ESTEEMED DIRECTOR
A new digital edition of letters will provide access to Arnold Schönberg’s relationship with his publishers and his working environment. The correspondence between the composer and the music publishers Dreililien and Universal-Edition comprises 1,600 documents spanning four decades.
The correspondence conveys a relationship characterized by shared interests and activities as well as conflicts; it encompasses almost all of Schönberg’s professional career, and touches upon the scope of his activities and life on two continents.
In the first stage of publication, the edition presents letters, telegrams, postcards, documents, and other correspondence in three formats: a digitized version of the edited source, a critical version, and an editorially condensed version. The digital edition offers the possibility of retracing traditional dynamic processes and networks through flexible structures and diverse navigation paths. Links between letters, documents, and registers reveal relationships between people and organizations extending from Vienna to Los Angeles, links between works and writings, and interrelationships between different avenues of communication.
Digital Edition of Schönberg Letters
At the beginning of the 20th century, Schönberg had his first works published by Dreililien in Berlin. In 1912, these works became part of the publishing catalogue of Universal-Edition in Vienna. Schönberg had the majority of his musical works and writings published by Universal-Edition until his forced emigration to the USA in 1933 due to the rise of National Socialism.
The correspondence provides an insight into the production of the score, from the manuscript to the printed scores and parts for the musicians. Performance arrangements, interpretive and practical questions relating to the overall performance as well as individual details are debated, as are questions regarding the modernization of music education.
In the correspondence, the publishers also function as a projection screen for Schönberg’s aesthetic views, world views, and polemics. Finally, cultural and political mechanisms as well as aspects of reception by the public and critics are discussed.
Project Team
Mag. Dr. Therese Muxeneder
MMag. Katharina Bleier PhD
Jannik Franz BA MA
Philipp Kehrer BA MA
The edition project, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), is being carried out at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in cooperation with the Arnold Schönberg Center in Vienna and the State Institute for Music Research of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin.
