt finde ich Ihre werten Zeilen vom 29. pto. vor. 2

Von Beethoven-Manuscripten besitze ich die folgenden Piecen: 1.) Ouverture zu „Egmont”, Titelblatt und zahlreiche Correcturen und Bemerkungen von Beethovens Hand. 3

2.) Sonate in As-dur op. 110 , 3ter und 4ter Satz 4

3.) Skizzenbuch aus den Jahren 1815 und 1816 5 52 Seiten;
enthaltend: Noten und Skizzen zur Sonate für Piano und Cello, op. 102
[enthaltend] Liederkreis op. 98, op. 101 etc.

4.) irische Lieder, 22 Seiten: Quartett für 2 Violinen, Cello und Pianoforte. 6

{2} 5.) schottische Lieder, 2 Violinen, Cello und Pianoforte, 24 Seiten op108 7 [.]

Wenn Sie die Sachen interessiren, so stelle ich Ihnen solche gerne hier zur Verfügung.


Mit vorzüglichster Hochachtung!
[signed:] ⇧ Louis Koch

© Transcription Nicholas Marston, 2014

⇧ FRANKFURT AM MAIN ⇧ October 23, 1913
⇧ KAISERSTRASSE 25

⇧ Dr. HEINRICH SCHENKER, Esq.
VIENNA


Dear Sir, 1

Having returned here from a trip, I find your valued lines of the 29th inst. 2

I possess the following manuscript items of Beethoven: 1. Overture to "Egmont", title-page and extensive corrections and annotations in Beethoven's hand. 3

2. Sonata in Aę major, Op. 110 , 3rd and 4th movement 4

3. Sketchbook from the years 1815 and 1816 5 , 52 pages;
containing: notes and sketches for the Sonata for piano and cello, Op. 102 [No. 2]
[containing] Liederkreis, Op. 98, Op. 101, etc.

4. Irish Songs, 22 pages: Quartet for 2 violins, cello and pianoforte 6

{2} 5. Scottish Songs, 2 violins, cello and pianoforte, 24 pages, Op. 108. 7

If these things are of interest to you, I will gladly put them at your disposal here.


With kindest regards!
[signed:] ⇧ Louis Koch

© Translation Nicholas Marston, 2014

Footnotes

1 Receipt of this letter is recorded in Schenker's diary at OJ 1/13, p. 454, October 25, 1913: "Von Herrn Koch, Frankfurt a/M, Brief mit Aufzählung der Manuskripte. Ein sehr liebenswürdiger Zug, der in Wien sicher nicht angetroffen anzutreffen würde wäre ! Er versprach die Antwort für Ende des Monats u. ohne neuen Urgieren hielt er Wort!" ("Letter from Mr Koch, Frankfurt am Main, with a list of the manuscripts. A very kind trait, certainly not to be encountered in Vienna! He promised the answer at the end of the month and kept his word without renewed demand!")

2 This letter to Koch is recorded in Schenker's diary at OJ 1/13, p. 431, September 29, 1913: "Anfrage an Juwelier Koch wegen der Autographe." ("Enquiry to the jeweller Koch about the autograph manuscripts.") The letter is not known to survive.

3 This manuscript, principally in the hand of two copyists, is now Bonn, Beethovenhaus, NE 64, and contains the entire incidental music for "Egmont", not merely the Overture.

4 "op. 110 ... Satz" ("Op. 110 ... movement") underlined by Schenker and cross marked in left margin, all in pencil. This manuscript is now Bonn, Beethovenhaus, BMh 2/42.

5 This is the "Scheide" Sketchbook, today in the library of William Scheide, Princeton University, New Jersey. Koch's figure of 52 leaves is inaccurate: see Douglas Johnson, Alan Tyson, and Robert Winter, The Beethoven Sketchbooks: History, Reconstruction, Inventory, ed. Douglas Johnson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985), p. 241, where the correct figure of "56 (or 551/4) leaves" is given.

6 This manuscript, presently in the private collection of William Zachs (UK), contains six folksong settings of various nationalities: Op. 108, No. 24 (Scottish), WoO 153, No. 32 (Irish), WoO 155, No. 25 (Welsh), and WoO 156, Nos 3–4 (Scottish). The instrumental setting is for piano trio. See Ludwig van Beethoven: Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis, ed. Kurt Dorfmüller, Norbert Gertsch, and Julia Ronge, 2 vols (Munich: Henle, 2014), I, 690 (no. 12); II, 404 (no. 3), 426 (no. 6), 440 (no. 4).

7 This manuscript, containing Op. 108, Nos 5, 6, 7, 10, and 19, is now divided between New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, Cary Collection 275 (nos 5, 10, and 19) and a private collection (nos 6–7). According to Ludwig van Beethoven: Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis, ed. Kurt Dorfmüller, Norbert Gertsch, and Julia Ronge, 2 vols (Munich: Henle, 2014), I, 689 (nos 6–7), the manuscripts comprise respectively six and five leaves: thus, 22 rather than 24 pages. The instrumental setting of Op. 108 is for solo violin (or flute), cello, and piano.