Well, well, we suffer now. We now should despair and go mad without faith in a hereafter; I also believe in a hereafter, and have just shown you this hereafter. If it lies beyond my life, it does not lie beyond that which I can feel, think, conceive, and comprehend; for I believe in mankind, and require nothing further.

I now ask you, Who at the bottom of his heart shares my faith more than do you, who believe in me, who know and demonstrate love as no one else has proved and practiced it yet? You realize your faith in every moment of your life; I know deeply and inly what you believe; how then could I scoff at the form from which such a miracle springs? I should not be as much of an artist as I am if I did not joyfully understand you.

Let us bravely fight and struggle; then all whims will disappear. That I must remain so far from my battlefield is what makes me complain so often.

Well, my highest hope will be fulfilled:

I shall see you again.

This implies everything that can give joy to me; and I am sure that at your arrival, and through means of it, you will find me so elated that you will take my present and past complaints for pure hypocrisy. My nerves, it is true, suffer a great deal, and for a very natural reason. But I am now in hopes of strengthening them thoroughly; for that I shall want a little "life:" the medical cure alone will not be sufficient. That "life" you will bring to me, and I promise you that you will find me hale and hearty.

I am almost glad that you are not coming to my musical performances here, which will take place May 18th, 20th, and 22nd; we shall afterwards be more by ourselves, belong to each other more. Oh, how I rejoice in the thought!

You will find everything comfortable with me; the devil of luxury has taken hold of me, and I have arranged my house as pleasantly as possible. When the real thing is wanting, one does what one can to help one's self. Well, come; you will find me half mad; you, you, you, and no one else!

What further shall I say in reply? I find I have taken to chatting on the main thing.

S.'s judgment of my poem satisfies my vanity—I mean, because it proves my judgment. In spite of all, I took S. from the beginning for a confirmed litterateur whom you for a moment had carried away with you, but only for a moment. A litterateur cannot understand me; only a complete man or a true artist can. Leave it alone; it will be all right. When once I have cast everything aside to dive up to the ears into the fount of music, it will sound so well that people shall hear what they cannot see. We must have a long talk about my further practical plans as to the performance.

All scribbled things are absolutely distasteful to me, and it is the greatest effort to me to read the musical paper. I wish that all this had no reference to me; let the people do for their own sakes what they think they ought not to omit; what was necessary for me you have done. Dearest, dearest friend, do not think that I meant to reproach you when recently again I wrote with furious impatience about my return to Germany. I do this quite at random; I call out when I am in pain, but I accuse no one, certainly you least of all. You are unfortunate in being so near to my heart; for that reason you hear everything that I sigh and complain of violently and painfully. Be not angry, and forgive me cordially. I will write to the Hereditary Grand Duke, because it gives me pleasure.

Enough for today; my fingers are becoming cramped. But how many, many things I shall have to say to you. I keep everything for that occasion, and have really not written to you once about your performance of my operas, of which quite recently again I heard such wonders. All that will come by word of mouth, if only I do not go mad!

Farewell. Greet the Princess. A thousand kisses from

Your

RICHARD WAGNER

April 13th, 1853



108.

Bravo, Schoneck! Long live Kroll's theatre! Those people have rational ideas, and work bravely. The fact that you are friendly with Schoneck, and can count upon his goodwill and musical intelligence, gives a favourable turn to the performance of "Tannhauser" at Kroll's theatre, and I, for my part, do not advise you against it, the less so as you seem to like it. Your citing Mirabeau as marchand de draps is quite applicable to "Tannhauser" at Kroll's theatre; and if Schoneck manages to fill the parts moderately well, the thing will, no doubt, hugely amuse you.

Simultaneously with this I write, by your desire, to Schoneck to compliment him on the impending performances. I have advised him to go to work prudently, as the whole matter is in his hands. We may anticipate a very good result, which will cordially please

Your

FRANZ LISZT

I shall write to Prague tomorrow, to President Sacher; this matter will probably drag on for some time.



109.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

In the most frightful turmoil of business, I must send you a few words of enthusiasm. I have been writing an explanatory programme for my musical performance here, and was led on that occasion to look once more through your pamphlet on my opera. How can I describe my feelings? When has an artist, a friend, ever done for another what you have done for me? Truly, when I should be inclined to despair of the whole world, one single glance at you raises me again high and higher, fills me with faith and hope; I cannot conceive what I should have done without you these last four years. Oh, and how much you have made of me; it has been indescribably beautiful for me to observe you during that space of time. The idea and the word "gratitude" cannot contain my meaning!

You say that you do not yet expect to get your leave of absence! Do not frighten me, and tell me by return that you are coming, and coming soon.

I have engaged Damm. It was a mad undertaking to find an orchestra of seventy men when there were only fourteen competent musicians in the place. I have plundered all Switzerland, and all the neighbouring states as far as Nassau. It was necessary to raise the guarantee fund to 7,000 francs in order to cover expenses, and all this that I might hear the orchestral prelude to "Lohengrin."

I expect you for certain in the first days of June. If only the joy of seeing you again does not drive me mad! Adieu. Come to

Your

R. W.

ZURICH, May 9th, 1853



110.

Your splendid programme for the musical performances at Zurich, May 18th, 20th, and 22nd, has made me quite sad, dearest friend. Why can I not be present to make some returns to you for all I owe you? But what is the good of questioning, brooding, and sorrowing? I cannot get away from here before the end of June. Tomorrow (the 20th) we have a grand court concert (the programme is of no interest to you), and ten days afterwards the performance of "Moses" by Marx, which I have to conduct. On June 15th takes place the jubilee of the Grand Duke, for which his Majesty the King of Saxony will probably come here, and the 20th is the birthday of the Hereditary Grand Duke. On the 26th or 28th I accompany my mother, who is still half lame, to Paris; and by the middle of July at the latest I shall be with you in Zurich. Till then I must have patience, and need not give you any further explanations.

I talked some time ago with the Princess of Prussia about you. The performance of "Tannhauser" at Kroll's is variously commented upon. I am still of opinion that the personal influence and ability of Schoneck are in this matter decisive. Since my last letter to Schoneck I have heard nothing from him, but I believe I told you of an offer that was made to me to take the Leipzig opera to Berlin and to conduct "Tannhauser" at the Konigsstadt Theatre. I have naturally declined this offer.

I hope Schoneck will keep his word and bear the responsibility of an adequate performance of "Tannhauser" honourably, thus justifying your confidence. When you hear further particulars, ask him to communicate them to me, as I have been questioned on various sides about this matter, and have warmly defended Schoneck's undertaking against the wavering portion of your friends and the public.

Alwine Fromann was here for some days. I have learnt to love her through you. Your "Nibelungen" has been read excellently on four evenings at the Altenburg by Counsellor Sauppe, director of the Grammar School, who formerly lived for some years at Zurich. The whole subject of the "Nibelungen" I shall work out with you in conversation; in the meantime only this: that I am wholly in favour of it, and ask you urgently to take the musical part seriously in hand.

I hear from Prague that "Tannhauser" is being prepared there for next autumn. If this is confirmed, the other step which I contemplated will become useless. In any case I shall wait a little while to gain better ground for the matter.

"Lohengrin" will be given at Wiesbaden, and at Schwerin the "Dutchman" is heaving in sight. Have you finished the "Faust" overture? Damm has probably told you that we have given it here several times fairly well. Apropos of Damm, tell him that he can stop as long as he likes. I envy the fellow his good time with you.

This afternoon Louis Kohler, from Konigsberg, will arrive here to hear your "Lohengrin." Alas! alas! "Indra," by Flotow, absorbs all the delicate attentions of our artistic direction; and this wretched medley will be given the day after tomorrow as festival opera. Did you formerly have intercourse with Kohler? I only know him through some very amiable notices of a few of my pianoforte works. His last letter is a kind of dithyramb about "Lohengrin," which naturally predisposes me favourably towards the man.

Farewell, you unique man! and may we soon be together.

Your

F. L.

Let me soon have news of your performances at Zurich, and do not forget to send Brendel a notice of them for his paper. About Brendel, who recently visited me here, I have several things to tell you.

Please God, I may have good news to bring you from Dresden; it is that which keeps me here till the end of June.



111.

DEAREST,

I feel beaten down and weary. Damm has probably written to you about my musical performances. Everything went off right well, and Zurich was astonished that such a thing could have happened. The Philistines almost carry me on their hands; and if I cared for external success, the effect of my performances would more than satisfy me. But, as you know, my chief object was to hear something from "Lohengrin," and especially the orchestral prelude, which interested me uncommonly. The impression was most powerful, and I had to make every effort not to break down. So much is certain: I fully share your predilection for "Lohengrin"; it is the best thing I have done so far. On the public also it had the same effect. In spite of the "Tannhauser" overture, preceding them, the pieces from "Lohengrin" made such an impression, that they were unanimously declared to be the best thing. For the "Bridal Procession" I had specially written a very effective new close, which I must communicate to you; following upon the "Bridal Song," I repeated the G major prelude (wedding music), after a short transition, and gave a new conclusion to this also. These pieces have had a tremendous popular success; everybody was delighted. It was a real feast for the world around me. All the women are in my favour.

I might have repeated the concerts six times, and they would have been full on every occasion, but I stuck to three performances, because I had enough of it, and was afraid of getting tired. Besides this, I could not have retained the orchestra any longer; many had to go home, especially eight musicians from Wiesbaden, the best of the orchestra there, who had given me great pleasure by coming. I had almost nothing but concert-masters and musical directors—twenty most excellent violins, eight tenors, eight splendid violin-cellos, and five double-basses. All had brought their best instruments; and in the acoustical orchestra, constructed according to my indication, the tone of the instruments was most bright and beautiful. It is true that the whole cost 9,000 francs.

What do you think of our citizens raising all that money? I believe that in time I shall be able to do unheard-of things here, but for the present it has cost me unheard-of trouble. During the week preceding the performances, I read in my way, which you will hear later on, my three operatic poems before a very large audience in public and gratis, and was delighted by the powerful impression they produced on my hearers. In the intervals I studied my choruses with amateurs, and these tame, four-part people at last sang as if they had swallowed the devil. Well, I am a little lame and weary in consequence. It is hard that you will have to leave me in my loneliness for the whole month of June.

Why have your festivities been suddenly postponed? Not till the middle of July? Just now you would have been of infinite benefit to me; I am very lonely.

For the present I must try to pick up a little by a wandering life; perhaps I shall go for a few weeks to Brunnen, on the lake of Lucerne, and try to settle down to work. I shall make excursions from there to the Bernese Oberland and thus pass the time till your much-desired arrival. How long shall you be able to stay? In the second half of July I am to go to St. Moritz, in the Grisons, to go through a cure there from which they promise great benefit for my health. Will you follow me to that beautiful, wild solitude? That would be splendid! By the end of August, when you have to leave me again, I shall go to Italy, as far as it is accessible to me. (I wish it could be to Naples! The King of Saxony might manage that!) The means I must get somehow, if I were to steal them.

In other respects "business" with me is flat. You have probably heard that the manager of the Berlin court opera has procured an order which prevents the smaller theatres of Berlin, and especially Kroll's theatre, from performing such operas as "Tannhauser." From this we see how powerfully even a threat acts upon these people; they are of course ashamed of themselves, and do not wish to incur open disgrace. I have authorized Schoneck to announce "Tannhauser" as a "Singspiel," but he himself is doubtful whether the thing can be managed. He loses in this manner a fine opportunity of making himself favourably known and of raising himself above his hole-and-corner circumstances. I lose a nice income for this summer, for the undertaking would have brought me in a few thousand francs. But God's, or rather Herr von Hulsen's, will be done. It is quite plain that in our excellent states the "other thing" has nowadays the upper hand; the Princess of Prussia may wish and desire what she likes, she will not be able to conquer that, nor Herr von Hulsen either. Good Lord, I know the thing.

However, I was peculiarly pleased that you from the first looked upon this Berlin experiment just as I did, and that we quite understood each other. I can quite imagine how the Philistine must have shaken his head. It was equally clear that you were unable to accept the proposal for the Konigsstadt Theatre with the Leipzig troupe, and I am only annoyed at their impudence in offering you such a thing. It implies indeed a gross insult, for which one must pardon our dull-headed theatrical mob. "Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Dearest friend, have you not yet had enough of Weimar? I must own that I frequently grieve to see how you waste your strength there. Was there any truth in the recent rumour of your leaving Weimar? Have they given in?

But all this is idle talk. My brain is a wilderness, and I thirst for a long, long sleep, to awake only when my arms are around you. Write to me very precisely, also whether you are inclined, after a little stay at Zurich, to go with me to the solitude of the Grisons; St. Moritz might, after all, do you good, dearest friend; we shall there be five thousand feet high, and enjoy the most nerve-strengthening air, together with the mineral water, which is said to be of beneficial effect on the digestive organs. Think this over, consult your health and your circumstances, and let me know very soon what I may hope for.

Farewell, best and dearest of friends. Have my eternal thanks for your divine friendship, and be assured of my steadfast and warmest love.

Your

RICHARD W.

ZURICH, May 30th, 1853



112.

DEAREST FRIEND,

I have just received the enclosed letter, programme, and newspaper from Prague. If you will write a few lines to Apt, you will please him very much. Also be kind enough to send a copy of your "Nibelungen" to Louis Kohler in Konigsberg (care of Pfitzer and Heimann, music-publishers). He deserves this attention from you, and I promised it him during his stay here, when he cordially joined your banner. From Leipzig, after the performance of "Tannhauser," he wrote me a letter which I could sign myself, and you are sure to find in Kohler a very zealous, able, and honest champion of your cause in the press.

A little book by him on the melody of speech will shortly appear. As a composer for the pianoforte he has done some excellent things. Several years ago an opera of his composition was produced at Brunswick. Kohler is about thirty-two years old, and married.

Marx was here recently. We have become friends, and shall probably approach each other still more closely. His oratorio "Moses" was given fairly well under my direction.

A little court concert was given the day before yesterday in honour of their Majesties the King and Queen of Saxony. Further details I shall tell you when I see you. Unfortunately I must doubt that the steps taken so far will lead to the desired result, but there is yet another hope before my departure, for which I must wait. The Hereditary Grand Duke will soon go to Dresden, and has promised me his intercession in this matter.

In ten or twelve days I shall give you an exact plan of my journey. It is very possible and almost probable that Joachim and Robert Franz will accompany me to Zurich. It is quite understood that I go with you wherever you like, but I shall not be able to stay with you longer than ten days altogether. Whether it will be at the beginning or the middle of July I cannot say for certain, because this journey depends on another much longer one.

Damm has told us wonderful things of your three performances. The poetic indications which I read in the programme, especially those of the introduction to "Lohengrin" and the overture of the "Flying Dutchman," interested me very much. Before long I may send you a little article about the "Flying Dutchman"; and if you approve of it, it shall be published.

I have been much depressed these last few days by many and various things. These are the days of thunderstorms. With all my heart and soul I shall rejoice on seeing you again. Let us be faithful to one another, though the world go to ruin.

F. L.

June 8th, 1853



113.

I have nothing to write to you, dearest, except that I await you longingly. You might come before the middle of July, seeing that you will not be able to give me more than ten days in all. This of course determines me not to expect that you should go to the watering-place in the Grisons with me for a few days only. It would have been different if you could have stayed with me there for some length of time. I suppose you will not be here this month, and I may, without fear of missing you, go next week to Interlaken in the Oberland to visit part of the R. family. At the beginning of July I shall be back again, and expect you daily.

That Franz and Joachim intend to come too is famous. Franz had already half promised me. I shall be delighted to make their acquaintance. Prague and Konigsberg (Kohler) will be attended to.

I read today in the "Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik" the article by T. in Posen, in which there is a stupid thing, viz., an exaggeration, where he says that I consider "Schoneck one of my most gifted disciples." Schoneck as a musician is quite insignificant, and as a man without particular culture; he is simply a theatrical conductor—at least as far as I know him. I was struck, however, by his uncommon and specific talent as a conductor, as well as by his nervous, restless, and very active temperament, combined with a strong turn for enthusiasm. He once saw me study Beethoven's music with an orchestra, and conduct it, and devoured what could be acquired with genuine astonishment, making it his own with so much cleverness that later on at Freiburg he produced the music to "Egmont," which he had heard me do, with very great success, as competent witnesses have assured me. It was the same afterwards with the "Flying Dutchman," which he grasped completely as a conductor. But beyond his specific gift as a conductor, I do not think that I have influenced him particularly, and should certainly not like him to be considered my representative, although I may count upon his devotion. If the Berlin plan at Kroll's is, after all, realized—and there is again strong opposition to it now-I must think of having my intentions more specially represented, and have young Ritter in view for that purpose. As to this also we must have a talk. However, the success of "Tannhauser" at Posen, under Schoneck's direction, is again a striking incident. Within six days they gave it four times, with the largest receipts. Only think what trouble I had at the time with this opera at Dresden.

But enough. That you, like me, do not seem to be in good spirits, grieves me very much, but I become more and more convinced that people like us must always be uncomfortable, except in the moments, hours, and days of productive excitement; but then we enjoy and luxuriate during that time more than any other man. So it is! Soon we shall talk! I am almost afraid of this joy! You will write, will you not?

Adieu, dearest friend.

Your

R. W.

ZURICH, June 14th, 1853



114.

BEST OF FRIENDS,

Today week—Thursday, June 28th—I start from here. At Carlsruhe I shall have to stop till July 1st, in order to look at the localities, and to make some preparations for the impending Musical Festival there. On July 2nd I shall therefore hope to be with you at Zurich. My time will be very short, but it will be an unspeakable pleasure to live with you for a few days.

I enclose a few disappointing lines concerning your affair, which have been sent to me by an unknown hand. I hope to be able to tell you better news when I see you. I shall go straight from the mail office to you at Zeltweg, to ask you about the hotel where I shall stop. Probably Joachim and Franz will come with me. If it is not too much trouble, notify my arrival at Winterthur to Kirchner and Eschmann, whose personal acquaintance I should like to make.

I have just received from Hartel your portrait, which seems to me more like than the previous one. If there is a decent sculptor at Zurich, you must oblige me by giving him a few sittings, for him to model a large medallion in relief of you. I cannot bear lithographed portraits; to me they have always a somewhat bourgeois appearance, while sculpture represents a man in a very different way.

In ten days, dearest friend, we shall wholly possess each other. If you like to write to me, address Poste restante, Carlsruhe, where I shall be till July 1st.

Your

F. LISZT

June 23rd, 1853

[ENCLOSURE.]

If I venture to trouble you with a few lines, my motive, I hope, will gain me your kind forgiveness. In today's number of the "Freimuthige Sachsen-Zeitung" the old Steckbrief (order of arrest) (v. 49) against Capellmeister Richard Wagner has been copied, with the remark "that it is said that he intends to return to Germany, and therefore the police are requested to keep a watchful eye on him, and, in case he is found in Germany, to arrest him and deliver him here."

Although I know Capellmeister R. Wagner from of old, I do not know how to communicate this news to him, because it is said that most of the letters sent to refugees in Switzerland are either opened or never delivered; and I am not acquainted with any other safe way.

A consultation which I had with some of Richard Wagner's friends led us to determine, as the only means, upon asking Court- Capellmeister Dr. Liszt, one of the most faithful and best-known friends of the great composer, "to acquaint Capellmeister R. Wagner with the above by some sure ways and means."

Asking you once more to pardon me for the trouble I give you, I remain, with the greatest esteem and veneration,

——-



115.

DEAREST FRIEND,

I have just returned from a trip, and find your letter. Thank God, I have not much to write in answer beyond expressing my joy that you are coming so soon. Saturday, July 2nd, in the morning, or at the latest in the evening, I shall await you at the mail office. You might stay with me, but I am afraid you would not be comfortable, especially if you come with Joachim and Franz. All this we shall settle at once at the office. There is a good hotel, Hotel Baur. I shall let Kirchner and Eschmann know. Good Lord, how glad I am. Not another word by letter!

Au revoir.

Your

RICHARD WAGNER

Could you let me know by telegram exactly when you are coming?

We have beautiful weather.



116.

You see, dear friend, that I am approaching; and unless official impediments delay me one day, I start the day after tomorrow- Friday, July 1st—by the afternoon train for Basle, and arrive at Zurich by the mail-coach on Saturday, early in the morning. At the latest, I shall be there on Sunday at the same hour. Joachim I expect here; Franz, I am sorry to say, will not be able to come till later on.

Your

FRANZ LISZT

CARLSRUHE, June 29th



117.

FRANKFORT, Tuesday, July 12th, 1853, 6 p.m.

UNIQUE FRIEND,

The Musical Festival at Carlsruhe will take place on September 20th, and I write you these few lines in haste to ask you to send me the altered passage in the score of "Lohengrin" at Weymar.

If not inconvenient to you, I should be glad if you could lend me for six weeks your Zurich parts of the overture to "Tannhauser" and the pieces from "Lohengrin" for use at the Carlsruhe festival; send them straight to Devrient. As the Hartels have not printed the parts, it will not injure their interests; and we shall at least be sure that the parts are correctly copied, as you have already used them at Zurich. From Weymar I shall bring the parts of the "Tannhauser" overture with me. At the two concerts of the Carlsruhe festival the orchestras and artists of the Darmstadt, Mannheim, and Carlsruhe theatres will co-operate. As the performances take place at the theatre, the trebling of the parts will be quite sufficient, for the house does not hold more than fourteen or fifteen hundred people, and an orchestra of a hundred and ninety and a chorus of something like a hundred and sixty will consequently have a good effect. As soon as the programme is settled I shall send it to you; for the present I tell you only that the "Tannhauser" overture will make the commencement of the first concert and the "Lohengrin" pieces the close of the second. In addition to this, there will be two pieces by Berlioz, the finale of Mendelssohn's "Loreley," the Ninth Symphony, etc. Frau Heim will, I hope, on this occasion be the reporter for Zurich, and I shall do my best to put her in a good temper. Johanna sings this evening at a concert in the theatre for the benefit of a local actress. "Tannhauser" will not be given tomorrow. After the concert I shall see Schmidt, and shall inquire as to particulars. . . . In case J. is still here tomorrow, I shall pay my most humble respects to her. She appeared first as Romeo, and yesterday sang Fides for the benefit of the Pension Fund. With E. Devrient I spent a few hours yesterday at Badenweiler. He is going to visit you at Zurich, but can make no certain plans for the present, as he expects the Prince Regent at Badenweiler. His daughter suffers a great deal, and his wife also appeared to me in very weak health. Frau Meyerbeer also I met at Badenweiler. With Schindelmeisser I shall communicate by telegraph early tomorrow morning; and in case "Lohengrin" is given on Thursday, I shall run over to see it, and return home to Weymar on Friday.

Through your hat I nearly got into difficulties with the police at Carlsruhe, because its species and colour are considered specially suspicious, being accounted red, although grey. I was accidentally advised of this; nevertheless I have got on well so far, and shall always maintain that the hat is well-conditioned and loyal, because you have given it to me.

Apropos, neither of the two persons to whom I have hitherto talked about it was inclined to believe in your wholly unpolitical position and mode of feeling. It will certainly take some time before a more correct opinion of your circumstances and your whole individuality is arrived at.

My best compliments to your wife, and many thanks for the kindness and love she showed me during my stay at Zurich.

Do not forget either my most "well-conditioned" homages to Frau Kumner and her sister. To our Grutly brother and his wife say all the friendly and true things which I feel for them, and to Baumgartner give a good "shake-hand" (translated into musical Swiss) in my name. The days at the Zeltweg remain bright, sunny days for me. God grant that we may soon be able to repeat them.

Your

DOPPEL PEPS, alias "Double Extract de Peps," or "Double Stout Peps con doppio movimento sempre crescendo al fffff," which latter we shall live to witness at the performance of the "Nibelungen."

Once more I ask you if possible to grant the "Tannhauser" and "Lohengrin" parts to the Carlsruhe festival, and kindly to write a few words to that effect to Devrient. I am off to the concert.

Johanna sings three songs by Schubert ("Wanderer," "Trockne Blumen," and "Ungeduld"), and I sing

[Figure: a musical score]

Pardon me if I have put the bars in the wrong places, and whistle it better for yourself. Address Weymar.



118.

DEAR, DEAR FRANZ,

Here I am in the capital of the Grisons; all is grey, grey. I must take rose-coloured paper to get out of this grey, just as a certain tinge of red glimmers through your grey hat. You see I am compelled to take to bad jokes, and may therefore guess at my mood. Solitude, solitude, nothing but horrible grey solitude, since you went away! Wednesday evening my Zurich people tried to dispel this grey solitude with their torches; it was very pretty and solemn, and nothing like it had happened to me in my life before. They had built an orchestra in front of my house in the Zeltweg, and at first I thought they were erecting a scaffold for me. They played and sang, we exchanged speeches, and I was cheered by an innumerable multitude. I almost wish you had heard the speech of the evening; it was very naive and sincere; I was celebrated as a perfect saviour. The next morning I left in company with St. George; since then rain has fallen incessantly. Last night we found the only mail-coach from Coire to St. Moritz full, and had to make up our minds to stop here for another two nights and one day. Before leaving Zurich I fetched your Frankfort letter from the post-office; alas! it was the last joy which I took with me from deserted Zurich. Be cordially thanked for it, you dear, departed joy!

Today I inaugurate your new writing-case with a first "written" communication to you. Let me talk of business; all else has become too terrible for my pen and ink since I possessed you wholly, heard your noble voice, pressed your divine hand. Therefore to—business!

You shall have the parts; each of them is in a book which contains all the pieces of my Zurich concert; you will therefore have "Tannhauser" as well as "Lohengrin." But as your orchestra will be larger than mine, you will have to have them copied out; still I think they will arrive in time if I send them to Devrient not before the middle of August, after my return from St. Moritz; let me know whether you think the same. If you also want the voice parts and think the chorus ought to begin studying before the middle of August, I will send you them through my wife before the others; as to this also I want your instructions. The newly written score of the "Lohengrin" pieces, containing all the alterations, will be ready in four weeks at the latest. I therefore prefer to wait till then rather than send you the alterations on detached slips of paper, which would be of little use to you. About the middle of August the entire and properly arranged score will be sent to you at Weimar; but if you insist upon having the alterations separately at an earlier date, write to me, and I will obey. So, so, so, so! this is the business.

And now what remains? Sadness! sadness! After you had been taken from us I did not say a single word to George. Silently I returned home; silence reigned everywhere. Thus we celebrated your leave-taking, you dear man; all the splendour had departed. Oh, come back soon, and stay with us for a long time. If you only knew what divine traces you have left behind you! Everything has grown nobler and milder; greatness lives in narrow minds; and sadness covers all.

Farewell, my Franz, my holy Franz. Think of the wild solitude of St. Moritz, and send a ray of your life there soon.

My wife read your letter with me, and was delighted—She greets you cordially. George asks me to greet you, and thanks you for remembering him. He will soon be a poet for your sake. Farewell, dear, dear Franz.

Your

RICHARD.

COIRE, July 15th, 1853.



119.

X. is going to sing in "Tannhauser" at R. in about a fortnight. She had to leave at once after the concert on July 12th, in order to attend to some starring engagements. I saw her first in her dressing-room at the theatre, where she had kindly invited me to visit her for a quarter of an hour after the concert. That quarter of an hour I employed in doing my duty as a doctor and apothecary in the "well-conditioned" line. I told her many and sundry things which she was able to understand. Before taking leave X. promised me to sing Ortrud and Elizabeth at Weymar in the course of next winter, which I accepted very thankfully. Papa X. has some plans for a German opera in London, and opines that your operas would have a fine effect there. I replied that the needful and indispensable would first have to be done for them in Germany. There is no hurry about London, and perfect success there is only possible when the ground in Germany has been firmly occupied.

To S. and M. I repeated once more that it would be scandalous not to give "Tannhauser" on this occasion, and S. went so far as to promise me that, in case of difficulties, he would announce "Tannhauser" with Frau Anschutz-Capitain in the intervals of the starring engagement.

Has Schindelmeisser sent you our Wiesbaden "Lohengrin" snuffbox? As Ortrud was ill, "Lohengrin" could not be given this week. Frau Moritz is a very amiable and excellent woman and artist. She is studying Elsa and Senta, and is quite determined to make active propaganda for your operas. Moritz is going to read your "Ring of the Nibelung" this month at Wiesbaden.

When I go to Carlsruhe, I shall again visit Moritz at Wiesbaden.

Your letter to C. A. reached me this morning early; excellent and worthy of you! This afternoon I drive to Ettersburg to pay my respects to the young gentleman, and shall hand him your letter at once.

The Princess of Prussia is here with her mother, and will probably remain till the end of July. Whether the etiquette of court mourning will permit me to have a talk with her I do not know.

Be happy in the Grisons, you godlike man. When you work at the "Nibelungen," let me be with you, and keep me within you even as you have received me—in truth and love.

Your

F. L.

WEYMAR, July 17th, 1853.

Enclosed I send you a letter from Kohler, which you may on occasion return to me. Have you read his pamphlet "The Melody of Speech"? Perhaps you might write a few words to him.

Do not forget the Carlsruhe scores, and, if possible, the parts. Address always Weymar.

[ENCLOSURE.]

HIGHLY ESTEEMED DR. LISZT,

This is my book. Do not expect to find anything in it, lest I should have the misfortune of incurring your censure.

I have sent the book to Wagner, and it makes me anxious to think that it might displease him; I wish I knew something definite. Wagner has given me infinitely great pleasure by sending me his "Nibelungen." I owe this to you; you were my intercessor.

I am still reading the book. At first it was strange to me, but attracted me as something strange does attract us. Unconsciously, however, I lost myself in it, and now feel quite at home in it, with the true joy of Valhall. The work strikes me with a power which is of a peculiar kind, and I do not care to vex my spirit with reflections. It is such a fine thing if they do not occur of themselves, although, no doubt, the after-effect of the book will lead to reflections. I do not think that for centuries so truly sublime a piece of poetry has been created, so powerful, so full of simplicity—simple in diction—there is marrow in every word. Everything in it appears great, even in an optic sense; the forms of the gods I see before me large, but endowed with the ideal beauty of force; I hear their voices resound afar, and when they move, the air is stirred. This language is in itself true music, and therefore cannot be "set to music." I have a distinct idea of the actual representation of this work and of its perfection; and I discover a kind of speech melody in the forcibly phrased and vividly grouped verses of Wagner, such as I imagined as the ultimate ideal of dramatic tone-speech when I wrote my book; perhaps you hold a similar opinion, or rather you know, as you have been with Wagner. To him I should like to write every day, if only two lines; but Heaven preserve so much occupied a man from my very superfluous words. If Wagner would only let me know ten vocal notes from his "Nibelungen," my mind would be at rest. Wotan is sublime, like a statue in bronze, and yet so humanly conceivable at the same time. The close of the first act of the "Valkyrie" is overpowering. Oh! how I felt with Siegmund. When I read, my soul seemed to expand as if I were looking from a high point upon a large, new world.

Let me have two brief words about Wagner's intention; I shall be eternally grateful to you. I shall always think with delight of my journey and my stay at Weimar. The Altenburg stands daguerreotyped on my soul.

I still smoke your "Plantages" cigars when I want to reward myself after much working. Your arrangement of the Ninth Symphony for two pianos has filled me with the greatest enthusiasm; it is a marvelous work, which I shall shortly notice in print.

How about new editions? Let me write about them all!

In the feuilleton of our newspaper here I wrote three articles about you and Wagner; now, after all, comes S. and writes too, upsetting so many things which I had built up. He is a terribly confused spirit, and the humour of it is that he thinks everybody else confused.

Is Raff working busily at his Samson? I hope we shall soon hear something of him. Remember me to him very kindly.

And now I take my leave of you, asking for your forbearance with

Your wholly devoted

LOUIS KOHLER.

KONIGSBERG, July 3rd, 1853.



120.

Your splendid letter on rosy paper has cheered me up. The air here feels so thick, so buttery (so like rancid butter). Well, let it be as it may, I do not care; you write your "Nibelungen" and "Delenda Philisterium!"

To the young Grand Duke I gave your letter, and I can assure you that he has fully understood your noble language, your high-toned feeling. I had the honour yesterday of seeing the Princess of Prussia; she is staying here at Belvedere without chamberlain or dame d'honneur, simply as the loving and very lovable daughter of her mother, "the Frau Grossherzogin-Grossfurstin" (this is now the official denomination of the Grand Duchess Maria Paulowna). Zigesar, who remains with the latter as acting chamberlain and house-marshal, tells me wonders of the grace and amiability of the Princess of Prussia. I have of course told her many and various things about you.

The Zurich people have acted very well, and we at Weymar have taken cordial interest in your serenade and the torchlight procession. What a pity "Double Peps" was there no longer! He would have drummed and torched with a will.

The day after tomorrow I must start for Carlsbad, and shall stay there till August 15th, wherefore address Carlsbad till middle of August, after that Weymar. The 28th of August (anniversary of Goethe's birthday and of the first performance of "Lohengrin") is fixed for the "Huldigung" (taking the oath of allegiance to the new Grand Duke). I shall probably be there, and must write a march of about two hundred bars by command. Raff is to write a Te Deum for the church ceremony.

For your kind loan of "Tannhauser" and "Lohengrin" to Carlsruhe I am very thankful to you. You save us time and trouble, and I feel quite safe now.

I expect then that between the 15th and 18th of August (please, not later) all the orchestral and choral parts as well as the scores will be in the hands of Devrient at Carlsruhe, and I shall advise him as to their arrival. A correct and spirited performance of the "Tannhauser" overture and the pieces from "Lohengrin" I guarantee, and you shall have satisfactory accounts of it.

If not inconvenient, please arrange that I, with several others, may meet you after the Carlsruhe festival (about 24th or 25th September) at Basle. I should like to revive in your company for a few days, which shall be called "Lohengrin days." By that time I suppose you will be back from your journey, and a meeting will do good to both of us.

Live happy in the enjoyment of your power, my great, splendid Richard.

Remember me very kindly to George, and let me soon hear from you.

Your

FRANZ.

WEYMAR, July 25th, 1853.

Till August 15th address Carlsbad, then again Weymar.



121.

Cordial thanks, dearest friend, for your cheerful letter. I am half ashamed of the dismal mood which prevented me so long from writing to you. I lead here an unbearable, solitary life, in grand but terribly charmless surroundings. At the beginning I made excursions with George to the glaciers and neighbouring valleys, but as this did not agree with my cure, I remained confined to this wretched little place, which, fortunately, I leave the day after tomorrow. Whether the cure has been of use to me the future must show, but upon the whole I am not inclined to repeat it. I am too restless to give up all activity for such a long time. In brief, I am not a fit subject for a cure; that I perceive. I am now all ablaze to go to Italy, but do not intend to start before the end of August, for they say that only in September Italy becomes comfortable for us. For how long I shall roam about there, Lord only knows. Perhaps I shall not be able to bear it long alone, but the thought of returning to Switzerland so very soon is unpleasant to me. Tell me, dearest Franz, have you quite given up your idea of going to Paris? Our meeting there would be much pleasanter than at the commonplace Basle. Are you so much tied by time and space? Of course the hope of seeing you once more this year regulates all my plans; and if you offer me an opportunity for the end of September, I should be a precious fool not to make use of it. See you again therefore I shall in any case; but I venture to ask that you should make it possible to come to Paris, where I should like to divert my thoughts for a little time before permanently returning to my honest Switzerland. The distance from Carlsruhe to Paris is not greater than to Basle. You get there in one day from Strassburg. Pardon me for pressing this caprice upon you.

The Wiesbaden "Lohengrin snuffbox" has had a great effect upon me; it was forwarded to me here by my wife. Your humour seems to have been excellent, so that Schindelmeisser was no doubt unable to understand it. This snuffbox also shall one day figure in my collection of rarities.

Have you received an invitation from Leipzig? Wirsing wrote to me about Lohengrin, but I, on my part, wrote to Raymund Hartel asking him to take the matter in hand and to communicate to Wirsing my conditio sine qua non. You perceive that, on the strength of your friendly promise, I have freely taken to sinning.

I hear that at Berlin the scheme of "Tannhauser" at Kroll's is to be taken seriously in hand in September or October. Schaffer also wrote to me about it.

Young T. wrote to me from Posen that his father had at last permitted him to devote himself to music entirely, and he now prays on his bended knees that I should allow him to live near me at Zurich. This somewhat embarrasses me, for I know that the young man is mistaken in me and Zurich; so I have written to tell him that I am starting on a journey, and that, as he wanted to leave Posen at once, he might first visit you at Weimar, where I would announce him to you. After that he might go with you to Carlsruhe and from there proceed to Zurich, where I should be willing to be of service to him as long as he could stand the place. Do not be angry with me for having put him too on your shoulders; you will soon get rid of him.

I always have an anxious feeling that I might have lost something in your eyes since our meeting, probably because I feel how much you have gained in mine—gained as if there had been anything left for you to gain! What a fool I am!

The parts, etc., I shall send next week to Carlsruhe.

St. George is still very lazy, but he shall work. He sends best regards. Farewell. I must not write more. Tell me soon whether you have not yet had enough of me.

Give my best respects to the Princess. We shall soon meet again!

Farewell, farewell, best of human beings.

Your

R. W.

ST. MORITZ.

P.S.—The Kroll-Berlin "Tannhauser" has fallen through after all. Schoneck has just written to me that he has broken with the director, Wallner, because the latter refused to carry out his undertaking as to the excellence of the ensemble.



122.

As usual, dearest friend, you have had an excellent idea. It is settled then that we go to Paris, and there have a meeting at the end of September, after the Carlsruhe performances. As before then your chief purpose is to see the Mediterranean, I advise you to go to Genoa and Marseilles, and thence to Paris. Napoleon says, "La Mediterranee est un lac francais," so you may go from your Swiss lakes to the French lake for a few weeks and then come to me in Paris.

By the middle of October I must be back at Weymar, but a fortnight of Paris will be quite enough for us.

Therefore this is settled.

T. will be very welcome at Weymar. He wrote to me once or twice before, and, between ourselves, I have heard several things about him which make me think that his character is not oversolid. But that does not matter, and may be left to Meser. A few days ago I received a letter from Berlioz, in answer to my last, in which I had said several things about you.

I quote the following lines:—

"Our art, as we understand it, is an art of millionaires; it requires millions. As soon as these millions are found every difficulty disappears; every dark intellect is illumined; moles and foxes are driven back into the earth; the marble block becomes a god, and the public human: without these millions we remain clodhoppers after thirty years' exertion.

"And yet there is not a sovereign, not a Rothschild, who will understand this. Is it not possible that, after all, we, with our secret pretensions, should simply be stupid and insolent fools?

"I am, like yourself, convinced of the ease with which Wagner and I should fit each other if only he would grease his wheels a little. As to the few lines of which you speak, I have never read them, and therefore feel not the slightest resentment on their account. I have fired too many pistol-shots at the legs of passers-by to be astonished at receiving a few pellets myself."

In Paris we shall continue the subject; material and good fun will not be wanting.

At Leipzig I hope to find a few lines from you, and by the end of this month I shall write to you from Weymar when and how long I can be in Paris. If in the meantime I should have to write to you, I shall address to Zurich, as you must to Weymar.

Farewell, and be cheerful, and do not talk nonsense about what you might have lost in my eyes. At Leipzig I shall attend to the "Lohengrin" affair; so far I have heard nothing about it.

Your

FRANZ LISZT.



123.

Let me today, dear Franz, thank you by a few lines for your last letter. I cannot get on with "writing" to you any longer; nothing occurs to me but my sorrow at your disappearance and my desire to have you again soon and for long. All else scarcely moves me, and "business" relations between us have very little charm for me. The only thing I can think of is seeing you again in the present year. Give me a rendezvous in Paris after the Carlsruhe festival. In any case I shall send my wife to Carlsruhe, so that she may bring back a taste of you.

Almost my only object in "writing" to you is to ask you to forward the enclosed letter to L. Kohler. I know neither his title, nor his address. You might also apologize to him for this very letter, which, I believe, is written in a terribly bad and confused style. The foolish man wants to hear something from me about his book, but as soon as I bend my head a little towards theory the nerves of my brain begin to ache violently, and I feel quite ill. I can and will theorize no longer, and he is not my friend who would lure me back to that cursed ground. Pereant all X. and X. if they know of nothing better than this eternal confused speculating about—art!

Here I live in a wild solitude, ice and snow around me. The day before yesterday we roamed for half a day over glaciers. Herwegh must put up with it. I shall not release him from my net; he must work. He swore yesterday that he had the poem for you in his head. Good luck!

Get me your medallion, you wicked man. I must have it at once. As to the rest, do with me what you like. About the sending of the parts and score to Carlsruhe I await your instructions. I assume that you received my letter from Coire.

I am almost annoyed that you have had intercourse with X.; these people are not worth looking after. Be sure that nothing satisfactory will come of it; we must have whole men or none at all, no half ones; they drag us down: we shall never drag them up. I should be proud if this "man of talent" would decline to assist me altogether.

However, in this matter also you must do as you like. Before all, take care that you continue to love me, and that we see each other soon.

Farewell, dearest friend.

Your

R. W.

Many greetings from St. George.

ST. MORITZ, CANTON GRISONS, July 26th, 1853.



124.

Truly, writing is a misery, and men of our sort should not write at all. However, your rosy paper and your luminous letters, which looked like Spanish grandees, gave me real pleasure. While you are at Coire, intent upon your water-cure, I sit here in Carlsbad looking at nothing but puffed-up faces, excepting one which shines on me like a bright, comforting sun. Till the 16th I must remain here, and on the 22nd I shall be back at Weymar.

By way of entertainment I enjoy Labitzki and his water-cure orchestra, Aldridge, the black Roscius, who plays beautifully Othello, Macbeth, and Fiesco; also spurious Arabs and genuine Chinese, who howl and tinkle to make one run away.

Passing through Leipzig, I saw B. His new book will appear soon, in which there is a separate chapter entitled "Criticism of R. Wagner." We must see whether he has brewed digestible stuff. At Dresden I visited the R.'s. Frau Kummer and her sister had gained my affection at Zurich, and C., who was summoned specially from Pillnitz to meet me, pleased me very well this time. On my journey back I shall again look up the R.'s, for I like to remain in communication with people who prove real friends of yours. We form a little Church of our own, and edify each other by singing your praises. Take note, dear Richard, and make up your mind to it, for it cannot be otherwise. You are now, and will be still more, the concentric focus of every high endeavour, high feeling, and honest effort in art. This is my true conviction, without pedantry and charlatanism, both of which I abhor. Do not fail to use your powerful influence with C., so that he may exert his faculties with some consistency and regularity. I spoke to him of B.'s plan of an Art Review. If you set him tasks, he may do good service to the cause and himself. How about the "leading programme" which you and H. are to sketch together? This is the corner-stone of the whole enterprise. Do not be deterred; I think it necessary that you should submit to some trouble and tedium for the purpose. Before going to Weymar I shall have some definite talk with B. about the matter. If you want to communicate with me on the subject, address Poste restante, Leipzig, or, better still, to the care of Y., so that the letter arrive in Leipzig on the 19th inst. Perhaps by that time you will have been able to settle the chief heads of the programme of "Blatter fur Gegenwart und Zukunft der Gesammt-Kunst" and to draw the outline of the whole scheme.

I repeat it once more, without you and your direct and indirect influence nothing, or something much worse than nothing, will be done. Therefore be patient and help as and where you can.

Do not forget that E. D. expects the "Tannhauser" and "Lohengrin" scores and parts for the Carlsruhe festival on August 15th. You are always so careful and punctual in fulfilling your promises that I am under no anxiety, and only tell you that they wish to begin studying your pieces in Carlsruhe as soon as possible.

B. will probably come to Carlsruhe, and will be at Weymar at the end of this month. I have spoken to Meser at Dresden and warmly recommended to him H. as the most suitable musician to entrust with the four-hand pianoforte arrangement of "Tannhauser." If Meser should write to you about it, be good enough to propose H. to him for this work in preference to other arrangers and derangers. Give my best remembrances to G., and abide with me.

Your

F. L.

CARLSBAD, August 7th, 1853.

P.S.—Our friend Kohler has latterly been severely attacked by several individuals who have the arrogance to think that they stand in opposition to you, while in reality they move in a low and bottomless region. As you probably do not read similar newspapers, I tell you of the fact, and ask you to take account of it in your intercourse with Kohler, whom you should keep in kindly remembrance as one of the loyal.

Kohler will visit you next year; you will be satisfied with him. I forwarded your letter to him at once.

P.S.—Try, if possible, to be back from your intended journeys by the end of September, so that we may meet after Carlsruhe. I hope to be quite free on September 24th.



125.

DEAREST FRIEND,

I returned from St. Moritz a little sooner than I had thought; of my intention to that effect, I believe I wrote to you before. Your last letter was forwarded to me punctually. What pleased me most in it was your good humour and the fact that you spent your day at Dresden with the R.'s, of which they had already informed me in great triumph. Reading their accounts, I felt as if I had been there myself, and as if that evening had only been a continuation of the Zeltweg days. It was splendid and kind of you. As to K. I must wait; we shall see later on. George promised me yesterday that he also would write to you today. From what he says, he is well inclined towards the matter; I shall be glad if it is taken in hand seriously, for then I shall have hope for a possible success of the enterprise even without me.

My dear Franz, once for all do not reckon upon me for any critico-literary enterprise; I cannot go in for that kind of thing. Just as some time ago it was an absolute necessity to me to express my revolution in the fields of art and of life in perfect continuity, even so, and for that very reason, I have at present no inclination for such manifestations, which are no longer a necessity to me. Of this you must be aware, for you know and prove by your own deeds that "quand on agit, on ne s'explique pas;" and I am at present disposed only for action, no longer for explanation. You seem to be of opinion, however, that for the sake of the cause I might conquer my inclination a little and in my own way exert myself. It is just this point which I have made clear to myself: my faculties, taken separately, are not great, and I can only be and do something good when I concentrate all those faculties on one impulse and recklessly consume them and myself for its sake. Whatever part that impulse leads me to adopt, that I am as long as necessary, be it musician, poet, conductor, author, reciter, or what not. In that manner I at one time became a speculative art philosopher. But apart from this main current I can create and do nothing except under extreme compulsion, and in that case I should do something very bad and expose the smallness of my special faculties in a deplorable manner. What you want of me, or rather, as I know very well, what X. wants of me, there is no longer any need for my doing. I have spoken about the theme in question so often and at such length that I am conscious of having done quite enough. X. and his friends and enemies have not even read my writings as they should be read in order to be understood. Otherwise it would be quite impossible that this wretched "separate art" and "universal art" should be the upshot of all my disquisitions. Honestly speaking, I am sick of discussing with stupid people things which they can never take in, because there is in them not a trace of artistic or really human stuff. If I were to take up the cudgels once more, it would be rather against these unfortunate enlightened people than against the intentionally retrograde Jesuits of literature, with whom one need not trouble one's self unless one wants to talk for victory as a litterateur, which has never entered my mind. Certainly, most certainly, I should be very glad to know that I had been rightly understood by many people, glad to see and to hear that clever, instructive, and enlightening things were written and laid down in a journal devoted to such an object; this, indeed, would be the reward of my sacrifices. But, good heavens! there is surely no need that I should write, that I should help, again; these things should come to me from another quarter. It cannot possibly suit me to write the same thing over and over again on the chance of being at last understood, besides which I should probably only puzzle people worse and worse.

Therefore if, in your opinion, the review cannot be started without me, I simply say, Very well then; leave it alone, for in that case it has no object and no value. I still have hopes of G.; he is certainly lazy, but, at any rate, I know that he knows what is at stake and what should be done. Moreover, his whole nature at present impels him to discharge his inner being in the direction necessary for us; if he once is in the proper swing, I hope he will persevere. It is of course understood that my advice, my views, and my opinions are always at his disposal, and in very special cases I may go to work myself; but I must first see that others commence and initiate the work.

Before all, keep that unfortunate "Universal Art" out of the title!

Enough of this!

I am in a miserable condition, and have great difficulty in persuading myself that it must go on like this, and that it would not really be more moral to put an end to this disgraceful kind of life. Solitude and disconsolate loneliness from morning till night—such are the days that follow each other and make up life. To cure my sick brain the doctor has prevailed upon me to give up taking snuff altogether; for the last six days I have not taken a single pinch, which only he can appreciate who is himself as passionate a snuff-taker as I was. Only now I begin to perceive that snuff was the solitary real enjoyment that I had occasionally, and now I give that up too. My torture is indescribable, but I shall persevere; that is settled. Therefore no more snuff-boxes; in future I accept only orders of merit.

My journey is settled in this manner: August 24th I start from here, and arrive in Turin on the 29th at the latest. You can address Poste restante, unless you write to me here first, from where all my letters will be forwarded to me. Genoa, Spezzia, Nice, will detain me till I hear from you for certain when and where our meeting is to be. In the "Carlsruhe Gazette" it was announced that the Musical Festival had been postponed till October; will our meeting have to be postponed too? If you cannot come to Paris, I will of course come to Basle; that is understood. As you happen to be in Leipzig, very kindly remember me to Brendel; I wish he could have visited me, and think that we should have got further in many ways. (Devrient was here when I and my wife too were absent!) Frau Steche recently wrote to me; she shall have an answer before I start. Could you lend her a copy of the "Nibelungen"? B. is not to read it out. Altogether I am very sorry that I ever had the poem printed; it is not to be pulled about like this; it still is mine.

Have you received any communication as to "Lohengrin" at Leipzig? Hartel has left me without an answer for ever so long. I hope I shall hear soon how the matter stands.

Farewell; ah, farewell. How I envy you your whole existence. Greet your esteemed friend from me, and arrange so that you both come to Switzerland soon; in that case something may still become of me. Adieu, dear, unique friend.

Your

R. W.

ZURICH, August 16th, 1853.



126.

"Sancte Franzisce! ora pro nobis!"

I write to you today from the very first stage of my Italian journey, because, as fate would have it, I was unable to answer your last letter from Carlsbad before this. Everything else is thrown into the shade by our rendezvous in Paris, to which you have given your consent in so splendid a manner. But now you must do all in your power to assist me in making it possible. Listen.

The French minister has refused to give me his vise for my passport to Paris, and today I called on M. Salignac-Fenelon at Berne and had a long talk with him about it. Here again you must help me. Salignac, after having become better acquainted with me, promised that he would write at once to his Government in Paris, setting forth that, in his opinion, I have been calumniated, that personally I have inspired him with confidence, etc. He wishes that you should talk to the French minister at Weimar about this matter, so that he too might write to Paris and put in a good word for me. Salignac thinks it would be of good effect if the Grand Duke himself would say a few words in my favour to the minister. As I have told them the true object of my journey to Paris and mentioned Berlioz as one who is to take part in our meeting, it would be well if you could let Berlioz know at once, for it is very possible that inquiries may be made of him as to the truth of my statements. Do get me this vise for Paris. I am too delighted to think of our meeting. I was in hopes of getting a few lines from you from Leipzig before my departure, but shall probably not receive them till I reach Geneva. From the "Carlsruhe Gazette" I see that the festival is fixed for October 3rd to 5th; to me this delay does not matter, and I hope it does not to you either. The Hartels recently forwarded to me some louis d'or on the part of Wirsing, without informing me that you had been invited to superintend "Lohengrin" at Leipzig or that you had accepted the invitation. I hope soon to get particulars from you. I suppose you received my letter at Leipzig. The lazy H. informs me that he has not yet written to you. What is one to do? I am on my way to Turin, dearest Franz, where I shall stay a little time; and if you answer at once, your next letter will find me there Poste restante. (In any case address Turin until further notice.) I am out of sorts, and suffer from sleeplessness. The French vise worries me very much. I should like so much to meet you in Paris; it would be splendid.

Greet Berlioz for me; he is a funny customer; he has not yet arrived at the point where millionaires only could be of use to him. But he is a noble fellow, and all will be right in the end.

Adieu, you best and dearest of all men; continue to love me.

Your

RICHARD.

BERNE, August 25th, 1853.



127.

DEAREST FRIEND,

I am back again in Zurich, unwell, low-spirited, ready to die. At Genoa I became ill, and was terror-struck by my solitary condition, but I was determined to do Italy, and went on to Spezzia. My indisposition increased; enjoyment was out of the question; so I turned back to die or to compose, one or the other; nothing else remains to me.

Here you have the whole story of my journey, my "Italian journey."

I am anxious because I have had no letter from you for so long. You received a letter from me at Leipzig; has it annoyed you? From Berne I wrote to you about the vise of my passport for France, and you were to send your answer to Turin. If that has been done, the letter will be forwarded to me. But why is it that I hear nothing else of you? Has the Carlsruhe festival been postponed, and will it be too late for you to come to Paris? I must be content; I want to see you, wherever it may be; if Zurich is too far for you, I will come to Basle. Paris begins almost to be unpleasant to me in my imagination; I am afraid of Berlioz. With my bad French, I am simply lost.

I have found many silly letters here, amongst others the enclosed from Director Engel, of Kroll's establishment, Berlin. It seems to me as if I could scarcely accept his proposition. May I leave the matter to you, and will you kindly take the decision upon yourself? In order to know what may be useful or detrimental, one must have a local knowledge, which I cannot possibly acquire here. Could you through Kroll, SchafFer, and others make inquiries which would enable you to judge of the effect of such an undertaking as that projected by Engel? To me this "Tannhauser" on the concert platform is horrible, in spite of the six louis d'or for each performance. Of course I cannot tell whether, apart from the absurdity of the thing, it would not be well to keep the fire alight in Berlin. It seems certain that in the higher regions there everything is as dull as possible, and that no decisive step in my favour will be made in that quarter. I wish you would simply say "Yes" or "No." How about Leipzig? I can get no real information from there. It is very long since I heard anything of you!

Alas! I am out of sorts and God-forsaken. I feel so lonely, and yet do not want to see any one. What a miserable existence! I cannot help smiling when I read in B.'s paper the articles by R. F.'s brother-in-law; the man thinks he is going thoroughly to the bottom of the thing, because he is so moderate and cautious; he knows very little of me. Formerly I was very sensitive to being fumbled about in this manner; at present I am quite indifferent, because I know that this kind of thing does not touch me at all. If these people would but know that I wish to be entirely happy only once, and after that should not care to exist any more! Oh for the leathern immortality of india-rubber, which these people think it necessary to attribute to one by way of reward!

Adieu, dearest and best. See that we soon possess each other again, otherwise I shall go from bad to worse.

Adieu, dear Franz.

Your

RICHARD.

ZURICH, September 12th, 1853.



128.

DEAR FRANZ,

There is a young Frenchman here who lives at Florence, and wants to become acquainted with my music, in which your pamphlet has interested him. His journey is arranged chiefly with a view to hearing my operas, and in order to reward his zeal I thought I could not very well decline his request of a few lines to you; so I commend him to your kindness.

Your

RICHARD W.

ZURICH, September 13th, 1853.



129.

CARLSRUHE, September 19th, 1853.

At last, dearest, unique friend, I am again nearer you, and in a fortnight or eighteen days we shall meet either at Basle or Paris. As soon as I know myself I shall send you particulars. Today I only ask you to send me your passport by return of post, so that I may transact the affair with the French minister here in case you have not yet received a definite answer from Berne. The French minister at Weymar, Baron de Talleyrand, is unfortunately at present in Scotland, but I think it will require no special patronage to get the necessary vise. Send me your passport by return of post, and I will take care of the rest.

At Dresden I stayed lately for more than a fortnight. About Tichatschek, Fischer (now operatic stage-manager), and the theatrical affairs there I must tell you several things when I see you, also about matters at Leipzig. I have settled with Rietz that I shall be present at the final rehearsals and the first performance of "Lohengrin," and shall give you an accurate account of it. When I came to Leipzig, I found a good deal of gossip about the "Lohengrin" performance current there. But now it has probably ceased, and you will hear no more of it.

The opera is to be given in the course of November, and, in my opinion, a very warm reception of your work on the part of the public may be expected. The fortress of Leipzig has been conquered for your name and your cause, and even the "Wohlbekannte" informed me that he had been moved to tears by the "Lohengrin" finale. If things go on in this way, Leipzig will soon "Lohengrinize." If there should be a delay of the performance, it will do no harm; au contraire, and in that respect even the aforesaid town gossip was not unfavourable. I shall tell you about all this at length. The matter concerning Engel I shall settle tomorrow, and shall write to you at once; I am still a little doubtful whether one ought to accept or not. Conradi, the Capellmeister, is a friend of mine; and if anything comes of the matter, I shall put myself in communication with him. He has known "Tannhauser" ever since the year 1849, when he was staying at Weymar. Such an undertaking depends largely upon the manner of execution. For the present I am of opinion that we ought to be in no hurry about giving our consent; a concert performance of "Tannhauser" at Kroll's establishment has much against it, and might probably interfere with the stage performance which must of necessity follow. Leave the whole matter to me. H. has a good idea; he thinks that if E. is so favourably inclined towards spreading your works in Berlin, or rather towards making money by them, he might arrange a repetition of your Zurich concerts with the identical programme. But about this also there is no hurry. On certain conditions I should be prepared to go to Berlin and undertake the direction of the three Zurich concerts. I should probably employ the Male Choir Association which Wieprecht conducts, and of which I have had the honour of being honorary conductor ever since the year 1843.

More about this on an early occasion. In the meantime I think you will do well to write to E. that you cannot accustom yourself to the idea of a concert performance of your drama.

Enough for the present.

Your

F. L.

CARLSRUHE, September 20th, 1853.



130.

DEAREST FRANZ,

Very angry as I am with you for having left me without news so long, you shall have a rose-coloured sheet today in return for the excellent news of your proximity and of our early meeting. By return of post I was unable to answer you, because your letter had to be forwarded to me at Baden, where I stay at intervals with my wife, who is undergoing a cure there. Enclosed is the passport. Salignac-Fenelon, the French minister at Berne, has sent me no news up to date, and it will therefore be well if you can settle the matter with the minister at Carlsruhe. Even if Paris had to be given up for the present, which must entirely depend on you, it will be of importance to me to have the French vise, so as not to be shut out from Paris and France for the future. You may safely offer every possible guarantee, and promise that I shall not mix myself up with any political matters. I know that this will satisfy the French Government. They may, moreover, be certain that I shall not permanently stay in France, but without fail return to Switzerland. For your communications about Leipzig and Berlin I thank you cordially; as to Berlin it shall be exactly as you say.

What will happen at Carlsruhe? D. again left me recently without an answer, probably because I asked him to advance me the honorarium for "Tannhauser," as I had reason to be anxious about my income.

By the way, concerning the rendering of the very difficult male chorus "Im Fruh'n versammelt uns der Ruf," I must ask you to choose the best singers for it.

For the piano passage (A major, E in the bass) it would be well if eight soloists were to sing about eight bars by themselves; the neat, elegant piano cannot be done by a large chorus. (This is a minor matter.)

You appear to be well and in good spirits; you are a happy man. From Dresden Julia wrote to me in ecstasy about you; you must have been very comfortable; a good thing I was not there and remained alone instead.

Child, I have much to tell you. If matters are to go well, you must frequently stay in Switzerland; then all will be right. About this and similar things we shall talk. In the meantime let me have news from Carlsruhe now and then.

My real life lies always abroad.

God bless you. Take my most joyful greeting and kiss.

Your

RICHARD.

ZURICH, September 22nd, 1853.



131.

I have at last hit upon a way of settling your passport affair which will make it unnecessary for me to have your passport here. When all is settled, I will let you know how it has been done. I herewith return your passport and ask you to apply to Fenelon again, either by letter or personally, when probably he will not hesitate to affix his vise to your passport. Tell him that you intend to start for Paris on October 5th at the latest, and that we two are to meet at Basle. Concerning this meeting I ask you particularly to be at Basle on the evening of the 6th without fail. J., Pohl, and probably several others are longing to see you, and I have promised to take them to you at Basle. I should like to come again to Zurich, but am too much pressed for time. At Basle, then, either at the "Storch" or at the "Drei Konige," as you prefer. I hope that by that time you will have received your passport, and we can then at once concoct our journey to Paris.

Answer "Yes" without fail, and do not mind the somewhat tedious journey from Zurich to Basle. Today my rehearsals begin here, and I shall again have to go to Darmstadt and Mannheim to have separate rehearsals, till we return here next Saturday for the general rehearsals. In addition to this, I have to pay my respects to a number of known and unknown people of all sorts.

Are not your wife and Madame Heim coming to the festival? Let me know in case they have that intention, for at the last moment it will be difficult to get tickets.

I am obliged to you for your instruction as to the eight singers in the A major passage (E in the bass) of the "Lohengrin" chorus, and shall act upon it. Do not be angry, dearest friend, on account of my long silence and my insignificant letters. You know that my whole soul is devoted to you, because I love you sincerely, and that I always try to serve you as well as I can.

Your

FRANZ LISZT.

Sunday, September 25th, 1853.

P.S.—It would be the simplest thing if you could go to Berne yourself; but this is not absolutely necessary, and it will be sufficient if you write to his Excellency, enclosing your passport and asking him to return it to you at Zurich by October 3rd. Perhaps it would be better if you were to write, so that he may forward your letter to Paris. Consider this, and do not forget that we are to meet at Basle on the evening of October 6th.



132.

Best thanks, my dearest Franz. I have just written to M. Fenelon, enclosing my passport once more. Candidly speaking, the matter suddenly begins to annoy me very much, and I do not expect a good result. My wish quite coincides with your plan. I fully anticipated that Basle could not be avoided altogether; it is adapted for a meeting with the friends who have come to Carlsruhe. The excursion to Paris after that concerns us two alone; so our thoughts have once more been the same.

As to the rest, I am longing to get to work at last. My ordinary life is unbearable unless I, so to speak, devour myself. Moreover, I cannot keep my peace, as I particularly want to do, unless I devote myself to this music.

After your visit, everything came to nothing with me this summer; no other hope was fulfilled, all went wrong, and—well, we shall see whether I get this passport.

The day after tomorrow week, we shall meet! (I wish it were the day after tomorrow.) Will you, or shall I, engage the hotel? Let it be the "Drei Konige;" they have nice rooms there and a balcony looking over the Rhine; let us engage some of those. You are once more in the middle of your exertions, and I must almost envy you; I at least realize by such exertions alone that I am alive. Rest is death to me; and if sometimes I go in quest of it,—I mean that other rest; the beautiful, the joyful,—I feel that in reality it must be nothing but death, but real, noble, perfect death, not this death in life which I die from day to day.

Adieu, dearest friend.

What a blessing that you have no double!

Au revoir soon! Your

RICHARD W.

ZURICH, September 29th, 1853.



133.

DEAREST FRIEND,

It just occurs to me that in "Lohengrin" I have forgotten to mark the tempo in one place, which I discovered only when I conducted it here—I mean in the "Bridal Song" in D major, after the second solo passage of the eight women, the last eight bars before the tempo primo.

[Figure: a musical score]

Here the tempo is to be considerably slower even than at the first entry of the D major; the impression must be one of solemn emotion, or else the intention is lost.

How are you?

Today week!

Your

R. W.

September 29th, 1853.

In the "Bridal Procession" (E flat), where the first tempo reappears in the woodwind,

[Figure: a musical score]

that woodwind ought to be doubled.



134.

I have promised the concert score of the "Lohengrin" pieces to Apt, director of the "Cacilienverein," Prague; therefore kindly leave word at Carlsruhe that this score is to be sent immediately after the last concert to Apt in Prague; the parts to go back here.

Yesterday you had the general rehearsal; I am always with you.

The day after tomorrow! I say, "The day after tomorrow!"

Adieu.

Your

R. W.

ZURICH. October 2nd, 1853.



135.

Here I stand and stare after you; my whole being is silence; let me not seek words, even for you. Speech seems to exist only to do violence to feeling. Therefore no violence, but silence!

I have not much news for you from the "world." Tomorrow I start for home, but shall see your children before I go. Madame Kalergy I did not find at home and am doubtful whether I shall see her. Make my excuses to her.

From Zurich I shall write to you again. Be thanked for your blissful love! Greet the Princess and the Child! Can I write more? Ah, I am all feeling. My intellect is within my heart, but from my heart I cannot write to you.

Farewell, farewell, you dear beloved ones.

Your

RICHARD W.

PARIS October 26th, 1853.



136.

I suppose you have nothing to write to me, dear Franz, or else you would have sent me a few lines.

Your children told me that they had had a letter from you, telling them that you had quickly got to Weimar and had lived there quietly till your birthday without seeing anybody. On your birthday I made some music in Paris; I had at last to offer something to my two or three old Paris friends, one of whom you appreciated.

Erard sent me a grand pianoforte, which has filled me with a fanatical desire to perform some flights on it, even if I had still to learn fingering. So then I began to "Tannhauser" and to "Lohengrin" on the Boulevard des Italiens as if you were with us. The poor devils could not understand why I was beside myself. However, it went better than at Madame Kalergy's, although you were present then. Why?—Madame Kalergy I did not see again, but I hope the few lines I sent her have made my excuses. Apart from this, I received a visit from an agent de police, who, after I had passed my examination satisfactorily, assured me that I might stay in Paris a whole month. My answer that I should leave sooner astonished him, and he repeated that I might stop a whole month. The good man! dear Paris!, The Emperor also I saw. What more can one desire?

The day before yesterday I arrived here. Peps received me joyfully at the carriage, and in return I gave him a beautiful collar, engraved with his name, which has become sacred to me. He never leaves my side; in the morning he comes to my bed to awake me. He is a dear, good animal. The minster of Strassburg I saw again; my good wife stood with me in front of it. It was dull, rainy weather. The divine point of the tower we could not see; it was covered by mist. How different from that other day, the sacred Sunday before the minster!

Let it be night; the stars shine then. I look upwards and behold; for me also there shines a star.

Farewell, and greet the dear ones. Today the Rhinegold was coursing through my veins; if it is to be, if it cannot be otherwise, you shall have a work of art that will give you joy(?).

Dear, unique friend, remember your poor

RICHARD W.



137.

The "pale mariner" has once more gone across the stage here, and in his honour I yesterday occupied the conductor's seat again, after an interval of eight months.

With the "Flying Dutchman" I left the orchestra for a time at the beginning of last March, and with the same work I resume my connection with the theatre for this season.

You may assume that my passion for your tone and word-poems is the only reason why I do not give up my activity as a conductor. Small as may be the result that I can achieve, it is not, I think, altogether illusory. We have arranged a Wagner week; and the "Flying Dutchman," "Tannhauser," and "Lohengrin" have taken firm ground and cast deep roots here. All the rest is moonshine to me with the sole exception of Berlioz's "Cellini." For this work I retain my great predilection, which you will not think uncalled for when you know it better.

Next week I shall have to rehearse "Tell," and the opera will be given in a fortnight. "Tannhauser" will follow immediately afterwards. As our new tenor, Dr. Liebert, a very willing, industrious, and gifted singer, has never sung the part, I shall go through it with him separately once or twice. In all probability the performance this year will be better than the previous ones. The "Flying Dutchman" was given yesterday, to the increased satisfaction of the public. Milde and his wife acted and sang beautifully, and I may assume that you would have witnessed the performance without grumbling, although our weak chorus is a fatal evil. Four or five new engagements have been made for the chorus, but that of course is by no means sufficient.

Immediately after my return, I proposed to Zigesar to give "Lohengrin," with Tichatschek and Johanna, on the evening when the court visits the theatre again. (The strict mourning will last several months still, and during that time the court box remains empty and dark.) If no special impediments arise, that performance will take place. Up till then I shall conduct only your two operas, "Tell" and Dorn's "Nibelungen."

Of my personal affairs I say nothing. The poor Princess sends her friendliest greetings. She is troubled with a large mass of correspondence of the most unpleasant kind. May God grant that next summer we enter a new stage of the status quo, and that our Zurich trip need not be delayed after the end of June. Your "Rhinegold" is ready, is it not? Bestir yourself, dearest friend. Work is the only salvation on this earth. Sing and write, therefore, and get rid of your brain abscess by that means. Perhaps your sleep will become a little more reposeful in the same manner. Kind remembrances to your wife from your

FRANZ.

October 31 1853.

Do you remember a Herr Friedrich Schmitt, professor of singing at Munich? Have you read his pamphlet, and what do you think of it? Write me two words about it. How about Tyszkiewiz? Did you see him at Paris several times after I had left?



138.

DEAREST FRANZ,

My threat that I should once more lay you under contribution in an impudent manner must today be realized. Listen to me! I feel so hale and hearty at my work that I may expect everything—not only the success of my music, but better health as well—if I can only stick to it without interruption and yield to my splendid mood without anxiety. If I had to get up in the morning without taking at once to my music, I should be unhappy. This is the first day I break into in order, if possible, to get rid once for all of this fear which follows me like a treacherous spectre. For that reason I must arrange my money affairs so as not to be molested by them any longer. This I can do by selling my theatrical royalties on Lohengrin. By the peculiar character of this income I am kept in a state of strange and most painful excitement. Although it is tolerably certain that my two last operas will be given at all German theatres, as "Tannhauser" has already been at most of them, the time when they may be asked for and paid for is so uncertain that I, being largely dependent upon this income, often get into a fatally unsettled state of mind, in which my sanguine temperament is apt to suggest to me that the royalties to be expected are nearer than they really are. By that means I overrate my immediate income, and consequently spend considerably more than I possess. By the occasional and illusory character of these theatrical royalties and by my certainly indefensible liking for a pleasanter way of life than I have led these last years, I have been placed in the position of having to pay large sums next Christmas without being able to reckon upon any income whatever with certainty. Even if the case were not as urgent as it is, this eternal waiting upon chance, this continual expectation of the postman, whether he is going to bring me an offer or a favourable answer, are so troublesome, so humiliating and disturbing to me, that I am compelled to think of a radical cure, and for that purpose I want you to assist me with the Hartels. I propose to sell to the Hartels the copyright of the score of "Lohengrin," including the right of selling it to theatrical managers, with the following exceptions only:—

1. The court theatres of Berlin, Vienna, and Munich, which will have to acquire the performing rights of "Lohengrin" from me.

2. The theatres of Weimar, Dresden, Wiesbaden, and Leipzig, which have already obtained those performing rights from me. A list of the theatres which will have to apply to the new proprietor will be found on the enclosed sheet. It includes all those theatres which have already successfully produced "Tannhauser" or will produce it soon, as may be safely predicted from these precedents. In the case of the twenty-two theatres to which I have already sold "Tannhauser" the amount of the honorarium received has been indicated; and for the correctness of these indications, as well as for the fact that I am not going to let the other fifteen theatres have it cheaper than is in each case stated, I pledge my word of honour. The aggregate income from the twenty-two and from the fifteen theatres I calculate, as the enclosure shows, at six hundred and thirty-two louis d'or; and the question is now what sum I can demand of the purchaser of "Lohengrin," including the theatrical rights, on condition that he pays me in cash by Christmas of the present year; that is, by December 20th, 1853.

I should prefer to apply to Messrs. Hartel in this matter—(1) because they would be the most respectable purchasers; (2) because they are the publishers of the score and pianoforte arrangements, and are therefore interested in the success of the whole; and (3) because this would at last give me an opportunity of coming to terms with them as to a proper honorarium for the copyright of "Lohengrin."

If Messrs. Hartel remember in what circumstances I at that time offered them the publication of "Lohengrin"; if they call to mind that I expressly told them that I did not believe in the success of my operas, at least during my lifetime, and that therefore I looked upon their undertaking the publication simply as a sacrifice, which they made in the interest of a hopeless but respectable cause; if they bear me out in saying that I myself acknowledged the wiping out of an old debt (of the settlement of which they had, on account of my position, the very remotest chance) to be in these hopeless circumstances a sacrifice on their part, but that at the same time I expressed my conviction that in case, against all expectation, "Lohengrin" should turn out a success, and its publication a good speculation, they would think of me in a generous manner—in case of all this these gentlemen will not consider it unfair or inopportune if I look upon the circumstances as changed to such an extent that I may now think of some profit for myself. In the first instance it is a fact confirmed to me by repeated observations and experiences that even before there was a sign of a further spreading of these operas by means of theatrical and concert performances the publication of my works had developed into an exceptionally good business, entirely through means of Weimar and of your efforts, dearest friend. In consequence of some concerts, and recently the incredibly successful performance at Wiesbaden, this has become more and more certain, and nothing similar has perhaps ever happened to an opera before it had been made known by the leading theatres. It has also been shown that wherever parts of it were performed the music of "Lohengrin" was much more attractive even than that of "Tannhauser", although the latter also occupies the theatres and the public to such a degree that it everywhere prepares the way for "Lohengrin". It may therefore be confidently assumed that "Lohengrin", after the example of "Tannhauser", will make the round of all the theatres and secure the favour of the public even more lastingly than the latter, which has been the saving of more than one manager. In such circumstances, while thanking the Messrs. Hartel for undertaking the publication in the first instance, I venture to remind them of a debt of honour in the sense that they should allow me to have my share in this success of the business. If, in accordance with their generous turn of mind, I may expect Messrs. Hartel to be favourably inclined towards this—especially as at the time they undertook the matter less for the sake of gain than of honour—the question would only be in what manner they should assign to me my share of the profits. Perhaps they would be very willing to let me have a certain portion of the money accruing from the sale of detached parts of the opera. I remember that when, ten years ago, I proposed to them the publication of the "Flying Dutchman," they offered me the profits of the sale of the large pianoforte score after fifty or a hundred copies had been disposed of. Lucrative as my share might turn out in this manner, yet this kind of income would show the same unsatisfactory and painful features already complained of in connection with the uncertain theatrical royalties, which therefore I should like to sell outright. I should then prefer a sum payable at once, and all that we need find out is the price, fair to both parties. For that purpose I may first mention the step which I have fixed upon taking in order to make the copyright of "Lohengrin" much more valuable than otherwise it would be—I mean the publication of separate vocal and pianoforte pieces. We all know that the so-called morceaux detaches are the chief source of profit in the case of operas; to publish such would in the case of "Lohengrin" be impossible on account of the peculiar character of the opera, in which there are no single vocal pieces that in a manner detach themselves from the context. I alone, being the composer, was able to separate a number of the most attractive vocal pieces from the whole by means of rearranging and cutting them and writing an introduction and a close to them, etc. Nine such pieces, short, easy, and even popular, I gave you some time ago, asking you to keep them till further order and then send them to Messrs. Hartel; they may be published as arranged by me. In addition to this, I indicated to B. five numbers, arranged in a similar manner as the vocal pieces, only longer, which he is to transfer to the pianoforte as independent and melodious pieces. By that manner the bad impression of the pianoforte scores without words, arranged without my concurrence, and perfectly useless, would be obviated.

Apart from adding in this way to the value of the copyright, I have opened to my publishers an unexpected source of income by transferring to them the right of printing the librettos for the theatres. How very lucrative this generally acknowledged right is may be seen from the fact that in one winter six thousand copies of the libretto of "Tannhauser" were ordered for Breslau alone. Messrs. Hartel offered to share the profits of the sale of librettos with me, but in this case also I prefer to take at once a lump sum, to be settled upon. After having stated in this manner what I offer to my publishers for sale, I think it appropriate to name the lump sum which I think I may ask.

The receipts from the theatres (with the exception of those specified) I have in the above calculated at six hundred and thirty-two louis d'or. This is a minimum which, no doubt, could be considerably increased. I have already announced to the theatres that they will have to pay more for "Lohengrin" than for "Tannhauser." Breslau, for example, would certainly have to pay at the least twenty-five louis d'or, as they did for the "Flying Dutchman," instead of twenty; I might even insist on thirty. Apart from this, I have not mentioned all the theatres; I have, for example, omitted Ratisbon, Innsbruck, and others, although even the smallest theatres have attempted "Tannhauser;" Zurich also I have not mentioned. In addition to this, I place at the disposal of the purchasers the non-German theatres abroad, such as Petersburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, etc., with the exception, however, of London and Paris. All this and everything accruing from the copyright I should cede to the Messrs. Hartel for the sum of 15,000 francs (I have calculated the theatrical receipts at a minimum of 13,000 francs), payable in full at Zurich on December 20th.

I wish very much that this or something similar could be brought about, so that I might be able to dispose of the next few years— those most important working years—and to keep them clear of all mean anxieties. If you consider, dearest Franz, that I do not offer rubbish for sale, that in the future this opera and "Tannhauser" alone are likely to yield me an income—I do not wish, even in my thoughts, to soil the "Nibelungen" with Jewish calculations, so as to keep them, if possible, quite clean in this respect also—if you, finally, go through my general, but I think accurate and by no means chimerical, calculations, you will perhaps find my demand fair enough and—now I am coming to it—

support it with the Hartels.

This I ask you fervently to do.

An opportunity will be offered to you by the impending performance of "Lohengrin" at Leipzig. No one of course can compel the Hartels to undertake the purchase, even for a smaller sum; but if any one can, it is you, and therefore I had to apply to you.

Perish all this Jewish business! Today has been a bad, musicless day; out of doors also it is grey and misty; let us hope tomorrow will be better.

Farewell, my most unique, my dearest friend.

Your

RICHARD W.

ZURICH, November 16th, 1853.



139.

DEAREST RICHARD,

I returned last night from Leipzig with a bad cold; and the enclosed letter from Hartel, which I found here, has made my cold and my temper worse. When I went to Leipzig on December 1st, I spoke to the Hartels about your proposal, and showed them your letter, because that document explains the matter clearly and comprehensively. I have known the Hartels for years to be respectable and comme il faut, and therefore flattered myself that they would meet your wish in one way or another. Such, however, is unfortunately not the case; and I am in the unpleasant position of having to forward you a refusal. It is just possible that they were a little riled by your dislike of the pianoforte arrangement for four hands, which I think quite justified and natural on your part. I was unable to conceal this detail from them, because I think it of some importance for all further copyright transactions. The Hartels belong to the "moderate party of progress," and are influenced by several friends of the so-called historic school. Jahn especially is a great friend of Dr. Hartel's; and your and my friends Pohl, Ritter, Brendel, etc., are a little in their bad books.

Tomorrow week (December 21st) "Lohengrin" is announced at Leipzig, but probably the first performance will be delayed till the 26th (Boxing Day). In any case I shall go over for the two last general rehearsals and for the first performance, and shall send you an accurate account. Rietz is said to be very careful with the orchestral rehearsals, taking the woodwind, the brass, and the strings separately. Altogether the "Lohengrin" performance at Leipzig has been very well prepared, and a decisive and permanent success of the work may be anticipated with certainty.