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ALS in German, signed “Gustav,” one page, 5 x 8, July 31, 1897. Handwritten letter to his younger sister, Justine, in full (translated): "Already difficulties upon difficulties. Because of the flooding, all railway lines are blocked and the members cannot arrive. The opening performance (tomorrow) of Lohengrin is still in question. I am now in the city, Stadiongasse. The weather and above all the company in Pötzleinsdorf (Friederike, Miss Hauer, Ludwig and his wife) is not to be missed. I'm doing famously. I write every day. Through a friend I am having 300 florins sent to you in any case. With warmest greetings to you all." Mounted and framed to an overall size of 8 x 11. In fine condition, with a stain near to the upper left corner area.
Written in late July 1897, from Stadiongasse in Vienna, this letter captures Gustav Mahler at a pivotal moment in his career, as he prepared to assume a leading role at the Vienna Hofoper. Earlier that year, after conducting Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin in May, Mahler was forced to take several weeks of sick leave, during which he was cared for by his sister, Justine, and his longtime companion, the violist Natalie Bauer-Lechner. He recuperated in Pötzleinsdorf, just outside the city, before returning to Vienna in late July. His assurance to Justine that he is “doing famously” speaks directly to that recent recovery.
Now back in the capital and residing on Stadiongasse, a rejuvenated Mahler writes that he is composing daily, but notes with frustration that the “opening performance (tomorrow) of Lohengrin” is in doubt due to flooding that has disrupted travel. Wagner’s music had long been central to Mahler’s artistic life, dating to his youth in Vienna when he heard Wagner conduct Lohengrin at the Court Opera on March 2, 1876, an experience that left a lasting impression. He would remain closely associated with Wagner’s works, whose influence, along with that of Bruckner and Mozart, encouraged Mahler to expand the scale of his symphonic writing and deepen its expressive range.
In these same weeks, he was preparing Vienna’s first uncut presentation of the Ring cycle, given from August 24 to 27, to widespread acclaim. On October 8, 1897, Mahler was formally appointed director of the Hofoper, succeeding Wilhelm Jahn and assuming one of the most prominent posts in European music.
The consignor notes that this letter was given to Egon Gartenberg by Mrs. Maria Rose, curator of Mahler memorabilia at the University of Western Ontario, on the occasion of Gartenberg’s lecture on Gustav Mahler, then the subject of his latest book, and has remained in the family by descent.
Egon Gartenberg (1911-1982) was an Austrian-born music historian, lecturer, impresario, and Holocaust survivor whose life bridged European musical culture and American civic life. Educated at the Austrian State Academy of Music and the Vienna Academy of Commerce, he combined formal musical training with business acumen from an early age. In 1938, following the Nazi annexation of Austria, he narrowly escaped persecution, ultimately emigrating to the United States in 1940. Alongside his business career as a jeweler, Gartenberg pursued his enduring passion for music. He lectured widely, conducted performances, and served as an associate professor of music at Penn State Mont Alto. He also wrote as a music critic for the Public Opinion and was a committed Mahler scholar, who authored several books, including Vienna: Its Musical Heritage, Johann Strauss: The End of an Era, and Gustav Mahler: The Man and His Music, a copy of which is included with the lot.
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