The scholar James Schmidt has made a fascinating discovery: the lost mansucript of Theodor W. Adorno's own translation of his Philosophie der neuen Musik has turned up in the papers of Virgil Thomson, at Yale. Adorno and Thomson occasionally exchanged letters; as I commented in a blog post last fall, they had certain ideological concerns in common. In The Rest Is Noise, I mentioned that at one point Adorno attempted to interest Thomson in his writings on Sibelius, provoking the immortal reply, "The tone is more apt to create antagonism toward yourself than toward Sibelius." (That letter appears in Tim Page and Vanessa Weeks Page's Selected Letters of Virgil Thomson.) Apparently, Adorno also hoped to draw Thomson's attention to his Philosophy. As Schmidt observes, the translation reveals that Adorno had no more idea of how to render his adamantine prose in English than did later translators. Indeed, Adorno's uncertain command of English placed him at something of a disadvantage. Nonetheless, Adornians are sure to learn much from this notable find. I look forward to reading more of Schmidt's musings on the Adorno-Thomson relationship.
