Lot 15A
Brahms Johannes 1833 - 1897 Johannes Brahms pens a note of gratitude to his peer and friend, Max Kalbeck, thanking him for "…most gratifying material in both verse and prose" written close when he was composing his last work, "Eleven Chorale Preludes"
Autographed postcard, on tan cardstock, 5.5" x 3.5", dated and signed by Johannes Brahms as "J Brahms".
Written entirely in the hand of Brahms in his native German, Johannes reached out to his close friend, Max Kalbeck who was near Merau, in Tyrol. Written with strong contrast in black ink, the postcard is accompanied fully translated into English, which states in full: "To Herr Max Kalbeck In Schloss Labers Near Merau, Tyrol But, my dear friend, if the 11th of September was the occasion of your letter, then it should have come rather earlier! We are at/ Aichholz in Gmundt and I am letting you know that quickly so that your enthusiasm can at least express itself by telegramme. Apart from that I have to thank you for a great deal of most gratifying material in both verse and prose. If only notepaper and writing paper had not been abolished in such a thoroughgoing manner by your J. Brahms, who sends you all his warmest greetings! J Brahms"
The two were close friends to the point that Kalbeck's principal achievement was his eight volume biography of Brahms published from 1904 to 1914. Kalbeck also edited several volumes of Brahm's correspondence, as well as publishing two collections of his own music reviews. Kalbecks musical world also included new libretti for Mozart's Bastien und Bastienne and he revised those of Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figgro for Gustav Mahler's productions at the Vienna Hofoper. He supplied lyrics for several pieces by Johann Strauss II and wrote poetry to which Brahms set a few of his verses to music as songs.
Kalbeck became one of the most influential critics in Austria and was bitterly opposed to the music of Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner and Hugo Wolf. This would be a common thread between the two friends, Brahms and Kalbeck, during the "War of the Romantics" a term used by some music historians to describe the aesthetic schism among prominent musicians in the second half of the 19th century Musical structure, the limits of chromatic harmony, and program music versus absolute music were the principal areas of contention. The opposing parties of the "War of the Romantics" crystallized during the 1850s of which Brahms and Kalbeck (along with others) were on one side, and Wagner, Liszt and Weimar on the other side, representing the New German school. Composers from both sides looked back on Beethoven as their spiritual and artistic hero; the conservatives seeing him as an unsurpassable peak, the progressives as a new beginning in music.
A lovely crisp autograph example of Johannes Brahms, with an important association on many levels.
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