Bill Strother writes:

>Schoenberg is a little like Alma Mahler -- you have to figure out his
>inner motives before you can trust his remarks.

No, Schoenberg speaks his minds and does so directly and with clarity.
It is just not like him to mince his words.  It is also unusual for him
to be so frank in his personal dislike for another person.  Please give
examples of instances where ulterior motives have to be uncovered before
understanding him.  If the suggestion is that he was somehow bitter
because Walter did not conduct his music or because Walter was critical
of Schoenberg's music then both Klemperer and Furtwaengler also rejected
dodecophany.  Yet Schoenberg has only praise for them.

There seems to be a reluctance to let go of the superficial stereotype
of Walter as a kind of saintly figure, but this sort of comment made by
Schoenberg and others who knew the man behind the persona, was by no means
unsusual.  Even a close friend such as Thomas Mann remarked that Walter for
example owned a hugh stereo system at home on which he played 'nothing
except himself'.

Satoshi Akima
Sydney, Australia
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