16.
Von der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (um ½8h früh expressOJ 11/22, [6]): über Furtwänglers Auftrag: welches Konzert ich besuchen möchte?! — Von Fanny Violin (Br.): Dank; Floriz kommt im Sommer! — Um ½12h Eröffnungsfeier zum Brahms-Fest! 1 Furtwängler hält die Festrede, spricht mutig wider die Gegenwart u. ihren Fortschrittswahn, bestätigt vor aller Welt meine Meinung von 1912, 2 ohne aber meinen Namen zu nennen. In der Sache ist er selbst nicht sachlich genug, hörte ihm Brahms aus dem Grabe zu, würde er wiederholen: . . „nur ein Kapellmeister“ 3 – Schon das aber, was er sagte, war dem Publikum , zu hoch, hustenreizend! Ja, ja, die wahre Musik wohnt nur bei Wenigen. 4 Allerhand vergangene Menschen tauchten ringsum auf, zuletzt das Schüler-Ensemble mit Dr. Jonas – bitte ihn für morgen – auch Dr. Landau u. Frau. — Speisen im Imperial – Begeg- {3834} nung mit Furtwängler – will bestimmt kommen. — Von v. Hoboken (Ansichtsk. aus Venedig): die Gattin erkrankt, Reise verschoben. —© Transcription Marko Deisinger. |
16.
From the Society of the Friends of Music (at 7:30 in the morning, by express mailOJ 11/22, [6]), at Furtwängler’s behest: which concert would I like to attend?! — From Fanny Violin (letter): thanks; Floriz is coming in the summer! — At 11:30, opening ceremony of the Brahms festival! 1 Furtwängler makes the inaugural speech, speaks courageously against the present and its mania for progress, publicly affirms my view of 1912, 2 without however mentioning my name. In the matter he is himself insufficiently objective; were Brahms to hear him from the grave, he would repeat: "…merely a conductor" 3 – but even that which he said was too elevated for his audience, inducing them to cough! Yes, yes, true music is the domain of only a few. 4 All sorts of people from bygone days surfaced all around, at the end my group of pupils with Dr. Jonas – I ask him to come tomorrow – even Dr. Landau and his wife. — Lunch at the Imperial – {3834} encounter with Furtwängler – he will definitely visit. — From Hoboken (picture postcard from Venice): his wife is ill, the trip has been postponed. —© Translation William Drabkin. |
16.
Von der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (um ½8h früh expressOJ 11/22, [6]): über Furtwänglers Auftrag: welches Konzert ich besuchen möchte?! — Von Fanny Violin (Br.): Dank; Floriz kommt im Sommer! — Um ½12h Eröffnungsfeier zum Brahms-Fest! 1 Furtwängler hält die Festrede, spricht mutig wider die Gegenwart u. ihren Fortschrittswahn, bestätigt vor aller Welt meine Meinung von 1912, 2 ohne aber meinen Namen zu nennen. In der Sache ist er selbst nicht sachlich genug, hörte ihm Brahms aus dem Grabe zu, würde er wiederholen: . . „nur ein Kapellmeister“ 3 – Schon das aber, was er sagte, war dem Publikum , zu hoch, hustenreizend! Ja, ja, die wahre Musik wohnt nur bei Wenigen. 4 Allerhand vergangene Menschen tauchten ringsum auf, zuletzt das Schüler-Ensemble mit Dr. Jonas – bitte ihn für morgen – auch Dr. Landau u. Frau. — Speisen im Imperial – Begeg- {3834} nung mit Furtwängler – will bestimmt kommen. — Von v. Hoboken (Ansichtsk. aus Venedig): die Gattin erkrankt, Reise verschoben. —© Transcription Marko Deisinger. |
16.
From the Society of the Friends of Music (at 7:30 in the morning, by express mailOJ 11/22, [6]), at Furtwängler’s behest: which concert would I like to attend?! — From Fanny Violin (letter): thanks; Floriz is coming in the summer! — At 11:30, opening ceremony of the Brahms festival! 1 Furtwängler makes the inaugural speech, speaks courageously against the present and its mania for progress, publicly affirms my view of 1912, 2 without however mentioning my name. In the matter he is himself insufficiently objective; were Brahms to hear him from the grave, he would repeat: "…merely a conductor" 3 – but even that which he said was too elevated for his audience, inducing them to cough! Yes, yes, true music is the domain of only a few. 4 All sorts of people from bygone days surfaced all around, at the end my group of pupils with Dr. Jonas – I ask him to come tomorrow – even Dr. Landau and his wife. — Lunch at the Imperial – {3834} encounter with Furtwängler – he will definitely visit. — From Hoboken (picture postcard from Venice): his wife is ill, the trip has been postponed. —© Translation William Drabkin. |
Footnotes1 Johannes Brahms Festival: centennial celebration in Vienna, May 16–21, 1933, organized by the German Brahms Society, Berlin, together with the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna. Wilhelm Furtwängler was responsible for the musical direction. 2 That is, in the preface to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. 3 These are the words with which Brahms compared Hans von Bülow to Wagner, and which Schenker quoted in the Erläuterungsausgabe of Op. 110; see Oswald Jonas’s abridged edition (Vienna: Universal Edition, 1972), p. 8. 4 Furtwängler’s speech was published in its entirety in the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung on May 28, 1933, and in two installments in the Neue freie Presse on May 28 and 31, 1933. http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=nfp&datum=19330528&seite=9&zoom=33 http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=nfp&datum=19330531&seite=10&zoom=33 |