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OC 38/155v - Handwritten letter (fragment) from Violin to Schenker, dated July 18, 1931

[This letter has an oblong quadrant to the lower left cut away.]

⇧ Hamburg, 18. Juli 31

Geliebter Heinrich! 1

Wenn so viel Schönes ins Haus kommt, muss das zermürbteste h[i]ermit aufatmen! Ich genoss alles; ich danke Dir u. Frau Lie-Lie tausendmal für alles Liebe. Wir haben in letzter Zeit traurigstes mitgemacht. Heute kann ich Dir schon ruhig schreiben u. es soll auch für Dich nichts aufregendes bedeuten, denn die trüben Wolken haben wir schon verfluchtet.

Vor einiger Zeit, Carli u. Evi, waren gemeinsam auf einem Schulausflug (Reise), bekamen wir um 5 Uhr morgens, eines Tages ein Telegramm von Karli’s Lehrer, daß [recte das] uns nach Walsrode 2 berief. [...] mehr lebend zu treffen. wieder durch u. ich habe [...] geht ihm vortrefflich. [...] [u]nd er wieder aufstehen können. [...] u. Geld verloren, soll [...] werden. Ich muss meine [...] Unternehmen sparen. Am [...] in das neue Haus, Rotenbaum-[Chaussee] [...] [A]m 4. August sende ich Dir den [...] [wi]rd Dich freuen. Ich hätte es viel [...] zu sagen, den Artikel in der [...] [meis]terlichsten Artikel im Kunstwart – [...] [ä]lteren Zeiten!!!


[...] von Uns an Euch
Dein getreuester
[signed:] Floriz

© Transcription William Drabkin, 2015
[This letter has an oblong quadrant to the lower left cut away.]

⇧ Hamburg, July 18, 1931

Beloved Heinrich, 1

When such lovely things come into one’s life, the most demoralizing things must hereby be exhaled! I enjoyed everything; I thank you and Lie-Lie a thousand times for all your kindness. We have recently lived through the saddest of times. Today I am already able to write to you calmly; and this should not signify anything upsetting for yourself, as we have already cursed the dark clouds.

A while ago, little Karl and little Eva were together on a school outing (trip) together; one day, at 5 o’clock in the morning, I received a telegram from little Karl’s teacher that summoned us to Walsrode. 2 [...] found [him hardly] alive any longer [...] again, and I have [...] he is in excellent shape. [...] and he is again able to stand up [...] [I have] lost [...] and money; I must [...] curtail my activities. On [August 1 we move] into the new apartment on the Rothenbaum-[Chaussee]. [...] On August 4 I shall send you the [prospectus of the Schenker Institute, which] will please you. I would rather have [...] to say, the article in the [...] most masterly article in Der Kunstwart – [reminds me of] times gone by!!!


[Cordial greetings] to you both from us,
Your most faithful
[signed:] Floriz

© Translation William Drabkin, 2015
[This letter has an oblong quadrant to the lower left cut away.]

⇧ Hamburg, 18. Juli 31

Geliebter Heinrich! 1

Wenn so viel Schönes ins Haus kommt, muss das zermürbteste h[i]ermit aufatmen! Ich genoss alles; ich danke Dir u. Frau Lie-Lie tausendmal für alles Liebe. Wir haben in letzter Zeit traurigstes mitgemacht. Heute kann ich Dir schon ruhig schreiben u. es soll auch für Dich nichts aufregendes bedeuten, denn die trüben Wolken haben wir schon verfluchtet.

Vor einiger Zeit, Carli u. Evi, waren gemeinsam auf einem Schulausflug (Reise), bekamen wir um 5 Uhr morgens, eines Tages ein Telegramm von Karli’s Lehrer, daß [recte das] uns nach Walsrode 2 berief. [...] mehr lebend zu treffen. wieder durch u. ich habe [...] geht ihm vortrefflich. [...] [u]nd er wieder aufstehen können. [...] u. Geld verloren, soll [...] werden. Ich muss meine [...] Unternehmen sparen. Am [...] in das neue Haus, Rotenbaum-[Chaussee] [...] [A]m 4. August sende ich Dir den [...] [wi]rd Dich freuen. Ich hätte es viel [...] zu sagen, den Artikel in der [...] [meis]terlichsten Artikel im Kunstwart – [...] [ä]lteren Zeiten!!!


[...] von Uns an Euch
Dein getreuester
[signed:] Floriz

© Transcription William Drabkin, 2015
[This letter has an oblong quadrant to the lower left cut away.]

⇧ Hamburg, July 18, 1931

Beloved Heinrich, 1

When such lovely things come into one’s life, the most demoralizing things must hereby be exhaled! I enjoyed everything; I thank you and Lie-Lie a thousand times for all your kindness. We have recently lived through the saddest of times. Today I am already able to write to you calmly; and this should not signify anything upsetting for yourself, as we have already cursed the dark clouds.

A while ago, little Karl and little Eva were together on a school outing (trip) together; one day, at 5 o’clock in the morning, I received a telegram from little Karl’s teacher that summoned us to Walsrode. 2 [...] found [him hardly] alive any longer [...] again, and I have [...] he is in excellent shape. [...] and he is again able to stand up [...] [I have] lost [...] and money; I must [...] curtail my activities. On [August 1 we move] into the new apartment on the Rothenbaum-[Chaussee]. [...] On August 4 I shall send you the [prospectus of the Schenker Institute, which] will please you. I would rather have [...] to say, the article in the [...] most masterly article in Der Kunstwart – [reminds me of] times gone by!!!


[Cordial greetings] to you both from us,
Your most faithful
[signed:] Floriz

© Translation William Drabkin, 2015

Footnotes

1 Receipt of this letter is recorded in Schenker’s diary for July 20, 1931: “Von Floriz (Br.): dankt für den Sonderdruck. Karli war wieder mit einem Fuß im Grab – nun geht es wieder so-so! Wohnungswechsel am 1. VIII.; wird einen Prospekt senden!” (“From Floriz (letter): he thanks me for the offprint. Little Karl again had once again one foot in the grave – now he is again so-so! Change of apartment on August 1; he will send me a prospectus.
The lower-left quadrant of the leaf on which Violin wrote this letter has been cut away, and only about half the text survives in the latter half of the second paragraph. In the translation, text in square brackets amplifies the likely sense of what has been lost; some of this is based on the summary in Schenker’s diary.

2 Walsrode: town in Lower Saxony, approximately 80km south of Hamburg. It is the site of the Richmannshof Heath Museum (Heidemuseum Rischmannshof), the first open-air museum in Germany, which opened in 1912.

Commentary

Rights Holder
Heirs of Moriz Violin, published by kind permission
License
Permission to publish granted by Diana Windsor (grand daughter of Moriz Violin), February 15, 2012. Any claim to intellectual rights on this document should be addressed to the Schenker Documents Online, at schenkercorrespondence(at)mus[dot]cam[dot]ac[dot]uk
Format
1p letter, verso, text fragmentary: holograph salutation, message, valediction, and signature; oblong quadrant cut away from left corner losing about a fifth of the text; recto contains notes on form, citing Beethoven's Symphony No. 8
Provenance
Schenker, Heinrich (document date-1935)--Schenker, Jeanette (1935-c.1942)--Ratz, Erwin (c.1942-c.1945)--Jonas, Oswald (c.1945-1978)--University of California, Riverside (1978--)

Digital version created: 2022-03-02
Last updated: 2013-07-20