In Search of a Career 97claims. However, now that he was back in Frankfurt, he sorely missed
the collaboration with Berg: ‘It is very hard for me not to be able to be
in Vienna the whole time. Being together with you [Alban Berg] and
making music in our circle was the one thing that could enable me to
keep my balance. Here matters are more confused than ever.’^8
Adorno’s achievement as a composer was by no means contemptible;
nor did it pass unnoticed. In the small circle of Frankfurt music lovers
there had been performances – sometime previously – of parts of the
early works that had been written while he was still studying at the
Hoch Conservatory. The First Quartet, which he had composed in 1921,
was performed by the Lange Quartet in a concert in April 1923.
Far more importantly, his Pieces for String Quartet, which had been
written under Berg’s supervision, were performed for the first time in
December 1926 by the Kolisch Quartet, which had only just been formed.
This performance was part of the programme of the International
Society for New Music. In November, Adorno had sent the score to
Universal Edition in Vienna, and directly to Kolisch, while he had also
asked Berg to check the copying and in general to give the project his
blessing.
In the event, Berg responded positively to the piece in a letter to
Schoenberg, who, as always, had his doubts.^9 ‘The performance of
Wiesengrund’s insanely difficult quartet was a bravura achievement by
the Kolisch Quartet, which had managed to study it in eight days and
articulated it clearly in their performance. I find Wiesengrund’s work
very good.’^10 At the same time, he wrote to Morgenstern that Adorno’s
quartet was ‘a truly splendid piece; it has had great success here and
can look forward to being taken up by Universal Edition as soon as
possible.’^11 He also wrote a card to Adorno’s parents, telling them of
his enthusiasm. Needless to say, Adorno wanted to be present for
the performance in Vienna, shortly before the Christmas holidays
in 1926. ‘The performance is literally a matter of life and death for
me. ... The mere fact of a public performance of something of mine
that would normally be of no importance to me if only I could hear it
myself, has assumed a highly distorted and exaggerated significance in
my eyes.’^12
When they met again in Vienna for a few days, Berg’s impression of
the 23-year-old Adorno improved still further. Writing to Morgenstern,
he said that Wiesengrund had ‘become significantly more manly, but
was otherwise unaltered. We spent delightful afternoons and evenings
in each other’s company.’^13 As for Adorno, much as he enjoyed being
with Berg, he also found reasons to complain, as he wrote to Kracauer.
He explained that the situation in Vienna had changed to his disadvant-
age. What he had in mind was Arnold Schoenberg’s blunt rejection of
his published music reviews. Schoenberg made no attempt to conceal
his dislike of Adorno’s writings on music. He thought his style man-
nered and his theoretical ideas incomprehensible. In particular, he