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Georg Schenker

born [Egypt?], c. 1908

Documents associated with this person:

Son of Moriz Schenker, nephew of Heinrich Schenker; cellist.

Georg Schenker was the son and second child of Heinrich Schenker's younger brother, Moriz and his wife Lisl. His sister was Helga Schenker. He became a professional cellist and played with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Wiener Symphoniker) until the orchestra's disbanding in 1944. Between 1938 and 1944 the orchestra was nazified and co-opted for propaganda purposes ‒ despite being half-Jewish (Jewish on his deceased father's side but not on the more indicative mother's side), he was allowed to retain his seat. Part-corroboration for this exists in the Vienna street directories for 1941 and 1942 (the final year of the directory), in which he is listed as "symphonic musician" living at Vienna III, Radetzkystraße 6. He apparently continued to live in Vienna until his death.

Georg and Heinrich Schenker

There is a reference to Georg Schenker in Schenker's diary for June 13, 1924: "For the first time, Mozio [i.e. Moriz] speaks about his boy Georg, his musical talent ..." (OJ 3/6, p. 2679). On September 15, 1926, Schenker records: "At Mozio's, ... he tells us that his son has taken up a career in music – he wished, so he said, that he had told us about this before, but did not get around to it!" (OJ 3/8, p. 2977).

Schenker's diaries show that he played with Georg on several occasions. Thus on December 5, 1926 he "went through" the whole of Beethoven's Cello Sonata in A major, Op. 69 with Georg, commenting that "he proves himself thoroughly skilled" (OJ 3/9, p. 3007). On January 2, 1927 he played a Haydn E-flat-major piano trio and Beethoven's "Archduke" Trio with Georg and Moriz (the latter presumably on violin) (OJ 3/9, p. 3020). The two also played the first movement of a Brahms cello sonata on April 28, 1927, and again on May 22: "From 11 to 7:30 in Baden; play the first movement of the Brahms sonata with Georg, also Haydn four-hands" (OJ 3/9 , pp. 3060, 3069).

Schenker agreed on November 16, 1927 to give Georg lessons (OJ 4/1, p. 3136), the first lesson taking place on December 5, 1927 (p. 3145). Georg studied two- and three-voice counterpoint during 1928/29 and 1929/30, also piano (mainly Beethoven sonatas), bringing his cello occasionally in order to work with Heinrich on the Haydn Cello Concerto (Dec 2, 1929) and the Bach G-major Cello Suite (March 24‒April 28, 1930). No lessons are recorded in the lessonbook for 1930/31 or the notes for 1931/32, or in the table of lessons for 1934/35, and he was not a member of the Schenker Seminar.

If there was any correspondence between Georg and Heinrich Schenker, it is not known to survive.

Sources:

  • Brinsden, Elizabeth, "Helga Schenker - An Obituary," Schenker Guide:
    http://www.schenkerguide.com/helgaschenker.html
  • Personal communication from Elizabeth Brinsden (October 18, 2011)
  • Wikipedia: "Vienna Symphony Orchestra"; "Wiener Symphoniker"
  • Lehmann's Allgemeiner Wohnungs-Anzeiger, 1941, 1942

Contributors:

  • Ian Bent, Marko Deisinger, William Drabkin

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Correspondence

Diaries