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Der Tonwille, Heft 1 (1921)

The Will of the Tone, issue 1 (1921)

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The first issue of Schenker's periodical Der Tonwille (1921–24).

Contents

Issue 1, 56 pages in length, comprises a lead-article highly polemical in content (19 pages), one short article on the theoretical topic of the Urlinie (5 pages), three articles each on a single work (11, 8 and 4 pages), of which the first is the first of a three-instalment study of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, and "Miscellanea" (6 pages of regular type).

"The Mission of German Genius" serves as a manifesto for the whole of Der Tonwille. It deals with impossibility of splitting culture from politics, i.e. Germany will inevitably rise through the greatness of German music. The origins of the article appear to lie in a plan, conceived early in 1913, to publish a "Vorrede" (Preface) to Die letzten fünf Sonaten von Beethoven . On February 4, 1913, Schenker wrote to Hertzka: "I plan to precede the work in its entirety with a Preface ('To the Younger Generation'!), which I am not yet enclosing. The 'Preface' should be printed only once […], before the text of Op. 109" (WSLB 146). But by March 18 he had reconceptualized the item: "The more intensively I polish the 'Preface,' the more compelling does my conviction become that […] the 'Preface' must be given a more precise and more comprehensive application right from the start. If we want to publish the Pamphlets under whatever title […]" (WSLB 149), the implication being that the 'Preface' might serve instead as the opening salvo to the Little Library – the planned series which later became Der Tonwille.

Some idea of what Schenker had in mind at that time may be revealed in an article entitled "Das deutsche Genie in Kampf und Sieg," which Schenker wrote in August 1914 and submitted to the Frankfurter Zeitung , but which was rejected and has remained in manuscript (OJ 21/2). This article asserted that the French, Russians, and English lacked any capacity for genius; "only the German bears the distinguishing mark of genius." "Die Sendung" in its final form still maintained this but, fueled by Schenker's anger at the German defeat in 1918 and the demeaning terms of the Versailles Treaty, it now turned also on Germany's enemies "from within" – communists, revolutionaries, pacifists, journalists, cosmopolitans, etc.

The "Urlinie" article, which follows directly upon the first disclosure of the concept in Die letzten fünf Sonaten … op. 101 , forms a bridge between "Die Sendung" and the Beethoven Fifth Symphony analysis: that is, genius, as proclaimed in "Sendung," manifests itself specially in music as Urlinie and synthesis, and the technical workings of these are demonstrated in the Fifth Symphony. The analysis of Schubert's song "Ihr Bild" is a modern version of an essay written c. 1907 which remained in typescript. The article has fascinated generations of Schenker scholars. The "Miscellanea" mirror closely the preceding material, arguing the malign effect of French culture on German culture through a Beethoven edition and Mozart's letters, and the French occupation of Austria.

Publication History

Schenker handed in "Die Sendung" (still called "Preface") to UE on November 10, 1920, and in mid-December was correcting galley-proofs of it. First signs of trouble came on December 30 in a letter from Hertzka asking for a meeting and continuing: "I have only just now read the proof of your article 'The Mission of German Genius' and urgently need to speak with you in this regard" (OC 52/561). When the meeting took place on January 5, 1921, Hertzka remarked: "the 'Preface' is 'holy,' 'magnificent,' but, registered in New York, he would not dare to present it to foreign readers" (diary, p. 2309). The plan to create a "fictitious publishing house" to distance UE from Schenker's opinions was hatched at that meeting.

Schenker began studying the source materials for "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony" in the Archive of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in February 1920; by mid-November he was drafting and dictating the article (having two conversations about the symphony with Furtwängler), and was correcting galley-proofs in January–February 1921.

He began dictating "Die Urlinie: Eine Vorbemerkung" in February 1920; in March he was working on the study of the Bach Prelude, of which he received proofs of the engraved Urlinie graph and letterpress in the September. The Urlinie for the Schubert study seems to have been delivered in September 1920, the remainder of the article in November, and by later that month he had returned the proofs.

Page-proofs were sent out in late April 1921 (OC 52/255), and Schenker must have given his imprimatur in early or mid-May. On May 25, Alfred Kalmus asked for a few lines to be cut so as to contain the issue within four-and-a-half (16-page) gatherings (OC 52/260), after which it went to press, being released on June 13 (diary, p. 2354).

Contents List

  • "Von der Sendung des deutschen Genies" [The Mission of German Genius], 3–21 [I, pp. 3–20]
  • "Die Urlinie: Eine Vorbemerkung" [The Urlinie: A Preliminary Remark], 22–26 [I, pp. 21–24]
  • "Beethoven: V. Sinfonie" [Beethoven's Fifth Symphony], 27–37 [I, pp. 25–33]
  • "Joh. Seb. Bach: Wohltemperiertes Klavier, Band I, Präludium Es-Moll" [The E-flat Minor Prelude from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I], 38–45 [I, pp. 34–40]
  • "Franz Schubert: 'Ihr Bild' (Heine)" [Schubert's "Ihr Bild" (Heine)], 46–49 [I, pp. 41–43]
  • "Vermischtes" [Miscellanea], 50–55 [I, pp. 44–48]

  • Enclosure: Urlinie for Beethoven symphony
  • Advertisement (at back): "Heinr. Schenkers Werke" (p. 56)

Contributor:

  • Ian Bent

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Correspondence

  • OJ 8/4, [2] Handwritten postcard from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated February 6, 1921

    Schenker congratulates Violin on obtaining a teaching post in Hamburg and reports on progress on his written work and publications.

  • OJ 8/4, [5] Handwritten postcard from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated April 29, 1921

    Schenker describes some of the last-minute activities prior to their moving to a new apartment, at No. 8 Keilgasse, lists his works that are about to be published, and reports that Buxbaum has been dismissed as cellist of the Arnold Rosé Quartet.

  • OJ 6/7, [1] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated June 13, 1921

    Schenker gives an account of the move into Keilgasse 8 and describes his study in the apartment. He outlines his holiday plans, and explains how he is raising the fees for lessons in the autumn.

  • OC 24/22 Typewritten postcard from Otto Erich Deutsch to Schenker, dated June 28, 1921

    Deutsch thanks Schenker for his postcard of June 26, 1921, and wishes him good luck in his new home and with his summer trip to Galtür. Deutsch has read issue 1 of Tonwille with great interest, and hopes that their connoisseur edition will be as successful.

  • OC 24/20 Handwritten letter from Frimmel to Schenker, dated August 1, 1921

    Frimmel acknowledges receipt of a complimentary copy of Tonwille 1, comments neutrally on Schenker's incursions into politics, imagines something rather different by the concept of "Tonwille," and while agreeing with the criticism of Riemann thinks it could have been done more gently. — He asks for review copies of Schenker's editions of Beethoven Op. 110 and 101.

  • OC 24/4-5 Handwritten lettercard from Moriz Violin to Heinrich Schenker, dated August 3, 1921

    Violin expresses his awe concerning the first issue of Der Tonwille, and declares himself ready to offer his services in making Schenker's work better understood.

  • OC B/148 Typewritten letter from Wilhelm Altmann to Schenker, dated September 9, 1921

    Altmann reports on holdings of Handel keyboard works; and on progress in photographing Beethoven's Symphony No. 5; and thanks Schenker for sending Tonwille 1 and Op. 101.

  • OJ 11/36, [4] Handwritten letter from Hammer to Schenker, dated December 9, 1921

    Hammer owns several of Schenker's books and is beginning to understand their concepts.

  • OJ 6/7, [2] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated January 29, 1922

    Schenker offers to lend Violin his performing materials for two keyboard concertos by C. P. E. Bach. He inquires about musical life in Hamburg, reports on his most recent work, continues to despair of his financial situation.

  • OJ 8/4, [13] Handwritten postcard from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated July 9, 1922

    Schenker reports the publication of the second part of Kontrapunkt and continued difficulties with Universal Edition.

  • OJ 6/7, [16] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated January 24, 1925

    Responding point by point to Violin's previously letter (OJ 14/45, [41]), Schenker congratulates his friend on the success of his recent concert. He writes at length about Hertzka's last efforts to hold onto Der Tonwille, and about successful negotiations with Drei Masken Verlag over its successor, Das Meisterwerk in der Musik. He has now to prepare enough material for a yearbook comprising fifteen gatherings by July 1, so that the volume can be published by Christmas. Finally, he echoes Violin's assessment of Hans Weisse, adding a few disparaging remarks about his character.

  • OC 54/16-18 Draft letter from Schenker to Drei Masken Verlag, dated January 28, 1925

    Schenker agrees to the idea of a yearbook, entitled "Das Meisterwerk in der Musik," as put forward by Drei Masken Verlag, and now asks for a draft contract to be sent, and for them to typeset some of his work so that he has an idea how long the manuscript for the yearbook should be. He also vents his hostility towards Emil Hertzka at Universal Edition.

  • OJ 6/7, [17] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated February 2, 1925

    Schenker, repeating some of the points made in earlier letters, continues to give an account of Hertzka's dishonest dealings with him over Der Tonwille and asks Violin to give him an accurate count of the subscriptions that Max Temming paid for in the distribution of free copies of the journal to university music departments. He asks if Violin suspects that anti-Semitism lurks behind some of the critical notices of his recent concert. Finally, he mentions an article in Die Musik by Paul Bekker that numbers Schenker among the hermeneutists; the same issue contains a review of Der Tonwille, by Max Broesicke-Schon, disputing the supreme genius of the canonic composers.

  • OJ 6/7, [19] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated April 10, 1925

    Continuing the story of the ongoing financial battle against Hertzka and Universal Edition, Schenker thanks Violin for providing confirmation of the subscriptions paid for by Max Temming, then recounts that, at a meeting with Hertzka and his bookkeeper, the order-book for Der Tonwille had several pages torn out. Schenker is upset that his lawyer Dr. Baumgarten, though an old friend, is not fully supportive of his position and would prefer seek a compromise with Hertzka; this, Schenker feels, would rob him of much of his hard-earned royalties, especially from the Beethoven sonata edition. He now asks Violin to find a contact – outside Hamburg – who would be willing to order nine copies of Tonwille 1, as evidence that this issue is still in demand, despite Hertzka's claims to the contrary. He has attended a performance of Hans Weisse's Sextet, of which he found the variation movement and the trio section of the scherzo to be the most satisfactory parts.

  • OC 52/644 Handwritten letter from Moriz Violin to Schenker, dated April 21, 1925

    Violin has had the order for nine copies of Tonwille 1 placed in Berlin, and has collected the receipts. He has not heard from Weisse, but attended a performance of his String Sextet and, like Schenker, found the variations and the trio section of the scherzo the most successful.

  • OJ 8/4, [36] Handwritten postcard from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated April 23, 1925

    Schenker thanks Violin for ordering copies of Tonwille 1. He gives a brief account of a visit from Furtwängler, and mentions the arrival of the bronze medallion with his likeness (designed by Alfred Rothberger).

  • OJ 6/7, [20] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated May 4, 1925

    In a wide-ranging letter, Schenker sends Violin money for arranging the order of Der Tonwille (which must consist of multiple copies of Tonwille 1); Hertzka's representative, Robert Scheu, is currently studying the papers relating to Schenker's threat of legal action. Schenker continues to express his astonishment at Furtwängler's ignorance of sonata form, a fact that does not prevent him from earning huge fees for conducting in New York. He has turned down a request from a lady who teaches in New York and a former pupil (now in St. Gallen), who wish to spend some time with him in Galtür. He enquires about the personal difficulties that Violin writes about in his letter, and asks him to say more; they will invite his sister for a visit. He will send him a copy of the medallion (designed by Alfred Rothberger); the portrait by Viktor Hammer is not yet finished.

  • OJ 6/7, [21] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated May 16, 1925

    Making preparations with his solicitor for the legal action against Universal Edition, Schenker asks Violin to find out whether Max Temming paid for the additional subscriptions to Der Tonwille directly through Albert Gutmann in Vienna, or through the firm of Hofmeister in Leipzig. He is nearing completion of the contents of the first Meisterwerk yearbook and asks Violin whether he has yet made summer plans and whether these might include a trip to Galtür.

  • OJ 11/54, [18] Handwritten letter from van Hoboken to Schenker, dated September 18, 1927

    Van Hoboken reports on his visit to John Petrie Dunn: his career, his grasp of Schenker's theory, his situation at Edinburgh University, his publications. — Tomorrow he is to visit C. S. Terry.

  • OC 52/864 Typewritten postcard from Alfred Kalmus (UE) to Schenker, dated November 10, 1930

    Kalmus reports an inquiry from the Kiel student body.

  • OJ 6/8, [1] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Violin, dated January 9, 1931

    In this long and wide-ranging two-part letter, which includes a graphic analysis of J. S. Bach’s Two-part Invention in E-flat major, Schenker praises the work of Hans Weisse, who has recently returned from lecturing in Berlin and may be offered a post there (on Furtwängler’s recommendation), emigrate to America (with the help of Gerald Warburg), or even found an institute that would give employment to Felix Salzer and other Schenkerian disciples under one roof. — A letter from Violin, which has just arrived in the morning post, speaks of Violin’s own intention to establish a Schenker Institute in Hamburg. For this, Schenker recommends Felix-Eberhard von Cube (in preference to Reinhard Oppel) and Otto Vrieslander as possible theory teachers, if not Weisse himself. — The letter concludes with a tirade against those who have caused him financial misery (including his brother Mozio), culminating in a cynical passage in which Schenker advises his friend to look after himself and engage some dull pedagog to teach conventional theory. In the end, he wishes Violin luck with the enterprise, and thanks him for having helped rescue him from Hertzka’s clutches.

Diaries

Lessonbooks