Introduction to Hanns Eisler Gespräche mit Hans Bunge: Fragen Sie mehr über Brecht

Summary

It goes without saying that Eisler's conversations with Dr. Bunge are an integral part of his collected works.1 In the field of music, their richness of information puts them on a par with Brecht's writings on the theater, Walter Benjamin's theoretical works, or Christopher Caudwell's essays. In other words, they form part of that not very long list of contributions to Marxist- Leninist aesthetic and cultural theory that have something to say beyond the confines of conventional aesthetic theory.

With printed conversations, one usually has to ask oneself how accurately what is written corresponds to what has been said. Lapses of memory, false recollection, in certain circumstances even deliberate tampering—for whatever reason—can impair the documentary character of the account, perhaps inevitably so. From this point of view, the use of microphones and tape recorders, as was the case here, turns out to be far more than of technical significance. The transfer from tape to typewriter, and from there into print, has preserved everything, apart from intonation, inflection, and speed of delivery. The unavoidable partial losses in the then traditional method of transmission, involving intensive note taking and the subsequent faulty memories of the participants, have been avoided. It should be noted that interested readers can (and should) familiarize themselves with Eisler's way of speaking by listening to any of the several recordings of him available.

The modern method of recording conversations with important composers with such thoroughness and in such detail, for reproduction at full length and unedited was probably used here for the first time. The special, indeed unique nature of this kind of documentation needs to be emphasized. The fact that the conversations were planned to be revised by both speakers, and that this revision never took place, forms part of its special nature. What might normally be considered a regrettable fact has its advantages: Eisler's line of reasoning appears with an immediacy that might not have survived an editorial reworking.

At the center of Eisler's position is the realization that the working class can and will, by revolutionary means, ensure a socialist-communist future for humanity. These conversations confirm that Eisler developed this awareness during the First World War. This book offers an insight into how this belief was strengthened and how it influenced his way of thinking and reflection.