ABSTRACT
Introduction Invoking the words Johann Wolfgang von Goethe supposedly uttered at his death, Reger here answers an Artusi-like assessment of his Beiträge zur Modulationslehre by Max Arend (Arend 1903-4a), thereby extending the defense of his treatise begun in the Neue Zeitschrift on 6 January of the same year (see essay 1). Arend (1873-1944), whom Hugo Riemann cites in 1905 as having gained notice “through theoretical and critical works” (Riemann 1905: 46), was an exact contemporary of Reger and had in fact been a fellow student under Riemann at the Wiesbaden Conservatory during the academic year 1892-93. Arend went
on to study law at the University of Leipzig, subsequently pursuing law practice in Dresden, then in Cologne. He maintained a presence in musical circles primarily through his eff orts to revive interest in the music of Gluck. In 1893, Reger commented unfavorably on Arend’s musical ability in a letter to his former mentor Adalbert Lindner:
In 1937, Arend authored an informative essay, “Max Reger in Wiesbaden 1892/1893” (Arend 1937), which off ers a balanced portrait not only of Reger, but also of Riemann, Albert Fuchs, and others. Arend believed Reger to possess a “fundamental musicality [that] allowed him to grasp everything that was necessary at any moment; he could accomplish everything in music as a matter of principle, if not always in fact” (ibid.: 8).
