Composer and conductor Paul von Klenau (1883–1946: see Plate 37) was Danish but studied mostly in Germany, his composition teachers being Max Bruch (Berlin), Ludwig Thuille (Munich), and Max von Schillings (Stuttgart). His conducting career took him first to the Civic Theater in Freiburg, next to the Bach Society in Frankfurt, then back as the chief conductor in Freiburg. He spent World War I in Denmark, where in 1920 he co-founded the Danish Philharmonic Society, which he conducted until 1926. From 1922 to 1930 he served as conductor of the Vienna Concert House Society. It was during this period of residency in Vienna that he became acquainted with Schenker. Their correspondence covers September 1923 to December 1924, with one further letter from 1927 (not included below), and there were numerous meetings and other contacts during this period. Although only Klenau’s side of the original correspondence is known to survive, two of Schenker’s letters and one other document are preserved in fair copies (some indication of the importance Schenker attached to them).

In Schenker’s eyes perhaps the most significant act on Klenau’s part was his historical reconstruction of the concert that took place in the Kärntnertor Theater on May 7, 1824, at which Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was first performed, together with the Kyrie, Credo and Agnus Dei of the Missa solemnis, and the Overture The Consecration of the House. This reconstruction was held in the Vienna Concert House on the centenary date, May 7, 1924, in advance of which Schenker was consulted on performance issues. Schenker published a favorable account of this first performance as part of a polemical article on the symphony’s historical reception.

Initially Schenker was skeptical of Klenau’s abilities to follow his ideas. Ever a hard taskmaster, he readily criticized aspects of Klenau’s performances. However, he gave time generously to correcting these, to showing him photographs of autograph sources, and to explaining editorial issues. In the Ninth Symphony performance, he conceded, Klenau had achieved the ultimate goal: that of demonstrating Beethoven’s “synthesis.” How did Klenau compare in his mind with Furtwängler? In 1924, Furtwängler still stood high in Schenker’s estimation, and was regarded as a vehicle for the promotion of Schenker’s theories. Moreover, he was prestigious and influential, so had power to promote Schenker’s work in official circles.