Das Meisterwerk in der Musik: ein Jahrbuch von Heinrich
Schenker
The Masterwork in Music: a Yearbook by Heinrich
Schenker
CONTENTS
Volume III differs markedly from its two predecessors in comprising only 122 pages of
printed text and a conversely greater proportion of foreground graphs (Bilder), and also in the absence of music examples (Figuren) from the text, all such examples being printed on separate fold-out
sheets and housed in an appendix and cued (as are the graphs) from the margins of the
text.
The volume's contents further extend the progression from Meisterwerk
I and II: The number of articles is reduced to three:
one sharply polemical piece, one analysis, and the customary "Vermischtes." The analysis
article, on the "Eroica" Symphony, which is the centerpiece of the volume, extends over
73 pages of text, of which the "Presentation of Content" occupies 55 pages,
"Performance" seven pages, and "Secondary Literature" two pages, with an additional
section on Beethoven's revised score and the original instrumental parts interpolated
between the first and second sections.
That Meisterwerk III was an expedient vehicle for his "Eroica"
Symphony essay rather than an intended continuation of the Yearbook, and that Schenker
had always conceived the essay as a separate monograph, is explained in the next
section. See also Beethovens Dritter Sinfonie
[monograph]. In the light of this, the first article and the "Vermischtes" can
both be seen as subservient to the "Eroica" essay, both emphasizing genius over
non-genius.
PRODUCTION CHRONOLOGY
The "Eroica" Project
The preparation of a monograph on Beethoven's Third Symphony appears to have been
made in two phases. Diary entries mention work "on the Eroica" between October 1923
and February 1924, though this was far from being regular and systematic. A couple of
years later, between November 1926 and February 1927, mention is made of the "Eroica"
Variations for piano, particularly in connection with Schenker's pupil Robert Brünauer. Near the start of the following teaching
year, on November 14, 1927, Brünauer dropped a bombshell by noting that the
neighbor-note aę2 near the start of the
first movement, which is reached via a crescendo from g2, becomes "the driving force in the entire work."
This observation may have spurred Schenker to resume work on the symphony. Although
diary entries on the symphony in 1928 are sparse, on September 23, 1928 he records
"the new revision of the Eroica, and all earlier leaves destroyed." From this point
until May 1930, the diary documents intensive work on the symphony and its companion
essay, "Rameau oder Beethoven?".
The search for a publisher
By late 1928, Schenker was writing to his old adversary, Emil Hertzka, hoping to regain the favor of Universal Edition by offering the "Eroica" together with an Erläuterungsausgabe of the "Hammerklavier" Sonata and the long-awaited final
volume of the Neue Musikalische Theorien
und Phantasien (i.e. Der freie Satz);
Hertzka's initial reply was politely cautious; but when the matter was broached again,
shortly before the summer holidays, he deferred making a decision once more – for
another year – on economic grounds (Hertzka to Schenker, June 21, 1929):
The people who would certainly be interested in an "Eroica" monograph have no
money, and the people who have money are buying no sheet music, no books, and no
"Eroica" monograph.
Through the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler and his
close friend, the organist Karl Straube, appeals were
made to two major publishing houses in Leipzig: Breitkopf
& Härtel, and C. F. Peters. Neither of
these bore fruit: in a letter to Schenker of May 14, 1930, Straube reported with
regret that Breitkopf was not interested in taking over the publication of Schenker's
work, noting that "works devoted to musical issues are hardly sold"; a postscript
dated May 16 reports a rejection from Peters (OC 54/218).
Schenker's anxieties about finding a publisher for the "Eroica" met with sympathy
from Moriz Violin, who was always willing to do his
utmost for his teacher's cause. Between November 1929 and January 1930 he tried to
interest another Leipzig publisher (D. Rather) in the monograph, but repeated visits
to their Hamburg offices drew a blank. Schenker thanked Violin for his efforts, and
seemed more optimistic when he wrote to him in March (OJ 6/7, [47]):
I hope soon to be able to have the musical graphs (Notenbilder) for the "Eroica" engraved by Waldheim & Eberle, who can
do this best of all. About a publisher, I shall tell you at a later occasion.
What Schenker had in mind here was a revival of the (fictitious) "Tonwille Verlag"
imprint from the early 1920s. He approached the Viennese printers Waldheim-Eberle (OC 54/221), who had engraved the first
two volumes of Meisterwerk for Drei
Masken Verlag, in the hope that they would be willing to act as the
"commission publisher" for the "Eroica." Waldheim-Eberle's initial reply was
encouraging: they prepared a cost estimate for Schenker on February 13 (OC 54/221).
But while they were prepared to take on the printing, they did not also want the
additional responsibility of acting as a publisher, saying that this activity was not
part of their business (March 22, 1930: OC 54/223).
It was at this time that Schenker, somewhat in desperation, considered returning to
Drei Masken Verlag. The "Eroica" study could appear as the third volume of Das Meisterwerk in der Musik in name only, as it would be
difficult to justify the term "Yearbook" for a work that would come out three years
after its predecessor, and moreover one that focussed on a single composer, and on a
single work. (The polemical "Rameau oder Beethoven?", far from
being an independent essay, functioned as an introduction to the study; indeed, while
working on it Schenker repeatedly refers to it as the "Vorwort" (Foreword) in diary
entries from mid-May.)
Otto Erich Deutsch had continued to support Schenker
in the late 1920s – the two collaborated on a revised edition of the "Unfinished"
Symphony in the Schubert year 1928 – and also remained on good terms with the music
editors at Drei Masken Verlag. In May 1930, within days of Schenker receiving
Straube's discouraging letter, Deutsch approached them with the proposal to take on
the "Eroica" as volume III of the Meisterwerk series. Deutsch
received a favorable response on May 22, and spent the next several weeks discussing
arrangements for the setting of the music examples and the printing of the work (OC
54/224). He kept Schenker informed of all developments by forwarding the relevant
correspondence, often adding postscripts and making recommendations on how to proceed.
With Deutsch's continued assistance, the contract for Meisterwerk
III was signed in mid-July, and the manuscript was received by the
publishers a week later (telegram from Drei Masken Verlag to Schenker, July 22, 1930:
OC 54/229).
Production
Well before the agreement with Drei Masken Verlag had
been signed, Schenker was in close contact with the Viennese music calligrapher Georg Tomay, and the two men struck up a cordial
relationship which lasted from their first meeting (May 26, 1930), at which Schenker
handed over to him all the music examples (Figuren) and
foreground graphs, until Tomay produced his final account in November (OC
54/195‒217). Tomay's handwritten examples were then turned into blueprints (Blaupausen) by the Viennese lithographic firm of Karl Piller.
Thus the production of the music examples preceded that of the main text of Meisterwerk III, for which Drei Masken enlisted the services of
the Leipzig firm of C. G. Röder.
Schenker made regular visits to Tomay's studio to correct the work-in-progress on the
graphs; after he and Jeanette left Vienna in late
June, discussion continued by correspondence during the summer. These letters show
that Tomay exercised extreme care with his work, noting inconsistencies in the
original manuscript and offering advice on how to correct the prints (Matrizen); he also seems to have enjoyed the collaboration,
writing with an inimitable mixture of courtesy and enthusiasm:
As soon as I send you Urlinie matrices for your inspection, I shall, dear
Professor, also send you instructions for marking the corrections. These matrices
are not so awkward, and you, Professor, can mark up everything, however only with
a normal pencil: no ink, no colored pencils, and also no indelible pencils – but,
Professor, you are after all in Galtür to rest,
and not to work; I shall also leave you now, dear Professor, in peace and send you
something for inspection only about two weeks from now.
Tomay's remarks about needing to rest and recuperate while on holiday were prophetic.
The Schenkers were obliged to entertain more than their usual complement of visitors
in Galtür, at a time when they were expected to read through and correct the whole of
the galley-proofs and most of the page-proofs. Problems arose when the galleys were
turned into page-proofs (the Umbruch). Schenker had overlooked
a number of errors that needed correcting, and further – costly – delays took place in
October (Oct 8: OC 54/237). Decisions were needed, too, about the way in which the
foreground graphs were to be bound and accommodated within the volume. All these
problems, however, were discussed and resolved in the ensuing weeks, and on December
17 Drei Masken Verlag was able to inform Schenker that
bound copies of Meisterwerk III had arrived in their
warehouses and were already being distributed (OC 54/256). Some copies had made their
way to Berlin in time for Hans Weisse's lectures on
Schenker's theory at the Central Institute for Education.
Although the work was in print, Schenker was obliged to pay the production costs,
which were reckoned at 2,957 marks (Nov 14, 1930: OC 54/249); this was revised
upwards, to 3,041 marks (Dec 16, 1930: OC 54/254). He was given a period of three
months (OC 54/253) to repay the debt, and on March 20 he settled part of it with a
cash payment of 4,000 shillings. A long-awaited subvention of 3,000 marks from Furtwängler did not arrive until June 1 (OC 54/278); this
enabled Schenker to make a final payment of 1,173 shillings to Drei Masken Verlag
three weeks later (OC 54/267–276).
Bibliography
English translation: Drabkin, William, ed., The
Masterwork in Music: A Yearbook [team-translated] (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1994–97): vol. III (1997)
Bent, Ian, "Heinrich Schenker and Robert
Brünauer: Relations with a Musical Industrialist,"
Festschrift Hellmut Federhofer zum 100. Geburtstag, ed.
Axel Beer (Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 2011), pp. 25‒37.
CONTENTS LIST
"Rameau oder Beethoven? Erstarrung oder geistiges Leben in der
Musik?" [Rameau or Beethoven? Creeping Paralysis or Spiritual Potency in
Music?], 9‒22 [1‒9]
"Beethovens Dritte Sinfonie zum erstenmal in ihrem wahren Inhalt
dargestellt" [Beethoven's Third Symphony described for the first time in its
True Content], 25‒101 [10‒68]
"Vermischtes" [Miscellanea], 103‒121 [69‒79]
35 Urlinie-Tafeln, arranged as a separate booklet of four "Bilder" (lit: pictures)
corresponding to the four movements (1‒10; 11‒16; 17‒22; 23‒35) tucked into the back
of the volume
46 "Figuren" (music examples) grouped and arranged in nine fold-out sheets,
numbered by movement (I.1‒7, II.1‒2, III.1‒4, IV.1‒2) at the back of the
volume.