Beschreibung
Gr.-4to. und 8vo. 12 pp. Important correspondence with Alfred Pochon (1878-1959), a Swiss violinist and member of the New York-based Flonzaley Quartet, concerning the first performance of Strawinsky's Three Pieces for String Quartet, K19 in 1915 and the commission, composition, and premiere of his Concertino for String Quartet, K35 between 1919 and 1922. The earliest postcard of the correspondence from 29. Mai 1915 is an invitation for dinner in Strawinsky's house in Morges. Strawinsky asks Pochon to bring the sheet music of the string quartet so that they can look at it together. This was only weeks after the not very successful premiere of the composition in Paris on 13 or 19 May 1915 by an ensemble surrounding Darius Milhaud. Pochon's Flonzaley Quartet first performed the composition on 8 November 1915 in Chicago, a few months after the proposed meeting. On 25 January 1917, Strawinsky wrote another postcard from Morges, asking Pochon to give "all of the material (sheet music for the ensemble and parts)" to Edward Bernays, his representative in America. Strawinsky thought "that this affair had been settled for a long time" and thanks Pochon for "taking care of the numerous proofs" of his quartet. Before 1918, the sheet music for the Three Pieces for String Quartet only circulated in manuscript-form. Although Strawinsky considered dedicating the second piece to Pochon, who had originally suggested the composition to him, he ultimately decided against it. Strawinsky's connection to the journalist, press agent, and theorist Edward Bernays (1891-1995), who is considered to be the father of public relations, was previously unknown. He certainly knew Bernays through Sergei Diaghilev who had hired Bernays as a press agent for his Ballets Russes on their American tours. - The larger part of the correspondence, stretching from 1919-22, concerns the Concertino for String Quartet that was commissioned by Alfred Pochon on behalf of the Flonzaley Quartet in a letter dated 17 August 1919. On 1 September 1919, Strawinsky responded to the request, accepting an offer of 500$ for "composing something" for the quartet and the exclusive performance rights for the United States for at least 1 year or until the publication. The piece should be dedicated to the musicians of the quartet and the American banker and collector André de Coppet. Strawinsky also gives condolences for the death of Pochon's infant son and thanks him for his "interest in the difficult situation" that him and his family found themselves in, "thanks to the war and the revolution" in Russia. In a curious remark, Strawinsky stresses that he has "always considered the exchange of musical production (like any other production) for money to be an entirely natural thing", thus explaining the "somewhat 'business-like' character" of his letter. - Over four months went by until Strawinsky responded to a letter from 14 October 1919 with apologies for his "long silence" and the reaffirmation of his "promise to compose a piece [une musique]" for Pochon's "marvelous ensemble", reassuring him: "Not only do I constantly think about it but I'm also, from time to time, accumulating material, bringing to paper some things that come to me 'through the ears', 'through the fingers', through the head". What he lacked was time but he announces to work on the composition during the summer. Strawinsky then addresses a "somewhat delicate subject", asking Pochon to pay the agreed-upon sum already, given his difficult financial situation following the Russian revolution: "I'm the only support not only of my own family but also of that of my sister who came here without any means of subsistence and of relatives that are very close to me and my wife who come from Russia one after the other [.]". In a short postscript, he agrees to extend the performance rights for the composition to all countries. (Morges, 25.02.1919). - On 3 May 1920, Strawinsky announces the reception of the sum and his plans to move to. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 91899
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