The Writings and Letters of Konrad Wolff 'fft 0fuv ~a :A j?b 1\ f\ Beethoven's sketch for the Finale of the first movement of the Tenth Symphony, Autograph 9/1, f.3r. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Musikabtellung mit Mendelssohn-Archiv.1 The Writings and Letters of Konrad Wolff Edited by Ruth Gillen Prologue by Leon Fleisher Foreword by Russell Sherman Translations of certain texts from the German by Otto Begus CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF MUSIC AND DANCE, NUMBER 48 INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS Bloomington and Indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders bye-mail [email protected] Originally published in 2000 by Greenwood Press © 2006 by Ruth Gillen All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses' Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: The writings and letters of Konrad Wolff / edited by Ruth Gillen; prologue by Leon Fleisher; foreword by Russell Sherman; translations of certain texts from the German by Otto Begus. p. cm. -(Contributions to the study of music and dance, ISSN 0193-9041 ; no. 48) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-313-30748-2 (alk. paper) l. Music-History and criticism. 2. Wolff, Konrad, 1907--Correspondence. 3. Composers-Correspondence. I. Title. II. Series. ML60 .W742 2000 780-dc21 98048898 ISBN 0-253-21880-2 (pbk.: all<. paper) 1 2 3 4 5 11 10 09 08 07 06 Copyright Acknowledgments The editor and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to use the following ma terial: Excerpts from: "Bach's Chromatic Fantasy, BWV 903-An Attempt at an Analysis with Commentary and Realizations" by Konrad Wolff in Piano Quarterly (Fall, 1981); "Beethoven's Trills" by Konrad Wolff in Piano Quarterly (Summer, 1977); and "Schubert's L'istesso Tempo" by Konrad Wolff in Piano Quarterly (Summer, 1979). Reprinted with per mission from Piano Quarterly (now Piano etJ Keyboard), PO Box 2626, San Anselmo, CA. Excerpts from "Liszt's Approach to Piano Technique" by Konrad Wolff in The TournaI of the American Liszt Society IOctober, 1978). Reprinted with permission of The TournaI of the American Liszt Society. Excerpts from "Beethovenian Dissonances in Liszt's Piano Works" by Konrad Wolff in The TournaI of the American Liszt Society IJune, 1977). Reprinted with permission of The TournaI of the American Liszt Society. Excerpts from On Music and Musicians by Robert Schumann, translated by Paul Rosenfeld, edited by Konrad Wolff. Copyright 1946 by Pantheon Books, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprint from" August Halm, Peabody Hopes" by Konrad Wolff in Peabody Institute Newspaper (1972). Reprinted with permission of the Archives of the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. Excerpts from the unpublished writings and letters of Konrad Wolff reprinted by permis sion of Use Bing Wolff. Excerpts from Music Sounded Out by Alfred Brendel, copyright 1991. Reprinted by per mission of Robson Books Ltd. Excerpts from "Review of Konrad Wolff: Interpretation on the Piano-What We Can Learn from Schnabel" by Paul Badura-Skoda in Musik und Bildung 110/1983). Reprinted by permission of Schott Musik International. Excerpts from two letters between Steven Connell and Konrad Wolff (Wolff's entitled "Letter to a Colleague") dated August 12, 1989, and September 16, 1989. Reprinted by permission of Use Bing Wolff and Steven Connell. vi Copyright Acknowledgments Reprint from "Sviatoslav Richter in Carnegie Hall Debut" by Harold C. Schonberg in The New York Times, October 20, 1960. Copyright © 1960 by The New York Times Co. Reprinted by permission. Reprint from "Schubert's String Quintet in C: A Misplaced Repeat Sign?" by Oskar Rud nitzky in The Strad (September, 1980). Reprinted with permission. Frontispiece of Beethoven's sketch for the Finale of the first movement of the Tenth Symphony, Autograph 9/1, f.3r. courtesy of Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preussischer Kul turbesitz, Musikabtellung mit Mendelssohn-Archiv. Printed by permission. Every reasonable effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright materials in this book, but in some instances this has proven impossible. The editor will be glad to receive information leading to more complete acknowledgments in subsequent printings of the book and in the meantime extends her apologies for any omissions. Dedicated to the Memory of Ilse Bing Wolff (1 899-1998) Contents Prologue Leon Fleisher xiii Foreword Russell Sherman xv Preface xvii Acknowledgments xix Biographical Sketch xxi Part I COMPOSERS Frescobaldi (1583-1643) 3 Bach (1685-1750) 7 His Last Work 7 Spirit, Style, and Forms 9 Bach-Reger 17 Brandenburg Concertos for Piano Duet 17 Mozart (1756-1791) 19 Quintet in D Major, K. 593 19 Beethoven (1770-1827) 23 Several Perspectives 23 Mostly Beethoven 27 On Beethoven's Trills 42 Bagatelles, Op. 119 51 The Ninth Symphony, Op. 125 53 Schubert (1797-1828) 77 Schubert's Reaction to Beethoven 77 Schubert's ''L'istesso Tempo" 84 Schubert's String Quintet in C: A Misplaced Repeat Sign? 93