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OJ 10/1, [79] Handwritten letter from Dahms to Schenker, dated November 1, 1923
Dahms has devoted a chapter of his Musik des Südens to "genius" in which he
asserts its absoluteness and the gulf between genius and mediocrity. — He concurs with
Hertzka's judgement of Furtwängler as a "coward"; In his quest for success, the latter has
compromised his belief in genius by pandering to Schoenberg. The Korngolds are coming to
Rome in August.
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OJ 10/1, [89] Handwritten letter from Dahms to Schenker, undated [c. April 29, 1925]
Dahms has found a rental cottage in rural Pallanza, and invites the Schenkers
to visit. — Hindenburg's election as German President has given a "jolt" to Europe and
pleased Mussolini; it should produce shrewd politics, but he doubts whether Hindenburg will
be able to lift Germany out of mediocrity.
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OJ 6/7, [27] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated January 15, 1926
Schenker agrees to to teach Violin's pupil Agnes Becker twice a week, as soon
as she is ready to come to Vienna. He reports Furtwängler's disillusionment with modern
music, and notes that Weingartner and Julius Korngold have expressed similar sentiments. He
is not optimistic that humanity in general will truly understand the classics, which
underscores the important of his (and Violin's) mission.
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OJ 15/16, [88] Handwritten letter from Hertha Weisse to Schenker, dated February 15,
1933
Hertha Weisse reports that, through Hans's teaching at Columbia University and
the Mannes School, Schenker's work has gained a footing in New York (where people seem more
receptive to new ideas), and she expresses her gratitude to Schenker for breathing life into
the spirit that has given such joy to her husband's pupils. The children are growing up
speaking German, and she has begun to restudy the piano.
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OJ 15/16, [90] Handwritten letter from Hans Weisse to Schenker, dated March 17, 1933
Weisse reports the success of his lecture on the C minor prelude from the
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. — He is currently giving two lectures on a Haydn's sonata. —
He inquires about the possibility of having Schenker's foreground graphs for the "Eroica"
Symphony printed separately and sold to his pupils, for a series of lectures planned for the
following year; the profits entirely to Schenker. — He sees little prospect visiting Europe
in the summer, as his financial situation has worsened: the Mannes School has been forced to
reduce his teaching for the next season. — He expresses his doubts about Vrieslander's
ability to reshape Schenker's Harmonielehre as a school textbook, and about the value of
Harmonielehre itself in the light of his teacher's most advanced theoretical
ideas.
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OJ 15/16, [94] Handwritten letter from Hans Weisse to Schenker, dated March 15, 1934
Weisse apologizes for long silence, largely on account of depression at the
lack of enrollment at Mannes and of enthusiasm for his recently published Violin Sonata. —
At Mannes he lectures about his own work, because it is important to show how Schenkerian
theory can have a practical application for composers; his pupil Israel Citkowitz is the
only cause for optimism. — At Columbia University, where he "smuggles" Schenkerian theory
into his lectures, enrolment continues to be large. — He sends a copy of his Violin Sonata,
and promises his Variations on a Popular American Song. — He is not coming to Europe this
summer. — Universal Edition is going ahead with a schools' version of Schenker's
Harmonielehre, but he is surprised that Alfred Kalmus expects him to be involved in an
American edition of this.
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OJ 5/34, [2] Handwritten revised draft letter from Schenker to Alphons Rothschild, in Jeanette
Schenker's hand, undated [August 3‒6, 1934]
Draft accompanying letter for a copy of Oswald Jonas's Das Wesen ... —
Schenker reiterates his gratitude for previous financial support, and reports that he now
has 11 published works, many articles, and entries on him in several general encyclopedias.
— Only in Vienna is he unrecognized. — He describes Wilhelm Furtwängler's faith in his
theories and the support he has given him. — He mentions his earlier proposal for a
Rothschild orchestra.
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OJ 15/16, [95] Handwritten letter from Hans Weisse to Schenker, dated September 23, 1934
Weisse reports a visit from Victor Vaughn Lytle, to whom Schenker had recently
written, and the receipt of Oswald Jonas's recent book, on which he comments. The Weisses
have spent a lovely summer by the sea, in the midst of unspoiled nature, and he has
completed a set of five six-voice madrigals on Goethe texts and a string quartet. He reports
and laments his mother’s death.
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OJ 15/16, [97] Handwritten letter from Hans Weisse to Jeanette Schenker, dated February 21,
1935
In a letter of condolence to Schenker's widow, Weisse expresses his distress
at having, within the space of two years, lost his parents and now his spiritual father. He
offers to help Jeanette and Oswald Jonas read the proofs for Der freie Satz; but he cannot
afford to come to Europe in the summer, as the Mannes College can guarantee only half his
salary for next year. He asks her to send him a memento of her husband, and to consider
entrusting to him the care of some of Schenker's unpublished work.
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LC ASC 27/45, [17] Handwritten letter from Moriz Violin to Schoenberg, dated January 26,
1940
Violin acquiesces to applying for the job in St. Louis, despite reservations
about the climate there. He laments the backwardness of San Francisco's musical world. He
admits to being "kept" by his wife.
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LC ASC 7/50, [10] Typewritten letter (carbon copy) from Schoenberg to Moriz Violin, dated January 27,
1940
Schoenberg reports a letter that he has received from R. E. Stuart. He detects
that Gottfried Galston will see him as a rival, so advises Violin to write stressing his
primary area as composition. He regrets that he can no longer avoid recommending some of his
own students.
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LC ASC 27/45, [27] Handwritten letter from Moriz Violin to Schoenberg, dated April 14, 1941
Violin reports encouraging news on his planned "institute," spells out some of
his ideas, and seeks to discuss further with Schoenberg.
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LC ASC 27/45, [29] Handwritten letter from Moriz Violin to Schoenberg, dated July 20, 1941
Violin recounts his experience with one of his sponsors and subsequent
interview with her skeptical agent regarding an (unspecified) new project.