M. Bruch. Series of c.60 autograph letters signed to his goddaughter Melusine Rudorff, 1911-1920

Bruch, Max

Series of c.60 autograph letters signed ("Max Bruch"; "M. Bruch"), to his goddaughter Melusine Rudorff

a lively, at times highly personal, series of letters, many long and closely written, expressing his affection for her, discussing his works, including Das Lied von der Glocke, Op.45, Heldenfeier, Op.89, Claudine von Villa Bella, Op.post. ('to appreciate which one does not need to study Nietzsche or Schopenhauer, but only to be slightly musical' [trans.]), Requiem für Mignon, and also his sketches for Mignon, which he would like to give her, the Violin Concerto no.3, the Konzertstück, Op.84, proudly stating that he is composing a good deal and always with the old passion and joy, referring to the current catastrophic times they are living in [just after the end of the World War I], the health of his bedridden wife, and the total collapse of his own health ("Es naht der Tag wo zwei glücklich Liebende für immer vereinigt werden..."), railing at the present state of music in Berlin, criticising Strauss, Busoni, and others, recalling incidents from earlier in his life, mentioning Marie Schumann, Rudorff's compositions, her parents, his children, his concerts, travel plans and many other matters; together with six dictated letters by Bruch in other hands, two signed by the composer; and an important 4-page letter written by Bruch's daughter Margarete to Melusine a month after Bruch's death, DESCRIBING THE COMPOSER'S FEELINGS FOR MELUSINE, HIS ATTITUDES TO RELIGION, HIS LAST DAYS AND DEATH ("Eines seiner letzten Worte war: "Die letzten Tage will ich aus meinem Leben streichen, denn da habe ich nicht mehr arbeiten können". Bis zuletzt war sein Geist klar u. litt er furchtbar unter der erzwungenen Untätigkeit...") 

...Wir sind politisch, militärisch, wirtschaftlich und financiell total ruiniert, und zwar für immer...An der Stelle wo einst ein Joachim waltete wird nun ein gänzlich unbekannter Mensch aus Wien stehen, der kein anderes Verdienst hat als daß seine Musik keine Ähnlichkeit mit Musik hat...Ich instrumentiere Claudine von Villa Bella, und bin sehr fleißig...Wenn mein Adagio und der scheußliche Don Juan von Herrn Rich. Strauss zusammentreffen, so gibt es einen Krach wie wenn der Mond aus Versehen im Weltraum mit der Erde zusammenstößt!...

c.200 pages in all, various sizes, c.30 letters written on correspondence cards or postcards, some with black borders, one heartfelt letter on the reverse of a printed funeral notice for his son Hans, one letter with five bars of music on a single hand-drawn stave, together with an inscribed visiting card, an annotated printed concert programme of Bruch's works given by the Deutscher Lyzeum-Klub Berlin on 27 February 1917 (first performance of Christkindlieder, Op.92), a black-edged printed acknowledgment of condolences on the death of Bruch, some newspaper cuttings, Berlin-Friedenau, 1911-1920

Bruch's correspondent was Melusine Rudorff (1881-1959), the most musical of the three children of the Berlin pianist, composer and teacher Ernst Rudorff (1840-1916). Bruch was one of three notable godfathers of Melusine, the others being the violinist Joseph Joachim and the Bach scholar Philipp Spitta. In addition to the numerous letters here, Melusine was also the recipient from Bruch of sketches for his Requiem für Mignon (sold in the sale in these rooms of 8 June 2021, lot 24), which she received some months before the composer's death on 2 October 1920. Earlier the same year Melusine married the businessman Ernst Schulze, a godson of Rudorff. Particularly affecting in this illuminating and intimate series of letters are some of the last (dictated) communications of the composer, written in the months before his death, in which Bruch does not begrudge his goddaughter her new happiness, but wishes only that she could be there and sometimes hold his hand.

LITERATURE

Nancy B. Reich, 'The Rudorff Collection', Notes, vol.31 (1974), p.255