Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix

discussing various compositions of Schumann's, including his Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, Symphony no.1, Op. 38 (Mendelssohn reports enthusiastically on a successful rehearsal of the work), Symphony no. 2 in C, Op. 61, Overture, Scherzo and Finale, Op. 52, the song Loreley, Op. 53 no. 2, and one of the numbers from his Scenes from Goethe's Faust, and mentioning some of Mendelssohn's, including his Frühlingslied Op. 62 no. 6, offering congratulations on the birth of some of his children, taking Schumann to task, on his wife's behalf, for not mentioning the sex of his first baby, expressing a lively interest in his activities, proffering kindly advice, mentioning a present inability to compose, as he has been so overwhelmed and disturbed, arranging concert programmes, with some requests directly addressed to Clara Schumann, also referring to Spohr, Moscheles, Jenny Lind, Josephine Lang, Sterndale Bennet, Hiller, Heinrich Dorn, Schumann's health, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, the '48' of J. S. Bach, and other matters

...Eben kehre ich aus der zweiten Probe der b dur Symphonie zurück. Nun ging sie aber auch prächtig; gestern noch garnicht. Aber heut hätten Sie sich gefreut. Schreiben Sie solche erste Sätze wie der alle Tage?...sagen Sir mir recht bald ob (oder vielmeher daß) Sie zum 1sten Concert (9^ten Oct.) kommen, daß Ihre Frau Ihr neues Concertstück und etwas allein, und noch etwas, u. noch sehr viel spielen wird, wann Sie einzutreffen, und wann die erste (vorgängige) Probe von der Sie mir sprechen, zu halten wünschen...



37 pages, plus blanks, 4to, title ("Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy an Robert Schumann. 1836 - 1846.") and some other annotations to the letters, recording the dates of Schumann's letters to Mendelssohn, in a later, unidentified hand, some cancelled pencil annotations to upper cover, green wrappers, no place or date [after 28 October 1846], small tear and some light staining to upper wrapper

Schumann Briefedition, Serie II, Band 1 (Robert und Clara Schumann im Briefwechsel mit der Familie Mendelssohn) (2009), ed. Kristin R. M. Krahe, Katrin Reyersbach und Thomas Synofzik

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

THIS IS A REMARKABLE RECORD OF ONE OF THE GREAT MUSICAL FRIENDSHIPS, PREPARED UNDER THE AUSPICES, AND PROBABLY AT THE INSTIGATION, OF CLARA SCHUMANN. 

The present correspondence covers almost the entire period of the two men's acquaintanceship, beginning some five months after their first meeting, at a musical gathering the day before Mendelssohn's first Gewandhaus concert in Leipzig on 4 October 1835. The last letter here was written eleven years later, and only a year before Mendelssohn's untimely death in November 1847. If Schumann's lifelong enthusiasm for Mendelssohn was transparent - he declared him to be the best musician then living - Mendelssohn's views on Schumann were perhaps more complex, the older composer seeing at first only the critic and man of letters, later however, reacting enthusiastically, as for instance in the case of Schumann's first symphony Op. 38, discussed in the letter of 23 October 1845.

The copying of Mendelssohn's original letters, presumably at Clara Schumann's instigation and after the death of Robert in 1856, was possibly undertaken with a view to publication. At least 12 of the copies contain corrections, additions or other annotations by Clara. Indeed the transcription of the correspondence appears to have been something of a joint undertaking between her and the unknown scribe, since it seems that words in Mendelssohn's original that could not be read were left blank by the copyist, only to be filled in later by Clara Schumann. In one case at least (letter of 28 October 1846) the lacunae were left blank.

The 19 letters contained in this manuscript are:

1) Leipzig, 12 March 1836; 2) 25 II 1836; 3) Leipzig, 22 October 1837; 4) 27 October 1837; 5) 20 November 1837; 6) 5 December 1837; 7) Leipzig, 18 November 1839; 8) Leipzig, 20 December 1839; 9) Leipzig, 28 July 1841; 10) Berlin, 6 September 1841; 11) Berlin, 10 September 1841 [addressed to Schumann and his wife]; 12) [23 July 1845]; 13) Leipzig, 18 September 1845; 14) Leipzig, 21 September 1845; 15) Leipzig, 25 September 1845; 16) Leipzig, 23 October 1845; 17) Leipzig, 15 December 1845; 18) Leipzig, 14 February 1846; 19) Leipzig, 28 October 1846

 We are pleased to acknowledge the kind assistance of Dr. Ralf Wehner in our cataloguing of this lot.