The late work: Fourth Symphony with the Coronation Hymn, an American Symphony, piano pieces, the opera “The Seven Ravens” which cannot fly for want of copies, and the oratorio “Lux in Tenebris”. At the end a small prayer of thanks for four-part boys' choir.
After The Seven Ravens came a melodrama: “Illusions” for spoken voice and orchestra, the text of which I had written many years earlier in Berlin . It is a somewhat peculiar work, surely not to everyone’s taste, but it shows that even then my ideas were directed toward transcendental matters. For the time being, only a piano reduction with indicated instrumentation exists, and I doubt whether I shall ever complete the full score.
In 1954 , the Fourth Symphony was written, with the Coronation Hymn as its last movement, and this is probably one of my best works, particularly the slow movement. This work was also fortunate enough to be accepted for performance by Radio Vienna , and in 1960 it was broadcast in Vienna, played by the Radio Orchestra under Kurt Richter . Unfortunately, there were too few rehearsals, and still several mistakes in the parts, so the performance did not fully satisfy me. I sent a tape to England , to the BBC , but they declined it — just as they had previously declined a string quartet and the clarinet quintet. For what reason, I do not know.
An English conductor, Charles Groves , received my oratorio “From Night Till Morning.” He wrote about it: “It’s a great and beautiful work.” He would have liked to perform it, but did not have the necessary forces, nor an organ. He even took it personally to the BBC and warmly recommended it — but their answer was: “It is too costly.” My British citizenship played no role, especially as I had married a foreigner and now also held Austrian citizenship.
Now a younger American brought me an American folk song, as I wished — internationally minded as I was — to compose an American Symphony . He brought me “The Bluetail Fly,” a cheerful and melodic tune that appealed to me. I thought it over, and one day, as I travelled to Klosterneuburg in the shaky old bus, the entire symphonic concept came to me — with a somewhat wild first movement and, as the finale, the folk song with variations, ending in a fugue.
The very next day I sat down to work, and within a few weeks the symphony was complete. I had the score duplicated by a new process, hoping to obtain a performance. It was indeed accepted in Graz , but has still not been performed to this day. I value it highly and can only continue to hope and wait. At least I now have enough copies of the score to send out.
Next came two piano pieces : 1. Elegy , 2. Will‑o’‑the‑Wisp , atmospheric sketches which I later orchestrated, and which were published by the Hans Pero publishing house. Director Pero encouraged me to write an overture to “The Seven Ravens” , which was intended to serve as publicity for the opera.
In 1957 , I decided to write a second oratorio , titled “Lux in Tenebris.” I wrote the text myself. It is a dialogue between the divine voice and different categories of human beings: workers, merchants, doctors, farmers, a frivolous woman, mothers, scientists, the poet, the dying, the wise, the prophet — and finally a boys’ choir sings: “All is light,” ending ppp on a diminished ninth chord resolving to the fifth C–G.
The work is dedicated to my friend Gudrun , to whom I owe so many spiritual inspirations and who truly represents a “light in the darkness” for many.
I can do nothing more now but hope that my larger works will someday be performed. But whatever may happen, I am grateful that I was granted the opportunity to give to my fellow human beings, through music, all that was within me to give. I expressed this gratitude in my last opus ( 1962 ): a small “Prayer of Thanks,” written for four‑part boys’ choir.
From “Mein Musikleben” by Mary Dickenson-Auner, 3 October 1963. The text follows the manuscript; the chapter numbering is that of the original.