Hanna Fuchs-Robettin (1896–1964) (née Werfel) was the sister of

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and Poetry, poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''Th ...

, wife of Herbert Fuchs-Robettin, and mistress of

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

. Berg secretly and cryptically dedicated his '' Lyric Suite'' to her.

Early life

Born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

(then part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

), Hanna was the second of three children of Rudolf Werfel, a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. Her mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner. Her brother Franz was born in 1890 and her sister Marianne Amalie was born in 1899.Hans Wagener. ''Understanding Franz Werfel.'' (University of South Carolina, 1993) , p. 2. Her father's ancestors were German-Bohemian Jews, including a great grandfather who had served in

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Russian campaign The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

as a courier. Her grandfather had come to Prague where he made and lost a fortune. His son (Hanna's father) rebuilt the family wealth. Hanna grew up in a stylish house on Marienstrasse in the New Town where the children were nurtured by a Czech Catholic woman named Babi. Babi would take the children with her to church and the family made regular attendance at the

Maisel Synagogue Maisel Synagogue ( cs, Maiselova synagoga) is one of the historical monuments of the former Prague Jewish quarter. It was built at the end of the 16th century which is considered to be the golden age of the ghetto. Since then its appearance has c ...

. The Werfels were assimilated Jews with a strong interest in music and theatre, which they attended often.

Adulthood

Hanna married Herbert Fuchs-Robettin and had two children: Munzo (born about 1917) and Dorothea (known as Dodo). Hanna was known by the nickname Mopinka.Alexander Coleman. ''Diversions & Animadversions: Essays from the New Criterion.'' (Edison, New Jersey: Transaction, 2005) . Her husband was a Prague industrialist with a great enthusiasm for music. In May 1925 Hanna began an affair with a friend of her husband, the Austrian composer

. Over the next year Berg wrote his ''Lyric Suite'', which used a combination of his initials and those of Hanna (HF) as well as a melodic quote from

Alexander von Zemlinsky Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871 – 15 March 1942) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher. Biography Early life Zemlinsky was born in Vienna to a highly diverse family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton S ...

's ''Lyric Symphony'', which originally set the words "You are mine own".Elmar Bozzetti. ''"... Ein kleines Denkmal... einer grossen Liebe": Alban Bergs Lyrische Suite''. In: ''Musik und Bildung'' 21 (1989), pp. 29-36. He gave an annotated copy of the score to Hanna, who bequeathed it to her daughter Dorothea. This score is now in the

Austrian National Library The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of V ...

.Gottfried Scholz. ''More on Secret Programs in Berg's Instrumental Music.'' In: Siglind Bruhn. ''Encrypted Messages in Alban Berg's Music.'' (London: Routledge, 1998) . The annotation reads in part: :''"It has also, my Hanna, allowed me other freedoms! For example, that of secretly inserting our initials, HF and AB, into the music, and relating every movement and every section of every movement to our numbers, 10 and 23. I have written these, and much that has other meanings, into the score for you. ... May it be a small monument to a great love."''Jonathan Cross. ''Composing with numbers: sets, rows, and magic squares.'' In: John Fauvel, Raymond Flood, Robin J. Wilson. ''Music and Mathematics: From Pythagoras to Fractals.'' (Oxford University, 2003) . In 1976 fourteen of Berg's letters to Hanna were discovered in her papers. Some had been carried between them by

Theodor Adorno Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blueger, ...

Theodor W. Adorno. (Translated by Christopher Hailey & Juliane Brand). ''Alban Berg.'' (Cambridge University, 1991) . and by

Alma Mahler-Werfel Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel (born Alma Margaretha Maria Schindler; 31 August 1879 – 11 December 1964) was an Austrian composer, author, editor, and socialite. At 15, she was mentored by Max Burckhard. Musically active from her early year ...

. Berg died in 1935. Hanna and Herbert fled Prague to escape Nazi persecution as Jews and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Her husband died in 1949 aged 63. She survived him by nearly 15 years.

References

External links

Photographic portrait of Hanna on Freebase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Hanna 1896 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Czech people Czech Jews People from Prague Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States