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OJ 6/4, [26] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, undated [? March 1903]
Schenker sees prospects for himself, and believes likewise for Violin. He
supports Violin returning to Vienna.
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WSLB 37 Handwritten letter from Schenker to Hertzka (UE), March 28, 1909
Schenker suggests a meeting at Robert Brünauer's home.
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OC 52/36 Typewritten letter from Hertzka (UE) to Schenker, dated March 29, 1909
Hertzka welcomes the prospect of a discussion at the home of Robert
Brüunauer.
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WSLB 41 Handwritten postcard from Schenker to Hertzka (UE), dated July 1, 1909
Schenker asks for the three previously requested editions to be sent as soon as
possible so as to arrive before he departs for vacation.— He also asks for Richard Stöhr's
Harmonielehre.
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OJ 8/1, [11] Handwritten postcard from Heinrich Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated October 9,
1911
In promising to visit Violin, Schenker gives details of the lessons he has to
give over three days; — reports pending visit by Vrieslander.
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OC 1 B/15 Handwritten draft letter from Schenker to Carl Colbert, dated September 15,
1912
Schenker explains why he deprecates strongly giving a student only one lesson a
week and positively recommends two or three; he leaves the matter to Colbert, but gives him a
difficult choice.
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OJ 15/16, [14] Handwritten letter from Weisse to Schenker, dated March 29, 1913
Weisse apologizes for having interrupted Robert Brünauer's lesson, and declares
his allegiance to Schenker effusively. He asks to call on March 31 (his
birthday).
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OJ 15/34, [2] Handwritten letter from Viktor Zuckerkandl to Heinrich Schenker, undated [August 20,
1915]
Zuckerkandl reports on life in the military.
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OJ 14/45, [10] Handwritten letter from Moriz Violin to Heinrich Schenker, dated February 5,
1918
Schenker, Violin alleges, has accused him of a dearth of subject matter in letter
writing; Violin defends himself on grounds that his life has been disrupted by military service
and the impact of that on his physical and mental state. He accuses Schenker of insensitivity,
and treating him like his pupils. He defends his wife for giving food to the Schenkers, and
explains her motivation for so doing.
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OJ 6/6, [7] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated March 20, 1918
[50th Festschrift:] Schenker intends not to influence anyone in their decision to
contribute or not. — [Personal issues:] Schenker agrees to draw a line under issues discussed in
OJ 6/6, [6]; however, he accounts for his epistolary silence regarding Valerie Violin, including
the possible contact with Seligmann; he attempts to explain the matter of the jars of jam and
the absence of visits to Schönbrunn, describing vividly how tirelessly Jeanette works and how
dependent they both are on Sunday for work time; he expresses outrage that he and Jeanette live
so poorly while his pupils live lives of luxury, commenting bitterly on state of play over the
Sofie Deutsch stipend; he wishes the Violins well for their 6-month stay in Marburg.
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OJ 14/5, [11] Typewritten letter from Moriz Schenker to Heinrich Schenker, dated July 26,
1920
Moriz Schenker reports that he has made 7,500 Kronen available to Schenker via
the Austrian Provincial Bank's branch in Innsbruck. (The Schenkers are on vacation in
Seefeld.)
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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.
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JOB 94-3, [5] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Hammer dated October 24, 1923
Schenker invites Hammer and his wife for November 7; — The problem of the
"middleman" (performer, etc.) in music, by contrast with painting; — he reports on Hertzka's
proposal to make Tonwille a quarterly publication.
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JOB 94-3, [6] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Hammer dated December 2, 1923
Schenker has heard nothing from Eugen Steinhof; — he commends Hammer's
reaction to Halm's work, and comments unfavorably on the latter's musicianship, character,
and opinions; — he writes disparagingly of Robert Brünauer.
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OJ 11/36, [11] Handwritten letter from Hammer to Schenker, dated January 5, 1923 [recte
1924]
Hammer refers to the making of a portrait; — he discusses German and Austrian art
with respect to Italian and French; — he comments favorably on Der Tonwille, but defends the art
of the French.
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OJ 9/12, [2] Handwritten letter from Carl Bamberger to Schenker, dated February 18,
1925
Bamberger reports that after six months of repetiteur work he has been granted
some conducting. -- He laments the lack of musical education of the Danzig citizens, and its
impact on the theater's repertory. Talent is not appreciated by the theater's
administrators. He wants to move on from Danzig, suggesting Dessau. -- He reports on his
reading of Der Tonwille, and his success in encouraging others to subscribe. -- He asks
Schenker a question about Schubert's song "Wohin?"
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OC 52/636 Handwritten letter from Robert Brünauer to Schenker, dated February 19,
1925
Robert Brünauer reports on the subscriptions to Der Tonwille that he has taken
out.
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OJ 6/7, [18] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated February 22, 1925
Schenker thanks Violin for his recent letter (and enclosure), which contains
evidence of Hertzka's false calculations of subscriptions to Der Tonwille – this letter in stark
contrast to the actions of his pupils Weisse and Brünauer, who had given more support to the
publication of Weisse's recently published vocal quartets than to his writings. Leaving Der
Tonwille behind, which has earned him little money and caused him much misery, he has written a
lengthy study of Bach's solo violin works, which will be published in the first volume of Das
Meisterwerk in der Musik, which will include a critique of Ernst Kurth's Grundlagen des linearen
Kontrapunkts.
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OJ 11/36, [23] Handwritten letter from Hammer to Schenker, dated October 6, 1925
Hammer encloses as a gift two prints of his mezzotint of Schenker; Weisse will
convey to Schenker a print from which the printing block of the mezzotint can be made for
Die Musik's purposes. -- The Albertina has just purchased one of the
proofs.
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OJ 6/7, [27] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated January 15, 1926
Schenker agrees to to teach Violin's pupil Agnes Becker twice a week, as soon
as she is ready to come to Vienna. He reports Furtwängler's disillusionment with modern
music, and notes that Weingartner and Julius Korngold have expressed similar sentiments. He
is not optimistic that humanity in general will truly understand the classics, which
underscores the important of his (and Violin's) mission.
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OJ 6/7, [30] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated December 19, 1926
Schenker expresses his delight that his friend received sufficient financial
help to be able to move into a new apartment for the sake of his son Karl's health. He
reports having shown Agnes Becker some straightforward examples of the Urlinie, out of
desperation (she shows little aptitude for piano playing), and then explains that a great
deal of time, patience and faith are needed to understand such things. Of his current
pupils, only Elias, Brünauer, Hoboken and (to some extent) Albersheim are capable of
following the ramifications of the new theory, which he sees as his unique gift to the
world. At present, he is working on his "crowning work," Free Composition.
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OJ 6/7, [36] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated December 29, 1927
Sending greetings for the New Year, Schenker expresses the hope that his
friend's fortunes will begin to improve in 1928. He agrees with Violin's pronouncements on
Vrieslander’s character and ability to convey Schenker's thoughts, and has no idea of what
to expect in Vrieslander's (supposedly) forthcoming monograph on him. Weisse, whom he
regards as a more skilled interpreter of his work, has announced plans for a monthly
journal, Die Tonkunst, to be edited with his pupils Oswald Jonas and Felix Salzer, which
will be based exclusively on Schenker's theoretical approach. But he is afraid that Weisse
might leave Vienna, to teach at Damrosch's music school.
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OJ 6/7, [41] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated February 27, 1929
Schenker thanks Violin for his concerns, describes how they survived the cold
weather earlier in February, reports that his monograph on the "Eroica" Symphony is finished
and that he has written an article about the Photogram Archive, which has acquired over
seven thousand pages of manuscripts. He looks forward to seeing his friend in the
summer.
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OJ 6/7, [48] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Moriz Violin, dated May 19, [1930]
After congratulating Violin on moving house, Schenker reports that an article
that is critical of the "Urlinie", by Walter Riezler, has apparently offended Furtwängler, a
childhood friend of the author. Furtwängler hoped that Hans Weisse might write a response;
in the end, Brünauer wrote one, and Weisse has sent it to Furtwängler. Schenker has himself
replied to an article by Eduard Beninger in the February 1930 issue of the Zeitschrift für
Musik. Owing to overwork, he was required to rest during the day between lessons; now he is
better. Oppel is again coming to Galtür and Schenker hopes that Violin will join him there,
too.
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OC 54/315 Typewritten letter from Deutsch to Schenker, dated July 30, 1930
Deutsch makes further reports on the anticipated costs of the third
Meisterwerk yearbook. -- He has come across an arrangement of Beethoven’s Op. 74 Quartet as
a symphony and found some important early editions of the Op. 22 Sonata. -- He would like
Schenker to meet his friend [Leopold] Liegler, whose theories about literature resonate with
the concept of Urlinie.
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OJ 15/16, [65] Handwritten letter from Weisse to Schenker, dated November 27, 1930
Weisse thanks Schenker for the essay "Rameau oder Beethoven?". He is surprised
to hear that Jonas has sought Schenker's help in finding employment, and urges Schenker not
to write a letter of recommendation until a concrete piece of work materializes. He is about
to go to Berlin to deliver two lectures on Schenker's theories, and has heard that Moriz
Violin and Reinhard Oppel will be there; he would like to give one of these lectures at
Schenker's home before a small audience of his most dedicated pupils, and suggests a date
and time for this.
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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.
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OJ 12/9, [26] Handwritten letter from Karpath to Schenker, dated February 3, 1931
Karpath replies to a letter from Schenker showing himself to be in need of help.
— Karpath reports on contact with Robert Brünauer, who was seeking financial
support.
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OJ 6/8, [3] Handwritten letter from Schenker to Violin, dated May 24, 1931
Schenker sends Violin clippings of a positive anonymous review of Das
Meisterwerk 3, and an article by Bruno Walter from the Neue freie Presse mentioning
him.
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OC 30/18-30 Draft letter from Schenker to Albert Einstein, undated [November 20,
1932]
In this unsent letter, Schenker tells Einstein about his works and the
difficulties he has encountered in promoting them, and calls upon the physicist for help in
gaining financial support for the publication of Free Composition.
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OJ 6/8, [14] Handwritten letter, with envelope, from Schenker to Violin, dated December 19,
1932
In this characteristically long end-of-year letter to his friend, Schenker
mentions his forthcoming edition of Brahms’s study of consecutive octaves and fifths,
Jonas’s book on his achievements as a theorist, Zuckerkandl’s book on opera, and the
possibility of an English translation of his Theory of Harmony.
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OJ 10/18, [5] Handwritten letter from Elias to Schenker, dated June 17, 1933
Miss Elias sends best wishes for Schenker's birthday, and reports a visit from
Robert Brünauer. — She encloses an "assessment" by Paul Stephan of a concert conducted by
Carl Bamberger.
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OC 44/16 Handwritten letter from Robert Brünauer to Schenker, dated August 8, 1934
Brünauer reacts favorably to Oswald Jonas's newly published
book.
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OC 44/15 Handwritten letter from Robert Brünauer to Schenker, dated September 20,
1934
Brünauer asks Schenker to put Moriz Violin in touch with Adalbert Franz
Seligmann.