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WSLB 136 - Handwritten letter from Schenker to Hertzka (UE), dated September 21, 1912
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Um dieselbe Stunde, da Sie diese Zeilen lesen, findet H. Lafite in seinem Bureau seinen Brief 2 wieder, den er mir heute recom.^ zu Antwort sandte, den ich aber einfach – nicht angenommen, d.h. zurückgeschickt habe! In Erwiederung [sic] seines: „Rasch eine Aufklärung“ Tones 3 gab ich ihm heute ein paar Witze zum besten u. nannte sein Vorgehen einfach „nicht ganz fair.“ 4 Vermutlich wollte er zu Beleidigung ausholen, nun hat er sie zu Hause wieder. So muß ich in Wien leben. Jeder Journalist, ja H. Grafenberg 5 vom Archiv, der Diener, will gegrüßt sein, jeder H. Lafite erlaubt sich ernste Sachen mit „Generalsekretärston“ zu erledigen, u.s.w. Nun aber Ruhe u. zur Arbeit. Dies glaubte ich Ihnen, mitteilen zu müssen u. zeichne © Transcription Ian Bent, 2007, 2023 |
As you read these very lines, Mr. Lafite in his office will be getting his letter 2 back, the registered reply that he sent to me today, which I simply – did not accept, i.e. sent back! In response to his tone of "In haste, a clarification", 3 I gave him today a couple of jokes to pull his leg, and called his way of proceeding simply "not entirely fair." 4 Presumably he was trying to deliver an insult; now it has landed back on his doorstep. I do have to live in Vienna. Every journalist, even Mr. Grafenberg 5 of the Archive, the assistant, will be greeted with – every Mr. Lafite will take the liberty of dealing with serious matters – with his "general secretary tone," etc. But now some peace and back to work. I thought I ought to inform you of this, and I remain © Translation Ian Bent, 2007, 2023 |
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Um dieselbe Stunde, da Sie diese Zeilen lesen, findet H. Lafite in seinem Bureau seinen Brief 2 wieder, den er mir heute recom.^ zu Antwort sandte, den ich aber einfach – nicht angenommen, d.h. zurückgeschickt habe! In Erwiederung [sic] seines: „Rasch eine Aufklärung“ Tones 3 gab ich ihm heute ein paar Witze zum besten u. nannte sein Vorgehen einfach „nicht ganz fair.“ 4 Vermutlich wollte er zu Beleidigung ausholen, nun hat er sie zu Hause wieder. So muß ich in Wien leben. Jeder Journalist, ja H. Grafenberg 5 vom Archiv, der Diener, will gegrüßt sein, jeder H. Lafite erlaubt sich ernste Sachen mit „Generalsekretärston“ zu erledigen, u.s.w. Nun aber Ruhe u. zur Arbeit. Dies glaubte ich Ihnen, mitteilen zu müssen u. zeichne © Transcription Ian Bent, 2007, 2023 |
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As you read these very lines, Mr. Lafite in his office will be getting his letter 2 back, the registered reply that he sent to me today, which I simply – did not accept, i.e. sent back! In response to his tone of "In haste, a clarification", 3 I gave him today a couple of jokes to pull his leg, and called his way of proceeding simply "not entirely fair." 4 Presumably he was trying to deliver an insult; now it has landed back on his doorstep. I do have to live in Vienna. Every journalist, even Mr. Grafenberg 5 of the Archive, the assistant, will be greeted with – every Mr. Lafite will take the liberty of dealing with serious matters – with his "general secretary tone," etc. But now some peace and back to work. I thought I ought to inform you of this, and I remain © Translation Ian Bent, 2007, 2023 |
Footnotes1 Schenker's diary for September 20, 1912 records: "[...] Weg zu Hertzka gemacht u. ihm den Briefwechsel vorgezeigt; auch er findet es mindestens „nicht fair“, wenn nicht „inkorrekt“, u. rät selbst zu der Spitze, „daß Lafite meinen Namen offenbar gebraucht hat, um den Kreis zu erweitern u. illustrer zu machen.“ Sein Rat: ebenso nonchalant zu erwidern u. die Sache sonst abgleiten zu lassen. – In diesem Sinne Brief desselben Tages abgeschickt." ("Trip to Hertzka made, and the exchange of letters shown to him; he, too, finds it at least "not fair," if not "incorrect," and himself pointedly suggests "that Lafite has apparently used my name in order to widen his circle and make it more illustrious." His advice: to reply just as nonchalantly, and otherwise let the matter go. – A letter sent off along these lines on the same day."). 2 OJ 12/29, [7] (= OJ 5/23, [1]) is an undated (internally datable to September 20, 1912), unsigned draft of the letter in question, scribbled on the back of OJ 12/29, [6] from Lafite, dated September 18, 1912. The crucial words in the draft are: “… gerade mit meinem Namen den Kreis der Vortragenden blos nach außen hin reicher u. auch illustrer zu machen? Ist dieses Vorgehen aber ganz fair zu nennen.“ 3 "Rasch ein paar Worte der Aufklärung!" was the opening of Lafite's letter to Schenker of September 18, 1912 (OJ 12/29, [6]). In this letter he asked Schenker to restrict his offering to three lectures and proposed three Sunday dates to him, requesting a new topic and stressing the popular character of the venture. 4 . "nicht ganz fair" ("not entirely fair"): this is the phrase he was to use later in OJ 5/14, [2], September 27, 1912, to the President (Gustav Marchet) of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. 5 Lehmann’s street directory for Vienna gives: “Grafenberger, Josef, library assistant (Bibliotheksdiener) at the Academy for Music, possessor of the Serbian Silver Medal (with crown), [Vienna] IV, Favoritenstraße 19.” Schenker locates him in the Archive of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde – perhaps a mistake on Schenker’s part, or conceivably he works in both institutions. |