“Now I understand the meaning of life”. The correspondence between Alma Mahler and Walter Gropius 1910–1964: Accessibility to sources and commented hybrid edition. Part I: 1910–1915

1910年夏天，年轻的、受过音乐训练的阿尔玛·马勒（1879-1964）结识了当时名不见经传的建筑师、后来成为包豪斯学院创始人的沃尔特·格罗皮乌斯（1883-1969）。当古斯塔夫·马勒得知这段恋情后，他废除了作为结婚条件强加给这位年轻新娘的作曲禁令，并促进了她作为作曲家的音乐发展。来自柏林包豪斯档案馆的约850封阿尔玛·马勒的信件和约700封沃尔特·格罗皮乌斯的草稿信件，不仅更详细地解释了她作为作曲家的活动和自我理解，而且最重要的是，让我们深入了解了她在20世纪上半叶作为艺术赞助人和音乐文化生活组织者的活动。最近编辑的阿尔玛·马勒与阿尔班·伯格和阿诺德Schönberg的通信显示了她作为20世纪初音乐领域的文化活动家的影响力。如果没有这种影响，即使是古斯塔夫·马勒作品的接受程度也会有所不同。这三位作曲家的作品也出现在与格罗皮乌斯的大部分未发表的通信中。由于阿尔玛罕见的开放，这些信件不仅澄清了她的传记，也澄清了她从1910年代到50年代的建筑和音乐史，这在一定程度上被后来的自我陈述所误解。阿尔玛·马勒对格罗皮乌斯早期设计理念的积极讨论，对国外相关文献的建议，安排任务和联系的努力，以及对优秀成果的要求，都体现了她对格罗皮乌斯的巨大影响。此外，这些信件提供了格罗皮乌斯理论工作发展的细节以及他的传记。特别是，从1910年开始与沃尔特·格罗皮乌斯（Walter Gropius）交往到1915年与他结婚，这一阶段是一个重要的证据。大部分的资料来源都是完全没有分类和日期的，格罗皮乌斯的主要关键词草稿大多是不连贯的，很难破译。在文献学领域，材料的开发是一项艰巨的任务，这是多年准备的结果，并且由于已经完成了信件的图像数字化。所有来源都将尽可能完整地编辑，出版物将由两个独立的部分组成。首先，一本抄本，每封信都有介绍，并从评注中选择摘录，以缩短形式。其次，在沃尔特·格罗皮乌斯的开放档案中，在线发布数字化的信件和草稿，以及转录，规范化的元数据和关键设备，以及个人和总体评论。通过与柏林Zuse研究所的合作，使用TEI标准将保证开源数据的寿命。这些信件可以通过Kalliope搜索到。

In the summer of 1910 the young, musically trained Alma Mahler (1879–1964) became acquainted with the then unknown architect and later founder of the Bauhaus, Walter Gropius (1883–1969). When Gustav Mahler learned of the liaison, he abolished the prohibition on composing that he had imposed on the young bride as a condition of marriage, and promoted her musical development as a composer.The correspondence of c 850 letters by Alma Mahler and c 700 draft letters by Walter Gropius between the years 1910 and 1964 from the Bauhaus-Archive Berlin not only explains her activity and self-understanding as a composer in more detail, but above all provides insight into her activities as a patron of the arts and organizer of musical and cultural life in the first half of the twentieth century. The recently edited correspondence of Alma Mahler with Alban Berg and Arnold Schönberg has shown how much influence she had as a cultural activist in the field of music at the beginning of the 20th century. Without this influence, even the reception of Gustav Mahler’s works would have differed. Works by these three composers also appear as the subjects of the largely unpublished correspondence with Gropius. Due to Alma’s rare openness, the correspondence also clarifies not only her biography that is partly misunderstood by later self-representations, but also architectural and musical history from the 1910s to the 50s. Alma Mahler’s considerable influence is evident in her active discussion with Gropius on early design concepts, her suggestions of relevant foreign literature, her efforts in arranging assignments and contacts, and her demands for outstanding achievements. Furthermore, the correspondence provides detail on the development of Gropius’s theoretical work as well as his biography.In particular, the phase from the beginning of the relationship with Walter Gropius in 1910 to the marriage with him in 1915 represents a central testimony. The sources are, for the most part, completely unsorted and undated, and the largely key-worded draft letters by Gropius are mostly incoherent and difficult to decipher. The development of the material is a demanding task in the field of philology, which is only possible as a result of many years of preparation, and due to the image digitization of the letters already completed.All sources will be edited as completely as possible and the publication will comprise of two stand-alone components. Firstly, a book of the transcriptions, with an introduction to each letter and select extracts from the commentary in shortened form. Secondly, an online publication in open archive walter gropius of the digitized letters and drafts, alongside the transcriptions, normalized metadata and the critical apparatus, as well as individual and overarching commentary. In cooperation with the Zuse Institute Berlin, the longevity of the open source data will be guaranteed by using TEI standards. The letters will be searchable through Kalliope.