TLS signed “G. Bernard Shaw,” one page, 8 x 6.25, personal letterhead, April 11, 1918. Letter regarding the influence of World War I on classical music. In full: “The other day, at the Church of St Clement Dane’s in London, Brahm’s German Requiem was sung to commemorate our fallen heroes. At the beginning of the war, the directors of the Autumn Promenade Concerts at Queen’s Hall in London announced that no music by German composers would be played. Everyone applauded this step; and nobody went to the concerts. At the end of the week the names of Wagner, Beethoven, and Strauss appeared all over the programmes. The concerts immediately filled up again; and we have not since heard of the boycott. These facts may interest Dr. Karl Muck. On the other hand an English conductor who had been unlucky enough before the war to assume the name of Hindenburg, has reverted hastily to his real name.” Intersecting folds, overall creases, and a chip to the top edge, otherwise fine condition. The German-born Karl Muck, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, had been arrested just two weeks before Shaw wrote this letter, on March 25, 1918—suspected of espionage, he was held in an internment camp before being deported in April 1919. A fascinating letter referencing the xenophobia—and, at times, hypocrisy—that pervaded both American and British society during WWI. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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