Handwritten letter from Rosenthal to Schenker, March 18, [1899?] Sehr geehrter Herr!1 Die angekündigte „Fantasie op. 2"2 ist mir bis heute nicht zugekommen. Ich bedaure dies umsomehr, als ich sie vor einiger Zeit einmal durchging, mit der reservatio mentalis darauf zurückzukommen. Die Notenblätter hätten mich also sehr erfreut. Aber schon heute kann ich Ihnen sagen, daß das Stück sehr für den Autor spricht u. daß ich darin sehr viel {2} Interesse-erregendes gefunden habe. Ich bin überzeugt, daß ein so ausgezeichneter Künstler wie Busoni,3 Ihrer Widmung Ehre machen u. das Stück zum Siege führen wird. Ich komme in einigen Wochen zurück u. werde mich herzlich freuen die „Syrischen Tänze"4 u. ihren Verfaßer bei mir zu begrüßen. Sollten Sie meinem Concerte beiwohnen wollen,5 so bitte ich um eine Zeile. Herzlich ergeben u. in Hochachtung © Under inquiry. |
Handwritten letter from Rosenthal to Schenker, March 18, [1899?] Dear Sir,1 The "Fantasy, Op. 2"2 that you promised has still not reached me today. I regret this all the more since I looked through it once some time ago and made a mental note to come back to it. To see the notes on the page would have given me great pleasure. However, I can already tell you today that the piece says a great deal for its composer, and that I have found much in it {2} to arouse my interest. I am convinced that an artist as excellent as Busoni,3 will be honored by your dedication and will bring the piece off triumphantly. I shall return in a week or two, and shall be delighted to welcome to my home the Syrian Dances|4 and their composer. Should you wish to attend my concert,5 please drop me a line. Cordially yours, with greatest respect, Vienna [IV], Wohllebengasse 11 © Translation Ian Bent, 2007. |
COMMENTARY: FOOTNOTES: 1 This letter has been partially edited in Hellmut Federhofer, Heinrich Schenker nach Tagebüchern ... (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1985), pp. 194-95. The suggested date of 1899 is based on the dates of the two Schenker works mentioned in the letter. 2 Schenker's Fantasie in C minor for piano, Op.2 (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, ©1898), said in Hofmeister's Monatsbericht to have been published in January 1899 (my thanks to Paul Banks for this information). 3 Click on Ferruccio Busoni. 4 Syrische Tänze for piano four-hands (Vienna, Leipzig, Paris: Weinberger, n.d.), according to Hofmeister's Monatsbericht published in October 1899 (my thanks to Paul Banks for this information), and first performed January 26, 1900, in the Bösendorfer-Saal in Vienna by Schenker and Moriz Violin. It was dedicated to his patron Alphons von Rothschild. 5 [Identify concert] SUMMARY: © Commentary, Footnotes, Summary Christoph Hust & Ian Bent 2007
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