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Liebster Meister! 1

Vor allem nochmals meine grosse Freude über Peters Brief! 2 Ich konstatiere die Tatsache, dass zu jeder der drei Stunden, mich bei Ihnen neue Stimmen erwarten, 3 Stimmen aus dem „Jenseits“ freilich: Sie haben es erreicht: Die Toten bedienen sich allmählich der Sprache wieder!

Anbei zwei Ausschnitte aus dem Programm des gestrigen Messchaert-Konzertes: 4 Schönbergs liebliche Definition – hat mich riesig lachen gemacht: Besonders scheint der Satz …„und druckt nicht in 10 Worten aus, was mit zweien gesagt werden kann.“ Als ob es sich um Worte handelte: Die Gleichstellung von Wort und Motivteil – ist derart unlogisch und unwahr – aber leider nur für uns auffällig.


Herzlichst Ihr
[signed:] Hans

© Transcription William Drabkin, 2008, 2019



Dearest Master, 1

First of all, let me express once again my great joy regarding the letter from Peters! 2 I confirm the fact that new voices await me at each of the three lessons; 3 voices from the "past," of course. You have succeeded: the dead are gradually availing themselves of language!

Enclosed are two clippings from yesterday's Messchaert concert: 4 Schoenberg's sweet definition made me laugh out loud, especially the sentence "… and do not express in ten words what can be said in two." As if it were a question of words: the equal placing of words and motivic elements is of itself illogical and untrue, but that is unfortunately something that only we recognize.


Most cordially your
[signed:] Hans

© Translation William Drabkin, 2008, 2019



Liebster Meister! 1

Vor allem nochmals meine grosse Freude über Peters Brief! 2 Ich konstatiere die Tatsache, dass zu jeder der drei Stunden, mich bei Ihnen neue Stimmen erwarten, 3 Stimmen aus dem „Jenseits“ freilich: Sie haben es erreicht: Die Toten bedienen sich allmählich der Sprache wieder!

Anbei zwei Ausschnitte aus dem Programm des gestrigen Messchaert-Konzertes: 4 Schönbergs liebliche Definition – hat mich riesig lachen gemacht: Besonders scheint der Satz …„und druckt nicht in 10 Worten aus, was mit zweien gesagt werden kann.“ Als ob es sich um Worte handelte: Die Gleichstellung von Wort und Motivteil – ist derart unlogisch und unwahr – aber leider nur für uns auffällig.


Herzlichst Ihr
[signed:] Hans

© Transcription William Drabkin, 2008, 2019



Dearest Master, 1

First of all, let me express once again my great joy regarding the letter from Peters! 2 I confirm the fact that new voices await me at each of the three lessons; 3 voices from the "past," of course. You have succeeded: the dead are gradually availing themselves of language!

Enclosed are two clippings from yesterday's Messchaert concert: 4 Schoenberg's sweet definition made me laugh out loud, especially the sentence "… and do not express in ten words what can be said in two." As if it were a question of words: the equal placing of words and motivic elements is of itself illogical and untrue, but that is unfortunately something that only we recognize.


Most cordially your
[signed:] Hans

© Translation William Drabkin, 2008, 2019

Footnotes

1 Receipt of this letter is recorded in Schenker's diary OJ 1/12, p. 454, October 25, 1913: "Brief v. Hans Weisse mit Beilagen: Schönbergs Notizchen über Wiederholungen." ("Letter from Hans Weisse with enclosures: Schoenberg's remarks about repeats."). The editorial dating assumes that by "yesterday" Weisse means Messchaert's first concert, on October 21, but it could equally mean his second concert, on October 23 (see footnote 4).

2 "again" because Weisse had already expressed his pleasure at Peters's invitation in OJ 15/15, [H], September 23. The letter in question was an invitation from C. F. Peters to Schenker, for a selected edition of Beethoven sonatas, which had arrived on September 11 (OJ 13/17, [3]), and Schenker had replied on September 18 (Ssa, [1]). Peters later withdrew the proposal.

3 Weisse was at this stage taking three lessons a week from Schenker: Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Since the beginning of the teaching year, he was having piano lessons (transferred from Moriz Violin) as well as theory and composition lessons.

4 The Messchaert concert took place on October 21, 1913 in the newly opened small recital hall of the Konzerthausgesellschaft. So great was the demand for tickets that he had to repeat the recital on the 23rd. The program comprised a group of songs from Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin, a selection of Brahms songs, and a group of songs from Hugo Wolf's Mörike Liederbuch. The review in the Neue freie Presse appeared on October 22, p. 12, col. 1.

Commentary

Format
1p letter, holograph salutation, message, valediction, and signature
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--)
Rights Holder
Heirs of Hans Weisse, reproduced with kind permission
License
Permission to publish granted on March 10, 2008 by the heirs of Hans Weisse. Any claim to intellectual rights on this document should be addressed to the Schenker Documents Online, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, at schenkercorrespondence[at]mus(dot)cam(dot)ac(dot)uk

Digital version created: 2019-10-19
Last updated: 2010-06-25