Johannes Brahms. Two autograph letters signed to Philipp Spitta, 1888 and 1892

Johannes Brahms

Two autograph letters signed ("J. Brahms") to the Bach scholar Philipp Spitta

one explaining that their letters had crossed and that his contained the promised 100 gulden, apologizing for the robust tone of his previous letter, enquiring after the Handel complete edition and an award for its editor Friedrich Chrysander, and offering to donate more money as necessary; the other acknowledging receipt of his publication, pointing out that he is an avid reader of Jean Paul and E.T.A. Hoffmann, thanking him for his comments on his music and looking forward to meeting him at his ball

...Schliesslich aber bin ich auch noch ein eifriger Jean Paul und Hofmann-Leser...Dass Sie meinen Stück so freundliche Worten gönnen, dank ich Ihnen sehr...Nun lassen Sie mich noch bekennen, dass mein letzter Brief zunächst durch den Gedanken an die nahe Vollendung der Händel-Ausgabe veranlasst wurde, also durch den Gedanken an eine Ehrengabe für Chrysander...

4 and 3 pages, 8vo and large 8vo, one with embossed monogram of the composer, some later pencil annotations, autograph envelopes, stamped and postmarked 2 December 1888 and 10 December 1892, the later letter splitting slightly along hinge

Two fine letters to the great nineteenth-century Bach scholar Philipp Spitta (1841-1894), whose 1892 publication Zur Musik, a series of sixteen essays on music and literary topics, praises Brahms highly, placing him in the pantheon of great composers alongside Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert (and also comparing him favourably with Wagner).

LITERATURE:

Brahms-Briefwechsel, xvi, nos.33 and 41