Correspondence with Alma Mahler and Franz Werfel, 1906-1943.

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Correspondence with Alma Mahler and Franz Werfel, 1906-1943.

The correspondence, which is mainly addressed to Alma Mahler, documents her long-standing friendship with Schoenberg and support for his work, as well as his affection and regard for her and his engagement with the work of Gustav Mahler; it touches upon diverse aspects of Schoenberg's musical career. Roughly 40% of the correspondence comprises original items, dated from 1920 to 1963; the earlier correspondence, dated 1906 to 1920, exists in the form of typescripts. Topics of the earlier correspondence include Schoenberg's reflections on his own aesthetic in a dramatic text he had written; the merits of his wife, Mathilde, and his hopes that she would be included in invitations from Gustav and Alma Mahler; financial difficulties of and support for Schoenberg, including stipends through the Mahler foundation (in that context, exchanges concerning Richard Strauss's opinion of Schoenberg), the formation of a special fund (Arnold-Schönberg-Fond); mentions of Alma's friend Lilly Lieser; Schoenberg's lecture on Mahler, in 1912, and his comments on performances of Mahler's symphonies; Schoenberg's own current compositions and their performances; his responses to the outbreak and course of the First World War; his conducting of Mahler's adaptation of Beethoven's ninth symphony; his founding of a society for private musical performances (Verein für private Musik-Aufführungen); and Alma's gift to Schoenberg of 2 Mahler manuscripts. Topics of the later correspondence (from 1920 on) include plans for the foundation of a Mahlerbund; Schoenberg's decision to decline the invitation from Kandinsky and Gropius to teach at the Bauhaus; the death of Mathilde Schönberg and, later, Schoenberg's marriage to Gertrud Kolisch; Schoenberg's emigration to the U.S., in 1933; his teaching at UCLA and attempt to help Werfel find a position; performances of and reception of Schoenberg's work in the U.S.; his debate with music critic Olin Downes about Mahler's seventh symphony, as performed by the New York Philharmonic under Mitropoulos, in 1948; and his debate with Thomas Mann concerning Mann's references, in his novel Doktor Faustus, to Schoenberg's composition techique using 12 tones. After 1944 Gertrud Schoenberg takes a greater role in the correspondence, and she continues a friendship with Alma Mahler after Arnold's death. Included are a manuscript of Schoenberg's essay about Gustav Mahler written in 1911, after Mahler's death; a postcard bearing a photograph, apparently of Gertrud Schoenberg, in middle age; and the following newspaper clippings: 2 columns of Downes in the New York Times (1 of which includes Schoenberg's letter to him); the exchange between Schoenberg and Thomas Mann in letters to the editor of the Saturday Review; and various tributes in honor of Schoenberg's 70th birthday, published in the Austro American Tribune.

178 items (268 leaves)

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Related Entities

There are 37 Entities related to this resource.

Schoenberg, Arnold, 1874-1951

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6x74dnm (person)

Arnold Franz Walter Schoenberg was born on Sept. 13, 1874 in Vienna; began composing before he was nine years old; composed the string sextet Verklärte Nacht (1899), which he later scored for string orchestra, and became one of his most popular works; Austrian composers Alban Berg and Anton Webern began studying with him in 1904; his cantata Gurrelieder (begun in 1900) was received enthusiastically at its premiere in 1913; by 1909 he began creating atonal compositions, and in his Opus 25 Piano S...

Mahler, Gustav, 1860-1911

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65r5nvx (person)

Gustav Mahler was a Romantic composer. Mahler displayed his musical gifts at an early age. For much of his life composing was necessarily a part-time activity while he earned his living as a conductor. Aside from early works such as a movement from a piano quartet composed when he was a student in Vienna, Mahler's works are generally designed for large orchestral forces, symphonic choruses and operatic soloists. ...

Ratz, Erwin, 1898-1973

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rw1d6n (person)

Erwin Ratz (1898-1973) was a student of Arnold Schoenberg and was an editor of Gustav Mahler's works. From 1945 to 1973 he was a professor at the Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. He was the first president of the Internationale Gustav Mahler Gesellschaft (1955-1̀973). From the description of Correspondence with Alma Mahler, 1954-ca. 1955. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155865003 ...

Kolisch, Rudolf, 1896-1978

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6553d5f (person)

Rudolf Kolisch (b. July 20, 1896 in Klamm, Lower Austria; d. August 1, 1978 in Watertown, Massachusetts) was a prominent Viennese-American violinist and string quartet player. His Kolisch Quartet gave seminal performances and premieres of chamber music that included compositions by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern. In 1935, Kolisch immigrated to the United States, where he developed a parallel career as a professor of music at the University of Wisconsin, the New England Conservat...

Nono, Nuria Schoenberg, 1932-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6650f7x (person)

Includes 3 items co-sent by Luigi Nono. Nuria Schoenberg Nono was a daughter of Arnold Schoenberg. Luigi Nono was Nuria's husband. They were living in Italy at the time of the correspondence. From the description of Correspondence to Alma Mahler, 1955-1961. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155864069 ...

Greissle, Felix, 1894-1982.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63c6qpg (person)

Viennese-born music editor and educator who was a composition student and son-in-law of Schoenberg. From the description of Interview conducted by Oliver Daniel and revised by Felix Greissle, August 1977 [sound recording]. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155861376 ...

Berg, Alban

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kb3zxc (person)

Austrian composer. From the description of Autograph letter signed, dated : Trahütten, to an unidentified friend, 1927 July 25. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270672335 From the description of Autograph postcards signed (2), dated : [Villach?], and Villach [n.d.], to his sister-in-law Steffi Berg, 1907 Sept. 23 and n.d. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270672288 From the description of Autograph and typewritten letter signed (incomplete), dated : [n.p., n.d.], to [Cl...

Webern, Anton

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6c64b56 (person)

Austrian composer. From the description of Anton Webern / Das Augenlicht / von / Hildegard Jone / für / gemischten Chor / u. / Orchester / Op. 26 / Klavierauszug / von / Ludwig Zenk. [1935?] (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270571148 From the description of Stefan George / VII. Ring / A. v. Webern op. 2. [1908-1909?] (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270571211 From the description of Vier Lieder / für / Gesang und Orchester / von / Anton Webern / op. 13 / Partitur. [19...

Zemlinsky, Alexander, 1871-1942

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rc7vz0 (person)

Felix Muhr was a young architect who proposed to Alma Mahler on 23 March 1901, according to her diary entry for that day. From the description of Correspondence to Alma Mahler and Gustav Mahler, 1900-1930. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155864872 Austrian composer and conductor. From the description of Autograph postcard signed, dated : [Berlin], 29 December [1927], to Breitkopf & Härtel, 1927 Dec. 29. (Unknown). WorldCat record id...

Steinberg, William, 1899-1978

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vx0htv (person)

Steinberg had been in the U.S. since 1938. He apparently developed a friendly relationship with Alma Mahler over the course of this period, with her attending some performances and inviting him to her home. From the description of Correspondence to Alma Mahler, 1948-1954. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155864539 ...

Gustav Mahler Stiftung.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67t1k14 (corporateBody)

Karpath, Ludwig

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6222vzs (person)

Steinecke, Wolfgang.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dn47b0 (person)

Schönberg, Mathilde, 1877-1923

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ft8nts (person)

Arnold Schönberg Fond.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fb9015 (corporateBody)

Steuermann, Edward

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dn46wr (person)

Composed 1964. First performance New York, 11 November 1965, members of The Orchestra of America, Abraham Kaplan conductor.--Cf. Fleisher Collection. From the description of Suite for chamber orchestra / Edward Steuermann. c1964. (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 55088548 Composed 1959-1961.--Cf. Fleisher Collection. From the description of Music for instruments : (1959-1960) / Edward Steuermann. [1961]. (Franklin & Marshall College). Wor...

Moderna, Bruno

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62r3v5r (person)

Steuermann, Hilda

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61c200p (person)

Schönberg, Heinrich

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pv6n34 (person)

Rosé, Justine, 1868-1938

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66q1zhm (person)

Justine Rosé (née Mahler) was the sister of Gustav Mahler. She married Arnold Rosé (1863-1946) in 1902; Justine and Arnold had two children: Alma Rosé (1906-1944) and Alfred Rosé (1909-1999). From the description of Correspondence to Alma Mahler, 1911, 1933. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155864918 ...

Webern, Wilhelmine 1886-1949

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w66nbk (person)

Hoffmann, Richard

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bk1dx7 (person)

Seligmann, Maria Kolisch.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69c70hs (person)

Strauss, Richard, 1864-1949

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wm1cj6 (person)

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was a German composer. From the description of Richard Strauss audiocassette, undated [sound recording]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122391808 This work was premiered in Munich on November 28, 1883, Hermann Levi conducting. Lahee's Annals of Music in America and Mueller's compendium of the repertoire of 27 major U.S. orchestras make no mention of a U.S. performance. Theodore Thomas conducted the world premiere of Richard Strauss's second sympho...

Mann, Thomas, 1875-1955

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68p62c7 (person)

Epithet: novelist British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001085.0x000173 German author. From the description of Land of good will : typewritten article signed, [n.d.]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270609625 From the description of Autograph letter signed with initials : Bad Tölz, to Herr Fischer, his publisher, 1909 Aug. 29. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270607913 From the description...

Torberg, Friedrich, 1908-1979

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6nv9m97 (person)

A native of Prague, Friedrich Torberg (1908-1979) had been professionally active as a writer and journalist in Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna; his books were banned by the Nazis in 1933. He emigrated to Switzerland in 1938 and to France in 1939. From there he took a path similar to that of Franz Werfel and Alma Mahler, fleeing to Spain and Portugal, and then finally succeeding in emigrating to the U.S., arriving in New York City at the end of 1940. He had been acquainted with Werfel in passing in V...

Eisler, Hanns

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6959gh8 (person)

Composed 1932. First performance by the British Broadcasting Corp. Orchestra, London, March 1935, Ernest Ansermet conducting.--Cf. Fleisher Collection. From the description of Kleine Sinfonie No. 1 : for orchestra, op. 29 / Hanns Eisler. [19--]. (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 51733565 Hanns Eisler (1898-1962) was a German composer. His family moved to Vienna in 1902, and Eisler grew up and studied there, most notably with Arnold Schoenberg in the earl...

Nono, Luigi.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sx6fd9 (person)

Remme, Karl-Dietrich

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6571d6t (person)

Steinbauer, Othmar, 1895-1962

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h997bc (person)

Schoenberg, Lawrence A.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m32x7h (person)

Stein, Erwin, 1885-1958

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fx7bkk (person)

Stein writes from England, to where he had emigrated from Vienna, in 1938. From the description of Correspondence to Alma Mahler, 1948, 1958. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155864538 ...

Schoenberg, Gertrud

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hh6h6t (person)

Epithet: wife of A Schoenberg British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000758.0x0001f4 Born on January 10, 1910 in Lyon, the French conductor and composer, Jean Martinon entered the Lyon and Paris conservatoires to study the violin. At Lyon, his teacher was Maurice Foundray and at the Paris Conservatory, he studied violin technique with Jules Boucherit. While at the Paris conservatory, Martinon took composi...

Ziegler, Alice.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65q4zfj (person)

Downes, Olin

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rn36kf (person)

American music critic. From the description of Typewritten letters signed (2), dated : New York, 22 April 1932 and 16 June 1939, to Harry Harkness Flagler, 1932 Apr. 22. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270565951 Olin Downes (1886-1955), American music critic with the Boston Post (1906-1924) and the New York Times (1924-1955). From the description of Olin Downes manuscripts, [ca. 1926-1957]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 38476554 From the description of O...

Kandinsky, Wassily, 1866-1944

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6x92dkn (person)

Russian-born painter and writer on art. From the description of Mitgliedskarte, ca. 1908, for Neue Künstlervereinigung München. (Getty Research Institute). WorldCat record id: 80564007 The Russian-born artist, Wassily Kandinsky [Vasilii Vasil'evich Kandinskiĭ] is considered one of the creators of abstract painting. He taught at the Bauhaus between 1922 and 1933. From the description of Wassily Kandinsky papers, 1911-1940 (bulk 1921-1937). (Getty Research Insti...

Novakovic, Olga 1884-1946

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64b33hm (person)