Viennese attorney, banker, and benefactor of the arts, friend of Heinrich Schenker.

Career Summary

In 1906 he was Director of the Vienna Giro and Treasury Union, and a Chamber Counselor (private address Vienna I, Brandstätte 6; chancery Rockhgasse 4); in 1909 he was appointed the Director of the Austrian Credit Bank for Commerce and Trade, from which he retired in 1930 (private address Vienna VII, Neustiftgasse 1); and in 1918 he was made Vice-President of the Chamber for Commerce, Trade, and Industry. His wife was Berta [Bertha] Hammerschlag (née Breuer) (1870‒1962).

He was one of the founder members, and a member of the governing board, of the Vienna Concert Union. He was a friend of Gustav Mahler and Alma Mahler. It was he who first introduced Schenker to Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1919.

Hammerschlag and Schenker

Hammerschlag and Schenker were part of a circle of friends already by 1906 including Moriz Violin, Ferdinand Löwe, Ludwig Karpath, and Karl August Artaria. The two men attended concerts together, and spent time in discussion. Schenker may also have borrowed money from Hammerschlag in fall 1906; and in early 1919, Schenker had evidently borrowed money from him, and paid it off mid-March. The two men continued to be in contact until at least 1928.

Correspondence

One letter survives from Hammerschlag to Schenker (OJ 11/38, [1], with typed transcript), dated May 2, 1919. In it Hammerschlag invites him to his home for an evening meal on May 4 to meet Wilhelm Furtwängler, who wishes to make his acquaintance ‒ a moment of great importance for Schenker's career. The occasion is recorded at considerable length in Schenker's diary (OJ 2/14, May 4, 1919).

Sources

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