Briefe Hermann Scherchens

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Joachim Lucchesi
• Subject Area: Musicology
• Term: from 2010 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 180815243

The letters of the in Berlin born conductor Hermann Scherchen (1891-1966) are a significant desideratum in the history of music of 20th century Europe.These letters that can be found in different locations worldwide less than10 percent have been published. Thought these documents are of great significance to musicologists, Scherchen, who shunned the mainstream music scene, never was given the needed attention and he became almost forgotten after his death in1966. In addition, the distribution of the letters all over the world as well as copyright questions presented tremendous difficulties in getting access of these documents.Yet Scherchen is not only considered to be among the leading conductors of the first half of the 20th century he also stands out as extraordinary among his colleagues. Besides high standard interpretations of the classical repertoire no one was so engaged in helping to perform contemporary music. No one had been able to organize as many world premieres of avant-garde key works as he did.At the same time he moved into other fields of musical business: as a publisher and editor of journals and sheet music, as an experimenter in the field of electro acoustics, as an author of many essays and books (among them the standard work Teaching book of Conducting), as musicologist and editor of early music, as founder of orchestras, as organizer of music festivals and as teacher. In his (epistolary) contacts he proves to be a self assured partner with leading composers such as Busoni, Bartók, Schoenberg, Berg, Krenek, Strawinsky, and Varèse.Scherchen stayed true to the different directions in the development of contemporary music between 1912 (premiere of Pierrot lunaire together with Schoenberg) and 1966 (premiere of Terretektorh from Xenakis) and with the same enthusiasm he promotes the 2nd Viennese School and also the young generation of composers after 1945 (Henze, Nono, Maderna, Stockhausen).The started publication of Scherchens letters as a part of this DFG-project is of great importance for a still missing, extensive biography. Most of all these letters also open up new insights into the European history of music of the 20th century and also into the Aesthetics of interpretation and art-historical problems, which make them accessible for scholarship.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants