Hearty thanks, dear friend, for your satisfactory, truthful adjustment of my position, which is neither a doubtful nor a cowardly one, in the Jewish question.
The watchword and solution of that question is a matter for the perseverance of the Israelites and for the all-ruling Divine Providence.
Yours faithfully and gratefully,
F. Liszt
Budapest, February 18th, 1883
I shall send that number of your weekly paper (16th February) to Cardinal Haynald, my gracious patron of many years' standing—who was also the President of the Liszt-Jubilee Festival in Budapest.
326. To Lina Ramann
My very dear Friend,
Ever since the days of my youth I have considered dying much simpler than living. Even if often there is fearful and protracted suffering before death, yet is death nonetheless the deliverance from our involuntary yoke of existence.
Religion assuages this yoke, yet our heart bleeds under it continually!—
"Sursum corda!"
In my "Requiem" (for men's voices) I endeavored to give expression to the mild, redeeming character of death. It is shown in the "Dies irae," in which the domination of fear could not be avoided; in the three-part strophe
"Qui Mariam absolvisti,Et latronem exaudisti,Mihi autem spem dedisti"
lies the fervent, tender accent, which is not easily attained by ordinary singers…The execution is also made more difficult by the 2 semitones, ascending in the 1st Tenor, and descending in the 2nd Tenor and 1st Bass. Progressions of this kind are indeed not new, but singers so seldom possess the requisite crystal- clear intonation without which the unhappy composer comes to grief.
Our 3rd Elegie, "The funeral gondola" ("la gondola funebre"), written unawares last December in Venice, is to be brought out this summer by Kahnt, who has already published my 2 earlier Elegies.
Heartfelt greetings to your respected collaborators, and ever yours gratefully,
F. Liszt
Budapest, February 22nd, 1883
327. To Madame Malwine Tardieu
Dear Benevolent One,
To great grief silence is best suited. I will be silent onWagner, the prototype of an initiatory genius.
Thank you cordially for your telegram of yesterday. [On the success of Saint-Saens' Opera "Henry VIII." at the opera in Paris] No one rejoices more than I in the success of Saint-Saens. There is no doubt that he deserves it; but fortune, grand sovereign of doubtful manners, is often in no hurry to array herself on the side of merit.
One has to keep on tenaciously pulling her by the ear (as Saint-Saens has done) to make her listen to reason.
Be so good as to send me the number of the Independance with the article on "Henry VIII." I will ask M. Saissy, the director of the Gazette (French) de Hongrie, professor of French literature at the University of Budapest, to reproduce this article in his Gazette. Saissy is one of my friends; consequently he will publish what is favorable to "Henry VIII."
Saint-Saens has sent me the score of his beautiful work "La Lyre et la Harpe." Alas! everything that is not of the theater and does not belong to the repertoire of the old classical masters Handel, Bach, Palestrina, etc., does not yet gain any attentive and paying consideration—the decisive criterion—of the public. Berlioz, during his lifetime, furnished the proof of this.
Please give my love to your husband, and accept my devoted and grateful affection.
F. Liszt
Budapest, March 6th, 1883
With regard to Lagye, I am contrite. Various things which I had to send off with care have prevented me from going on with the revision of the French edition of my Lieder. It shall be done next month.
328. To Ferdinand Taborszky, Music Publisher in Budapest
Dear Taborszky,
As it is uncertain whether I shall still be alive next year, I have just written an Hungarian "Konigslied" [Royal Song] according to an old mode, for the opening of the New Hungarian Theater in Radialstrasse.
Herewith is the manuscript for pianoforte, two hands, and the score with text by Kornel Abranyi [German translation by Ladislaus Neugebauer] will follow in Easter week.
The publishing of my "Konigslied" ought not to take place till the first performance in the new theater in '84,
Until then we will keep quiet about it.—
Yours in all friendship,
F. Liszt
Budapest, March 11th, 1883
329. To Baroness M. E. Schwartz
[Autograph in the Liszt Museum at Weimar]
Budapest, March 22nd, 1883
Dear and most excellent One,
[Chere excellentissime]
It is really extraordinary that after so many years of constant practice in works of mercy you are not ruined. Your life seems to me one vast symphony of generosity, munificence, charities, gifts and attentions as delicate as they are costly. To begin with, there are Garibaldi and his people, and to continue indefinitely there are those poor German fellows, ill at Rome, and buried there at your expense; and then the fighting Cretans, the infirm people in your hospital at Jena, the societies for the protection of animals, etc., etc.
I admire you and bow before your perpetual kindnesses and goodness,—all the more because you exercise them unobtrusively, as it were in the shade, without any flourish of trumpets and drums.
Do not scold me for having divided the gift you confided to me for the sufferers from the inundations at Raab. 300 florins were amply sufficient for them, and the other 300 florins of your 50 pounds sterling were well employed for the children's gardens (an admirable institution of Frobel's), of which Madame Tisza, the wife of the President of Council of the Ministers of Hungary, is the president in this country.
I send you herewith Madame Tisza's thanks (in Hungarian, with aGerman translation), and the receipt of Count Thun,—supremeCount (an ancient title still preserved,—"Obergespan" in German)of the Committee of Raab.
I preferred to send your gift in the name of Madame E. de Schwartz, and not to mix up your nom de plume of Elpis Melena with it. Pardon me this innocent bit of arbitrariness.
Shall I see you again, my very dear friend, this summer atWeimar? I hope so, and I remain sempper ubique
Your grateful and attached
F. Liszt
From the middle of April until August I shall stay at Weimar, with the exception of some excursions of a few days' duration. Please let me know a couple of weeks beforehand when your friendly visit will take place.
330. To Baroness Wrangel in St. Petersburg
[This lady had begged Liszt for a contribution to an album which it was intended to present to Henselt on the occasion of a festival in honor of his having been 25 years General Music Inspector of the Imperial Schools in St. Petersburg, Moscow, etc. This is Liszt's answer.]
Madame la Baronne,
For thirty years past I have entirely abstained from adding to collections of autographs and of writing my name in any albums whatever. Nevertheless I willingly make an exception today, while thanking you for your kind words, and begging you to transmit to my honored friend A. Henselt the short copy enclosed herewith.
A renowned diplomatist once said to me, "To princes one should offer only flowers gathered from their own gardens."
Henselt belongs to the princes, and will accept the souvenir of one of the most beautiful flowers of his own noble gardening.
Very humble respects.
F. Liszt
Weimar, May 20th, 1883
[Liszt adds a postscript to this letter where he writes a musical score excerpt of the Larghetto form Henselt's Concerto:]
"Albumblatt" for Henselt.
Motive of the wonderful Larghetto in A. Henselt's Concerto.Larghetto.
[Here, Liszt illustrates with a musical score excerpt of the main theme of the Larghetto.]
For 40 years the composer's admiring and truly attached
Weimar, May, 1883
F. Liszt
331. To Mason and Hamlin in Boston
[Printed in Gottschalg's "Urania"]
My dear Sirs,
For what a magnificent Organ I have to thank your kindness! It is worthy of all praise and admiration! Even average players could attain much success on it.—I should gladly have kept this splendid instrument in my own house, but, alas! there is not sufficient room for it. It is now looking grand in the large room of the Orchestral School here, an institution of importance, the excellent director of which is Herr Professor and Hofcapellmeister K. Mueller-Hartung—he has published some beautiful Organ Sonatas and plays them no less beautifully.—On the evening of its opening two renowned organists played upon it, the Court organist A. W. Gottschalg (the publisher of the considerable Organ repertoire, etc., etc.), and the town organist B. Sulze, who has attained a great name through many valuable compositions and transcriptions.—I shall probably have a visit this summer from Prof. Dr. Naumann from Jena, Walter Bache from London, and Saint-Saens from Paris, who, according to my opinion, continues to be the most eminent and extraordinary king of organists. I shall not fail to beg the three above-mentioned virtuosi to make a closer acquaintance with your organ. For the rest it shall not be misused and shall remain closed to ordinary players.
Accept, etc.,
F. Liszt
Weimar, June 12th, 1883
332. To Madame Malwine Tardieu
Chere Bienveillante,
Thank you for the very agreeable news of the resumption and continuation of the performances of "Henry VIII." No one wishes Saint-Saens, more than I do, all the success that he grandly deserves, both in the theater and in concerts.
In the matter of concerts, those of the Meiningen orchestra, under Bulow's conductorship, are astonishing, and very instructive for the due comprehension of the works and the rendering of them. I send you a copy of some lines written to a friend; these will give you my impression,—one which you would share if you heard these concerts of the highest artistic lineage.—The parallel between the "Sigurd" of Reyer [Performed for the first time on 7th January, 1884, at the Theater de la Monnaie, Brussels.] and the "Siegfried" of Wagner is ingeniously traced by your husband, and renders good preparatory service to the success of the performances of "Sigurd." As to the "Nibelungen" tetralogy of Wagner—it shines with an immortal glory. In the course of the winter season the Weimar theater will give Gevaert's "Quentin Durward." Lassen will take the utmost pains in directing the study and performance of it. To my regret I shall not be able to be present at the premiere here, as I am obliged to be at Budapest before the middle of January.
Please give Tardieu the cordial love of
Your much attached
F. Liszt
Weimar, December 14th, 1883
Yet another young pianist, but one of the best kind,—M. Siloti, a Russian by birth, and of good education. He was said to be the best pupil of Nicholas Rubinstein before he came to work with me. He obtained a marked success at Leipzig lately, which he will continue next week at Antwerp. In spite of my aversion to letters of introduction, I am giving him a couple of words for the Lynens, and I recommend him to your kind attention.
333. To Casar Cui
Very Honored Friend,
It is well known in various countries in what high esteem I hold your works. As I am convinced that the "Suite" of which you speak will prove itself worthy of your preceding compositions, I feel that I am honored by the dedication, and thank you for it with gratitude. Your musical style is raised far above ordinary phraseology; you do not cultivate the convenient and barren field of the commonplace…Doubtless form in Art is necessary to the expression of ideas and sentiments; it must be adequate, supple, free, now energetic, now graceful, delicate; sometimes even subtle and complex, but always to the exclusion of the ancient remains of decrepit formalism.
At Meiningen, where Bulow's admirable conducting is working wonders of rhythm and nuances with the orchestra, I lately had the honor of a conversation with the Grand Duke Constantine Constantinowitch, on the actual development of music in Russia and of the well-known capacity of its courageous promoters. His Imperial Highness justly appreciates their serious worth, their noble character and intense originality; consequently, dear Monsieur Cui, the Grand Duke accords full praise to your talents and deserts. I take pleasure in repeating this to you, at the same time renewing to you the assurance of my very sincere regard.
F. Liszt
Weimar, December 30th, 1883
A young Russian pianist, M. Siloti, who has been brought to a high state of virtuosity by the lessons and example of Nicholas Rubinstein, is now gaining a real success in Germany. When he comes to Petersburg I recommend him to your kindness.
334. To Otto Lessmann
Weimar, January l0th, 1884
Dear Friend,
The remarkable concerts of the Meiningen Court orchestra led me to the attempt to write a "Bulow March." I send you herewith a Preface to this, and also an article (in French), in the form of a letter, on my impressions in Meiningen. Will you insert both these in your paper? Also kindly translate the French letter.
[It follows here after the Preface in the original. A German translation of it appeared in Lessmann's Allgemeine Musikzeitung on the 18th January, 1884, under the title of "Letter to a friend."]
Faithfully yours,
F. Liszt
I shall stay ten days to a fortnight longer in Weimar on account of the severe illness of Achilles [Liszt's servant].
Preface to the Bulow March:
For thirty years Hans von Bulow has been expressing and actively furthering everything that is noble, right, high-minded and free- minded in the regions of creative Art. As virtuoso, teacher, conductor, commentator, propagandist—indeed even sometimes as a humorous journalist—Bulow remains the Chief of musical progress, with the initiative born in and belonging to him by the grace of God, with an impassioned perseverance, incessantly striving heroically after the Ideal, and attaining the utmost possible.
His conducting of the Meiningen Court orchestra is a fresh proof of this. To that same orchestra this "Bulow March" is dedicated in high esteem for their model symphonic performances, by
F. Liszt
Weimar, January, 1884
Meiningen, December, 1883
At seven o'clock people were at the rehearsal of the Beethoven concert. Under Bulow's conducting the Meiningen orchestra accomplishes wonders. Nowhere is there to be found such intelligence in different works; precision in the performance with the most correct and subtle rhythmic and dynamic nuances. The fact of the opera having been abolished at Meiningen by the Duke some twenty years ago is most favorable to the concerts. In this way the orchestra has time to have a fair number of partial and full rehearsals without too much fatigue, as the opera work has been done away with. Bulow is almost as lavish of rehearsals as Berlioz would have been if he had had the means to be…The result is admirable and in certain respects matchless, not excepting the Paris Conservatoire and other celebrated concert- institutions. The little Meiningen phalanx, thanks to its present General, is in advance of the largest battalions. It is said that Rubinstein and some others have expressed themselves disapprovingly about some of the unusual tempi and nuances of Bulow, but to my thinking their criticism is devoid of foundation…
Besides the programme of the Beethoven concert, in the morning there was an extra seance of the orchestra for the performance of the Overtures to "King Lear" (Berlioz) and to the "Meistersinger," my march "Vom Fels zum Meer," the "Ideales," and Brahms' Variations on a theme of Haydn. Always the same and complete understanding in the ensemble and the details of the scores,—the same vigor, energy, refinement, accuracy, relief, vitality and superior characteristics in the interpretation.
An extraordinary thing! the most difficult Quartet of Beethoven, one which on account of its complications never figures on any programme, the grand fugue, Op. 133, is played by the Meiningen orchestra with a perfect ensemble. On a previous occasion I also heard at Meiningen Bach's celebrated Chaconne played in unison with a real virtuosity by some ten violins.
F. Liszt
335. To Felix Mottl, Hofcapellmeister at Carlsruhe
[The addressee, born in 1856, has been since 1880 at Carlsruhe, where he was recently appointed to the post of Court opera conductor, and since 1886 one of the conductors of the Bayreuth Festivals. He is one of the most important conductors of the present day, and has also come forward as a composer.]
My Very Dear Friend,
You have done a noble artistic deed in reinstating Cornelius's charming Opera "The Barber of Bagdad." I hardly know of any other comic opera of so much refined humor and spirit. This champagne has the real sparkle and great worth.
The one-act arrangement seems to me the most propitious. As in Carlsruhe so elsewhere it will make its way. Write about this to Hans Richter. "The Barber of Bagdad" might perhaps, in one act, become a stock-opera in Vienna, and then return once more to Weimar, where, at the first performance long ago, they behaved so ill about it.
Friendly thanks, and yours ever,
F. Liszt
Budapest, February 8th, 1884
336. To Frau Hofrathin Henriette von Liszt
My Very Dear Cousin,
This time I was not able to have a thorough rest in Vienna. Such an extra [luxury] is hardly my lot anywhere. My life is one continued fatigue. Some one once asked the celebrated Catholic champion Arnauld (the Jansenist) why he did not allow himself some rest. "We have eternity for that," answered he.
I hear for the first time through you of a cousin or niece, Mary Liszt, a concert giver. Concert givers have frequently misused our name by playing under it in provincial towns. A pianist in Constantinople, Herr Listmann, apologised to me for having knocked off the second syllable of his name. On this account he received a valuable present from the then Sultan Abdul Medgid. .- -.
Farewell till our next meeting in Easter week, dear cousin, from yours ever affectionately,
F. Liszt
Budapest, February 8th, 1884
One, and even two, letters from the Princess in the month ofJanuary have been lost.
337. To Camille Saint-Saens.
Very Dear and Most Excellent Friend,
Before I received your kind letter I had intimated to Baron Podmaniczki, the Intendant of the theater of Budapest, that he ought to esteem it an honor to give your Henry VIII.—a frightful personage in history, but brilliantly illustrated by your beautiful music [an Opera by Saint-Satins]. The inauguration of the new theater will take place at the end of September with the St. Etienne, a new Opera by Erkel, the popular dramatic composer par excellence in Hungary. His Huvtyadi Laszlo was performed 250 times, and his "Bankban" more than 100, without ever over- reaching the mark. Two other works are promised after the St. Etienne, so that your Henry VIII. cannot appear till '85, for it still has to be translated into Hungarian.
I spoke about it in Vienna to his Excellency Baron Hoffmann, the Intendant of the Imperial Theaters. He told me that your work is going to be given shortly at Prague, and that he will send his own conductor, M. Jahn, there, in order that it may be better looked after. I beg that you will send the piano score of Henry VIII. at once to M. le directeur Jahn (very influential), with a few polite lines; also to do the same to M. Erkel Sandor (son of the composer), conductor of the National Opera of Budapest. Address to him "Theater National," Budapest.
Very much vexed to be unable to make a place for one of your grand works—such as your superb Mass or some Poeme symphonique— in the programme of our next Tonkunstler-Versammlung at Weimar from the 23rd to the 28th May. Sauret is going to play your third Concerto, and I will send you this overloaded programme. If you came to hear it, it would be a very great pleasure to
Your admiringly and cordially attached
F. Liszt
Weimar, April 29th, 1884
338. To Otto Lessmann
[Weimar,] May 7th, 1884
Dear Friend,
The motto of my Oratorio "Stanislaus" is "Religion and Fatherland." In the fragment (Orchestral Interlude) which will be given here at the next Tonkunstler-Versammlung the whole meaning of the work is made plain. [This remained unfinished, as is well known.]
Farewell till our speedy meeting.
Ever faithfully yours,
F. Liszt
339. To Camille Saint-Saens
Very dear Friend and Confrere,
I refused to suspect that there could be any ill-will against you at Budapest. Nevertheless I think it is strange and most unjust that your dramatic and symphonic works have not yet taken the place which is due to them in Hungary. I have explained myself clearly about them several times, but the theater menage, and even that of the Philharmonic Concerts, is formed outside of my influence. They are quite ready to accord me a general consideration, with the exception of arranging particular cases otherwise than I wished. For many people doubtful profits and manoeuvres contrary to their dignity exercise an irresistible attraction. The idea of honor seems to them too troublesome.
I shall not desist in the least from my conscientious propaganda of your 'Henry VIII' and other of your works. The new theater at Budapest will open (at the end of September) with the 'Roi St. Etienne', [King Stephen] a grand Hungarian Opera by Erkel (senior). After that Baron Podmaniczky, the Intendant, has promised to give a new Opera by Goldmark, also Hungarian in subject, and another by Delibes. The "Henry VIII." should appear somewhere between these three. Its performance at Prague will determine that at Vienna, which will be soon, I hope. His Excellency Baron Hoffmann, the Intendant of the Imperial Theaters in Vienna, told me that he would send his artistic and musical conductor (at the Opera), M. Jahn, to Prague. It depends on the opinion of this person whether "Henry VIII." is given at Vienna.
When you come again to Weimar you are sure to be received there with sympathy, gratitude and sincere admiration by your old attached friend,
F. Liszt
Weimar, May 18th, 1884
Thanks for the photograph. You will find it well placed here near a charming bust. The Court and town of Weimar keep their affectionate and kind sentiments towards you.
340. To Walter Bache
Dear honored Friend,
I am very gladly in accord with all your doings, and only protest against the sacrifice you have in the noblest manner made for my severely criticised works.
The English edition of the "Elizabeth Legend" with your sister's translation delights me.
Tell Mr. Alfred Littleton he can send me the proof-sheets (bound) of the piano edition, and the score, to Weimar. Along with this the 4 four-hand pieces (published by Kahnt) might also be published. Would it be well perhaps to begin with these? Arrange about this as you like with Mr. Littleton. I have only to correct the proofs, which will quickly follow.
If you think it would do, I shall also add to the English edition a little Preface, in the form of a letter—addressed to Walter Bache.
By the same post today I send you the complete enormous programme of the Tonkunstler-Versammlung (going through 25 years). This evening they begin with the acting performance of the "Elizabeth Legend."
Auf Wiedersehen! [To our next meeting!]
I shall stay at Bayreuth from July 5th till the middle of August, and then come back to Weimar.
Faithfully and gratefully,
F. Liszt
Weimar, May 23rd, 1884
I have told Kahnt all that concerns himself in your letter.
341. To the Composer Carl Navratil in Prague
Dear Herr Navtatil,
I write in haste to tell you that Smetana's [Bohemian composer and pianist (1824-84).] death has moved me deeply. He was a genius. More in my next. In haste.
F. Liszt
Weimar, May 30th, 1884
342. To Baron Friedrich Podmaniczky, Intendant of the Hungarian Opera in Budapest
[From a rough copy in Liszt's own handwriting in the possession of Abranyi]
[1884]
Monsieur le Baron,
I have begged my friend M. de Mihalovich to lay before you a proposition, the fate of which depends on the committee that directs the orders for the sculptures of the new National Hungarian Theater.
In my humble opinion it would be unjust, and even ungrateful, to exclude from them the likenesses of two composers of high distinction, the late Mosonyi and Franz Doppler.
A charming Opera of Mosonyi's of elevated taste, "Szep Ilonka" ["The fair Helen": its subject, like that of his other Opera "Almos," was taken from Hungarian history], has been performed here some dozen times with success, and was then consigned to oblivion in the oubliettes of the administration. Another greater dramatic work by Mosonyi, "Almos," has remained in manuscript, although Baron Orczy, your predecessor as Intendant, had some idea of producing it.
The whole of the brave musical activity of Mosonyi at Budapest is most honorable and meritorious, as much by his teaching as by his numerous compositions of Church music, orchestral music, and piano music. Many of his Hungarian pieces remain classical, as opposed to the current wares, supposed to be of this same kind, more frequently heard (at the present time in Vienna).
Franz Doppler has left the best possible remembrance of his rare talents and qualities at Budapest, where during many years he fulfilled the duties of conductor to the theater, and shone by his virtuosity (very celebrated in Europe) as a flute player—an instrument which Frederick the Great condescended to use. Doppler's Operas "Beniowszky" and "Ilka" were favorably received; and up to the present time "Ilka" is the only Hungarian opera admitted to the repertoire of several theaters in Germany. Besides this Doppler has also written two acts of the "Elizabeth" [The opera "Elizabeth," composed by Franz Erkel and Doppler, was performed at the National Theater in 1857], by which Her Majesty the Queen of Hungary was entertained at the theater of Budapest.
I venture then, Monsieur le Baron, to recommend you to see about the desirability of placing two fine reliefs of Mosonyi and Doppler [The reliefs adorn the vestibule of the opera house.] in a suitable position in the new theater in the Radialstrasse, and beg you to accept the expression of my high esteem and sincere devotion.
F. Liszt
343. To Freiherr Hans von Wolzogen
Dear Freiherr,
My admiration remains unlimited for the sublime genius of Wagner.
What blissful creative power and influence has he not, ever active from "Tannhauser" to the "Ring des Nibelungen" and the marvellous "Parsifal."—
The Art of our century finds its foundation and glory therein.
The little that I have written in letters about Wagner is at the service of the public.
With highest esteem yours most truly,
F. Liszt
Weimar, June 18th, 1884
To our friendly meeting in Bayreuth in the middle of July.
344. To the Concert-Singer Auguste Gotze
[Daughter of Professor Franz Gotze, and—as one of the first singing mistresses of the present day—the inheritor of his school; she is also a talented singer, reciter, and dramatic poetess. She lives at Leipzig.]
Dear Friend,
In honor of you I will willingly endeavor to add the melodramatic accompaniment to Felix Dahn's poem. ["Die Mette von Marienburg" [The Matins of Marienburg] Liszt's intention remained, alas, unfulfilled.] This short work will only require a few hours but I can seldom get any free hours for working…All sorts of interruptions keep me from writing.
Hearty greetings to your charming colleague, Fraulein vonKotzebue.
High esteem from your friendly
F. Liszt
Weimar, June 22nd, 1884.
345 To Kornel von Abranyi
Dear, excellent Friend,
The best person to make a suitable instrumentation of the "Rheinweinliedes" [Rhine-wine-song] for the Miskolcz Musical Festival will be our friend C. Huber. [Carl Huber, conductor of the Hungarian Provincial Singers' Union, died 1885.] This chorus for men's voices was written in Berlin in the year '42, and performed there several times, and afterwards in Leipzig also, about which a "querelle d'Allermand" [groundless quarrel] soon reached me in Paris.—
To bear and forbear is ever our life's task.
As I have marked on the accompanying copy, on pages 3, 5, 7, instead of D-flat, G-flat in the 2nd tenor, the C, F
[Here, Liszt illustrates with a musical score excerpt showing a cadence in B-flat]
is to remain.
The Gazette de Hongrie [Gazette of Hungary], and still more theBudapester Tageblatt [Budapest daily paper], in which your sonKornel is a collaborator, gave me the tidings of the electiondoings in the cara patria.
Without in the least taking part in politics, yet I take that interest in them which it behoves every not uneducated man to do; and I rejoice that Kornel Abranyi, junior, is taking his seat in Parliament.
Heartily, faithfully yours,
F. Liszt
Weimar, July 1st, 1884
From the 12th July till the middle of August I shall be atBayreuth.
Tell Huber to do the instrumentation of the "Rheinweinlied" quite freely, according to his own will and what he thinks best, without a too careful attention to the printed piano accompaniment.
345A. To Madame Malwine Tardieu
[Autograph in possession of Constance Bache]
Dear kind Friend,
I have spoken to you several times of my excellent friend—of more than 20 years—Walter Bache. He maintains himself worthily in London as an artist of worth, intelligence, and noble character. His sister has made a remarkable translation of the "Elizabeth" into English.
Receive the Baches (who pass a day in Brussels) in a friendly manner.
Cordial devotion,
F. Liszt
Bayreuth, August 9th, 1884
Tomorrow evening I shall be back at Weimar, and shall probably go to Munich for the second series of the "Nibelungen" performances (28th August).
Please give my cordial regards to Tardieu.
346. To the Music Publisher Rahter in Hamburg
Dear Herr Rahter,
Best thanks for kindly sending me the Russian "Fantasie" by Naprawnik—a brilliantly successful concert-piece—and the Slumber Songs by Rimsky-Korsakoff, which I prize extremely; his works are among the rare, the uncommon, the exquisite.—The piano edition of his Opera "Die Mainacht" [The May Night] has either not reached me or else has got lost.—Send it me to Weimar together with a second copy of Naprawnik's Russian "Fantasie," which is necessary for performance.
Many of my young pianists will be glad to make this "Fantasie" known in drawing-rooms and concerts.—
With friendly thanks,
F. Liszt
Munich, August 28th, 1884
347. To Richard Pohl
[Printed in the Allgemeine Deutsche Musikzeitung of 24thOctober,1884.]
My very dear Friend,
I have long wanted to repeat my hearty thanks to you for the faithful, noble devotion which you have always bravely and decidedly shown to the Weimar Period of Progression in the years 1849-58. The third volume of your collected writings "Hector Berlioz" affords another proof of this devotion, which is highly to be valued in contrast with the far too general wishy-washy absence of opinion.
After the unheard-of success of more than 20 performances of "The Damnation of Faust" by the concert societies of Lamoureux, Pasdeloup, Colonne, in the same season in Paris—not counting the theater, for which this work is not suitable, the French Berlioz literature is increasing. You know Hippeau's octavo book "Berlioz Intime," which is shortly to be followed by a second, "Berlioz Artiste." I wish this to profit by your work.
In reading the first volume I was painfully affected by several passages out of Berlioz's letters, in which the discord and broken-heartedness of his early years are only too apparent. He could not grasp the just idea that a genius cannot hope to exist with impunity, and that a new thing cannot at once expect to please the ancient order of things.
For the rest, there lies in his complaints against the Parisian "gredins et cretins" [fools and scoundrels], whom he might also find in other places, a large share of injustice. In spite of his exaggerated leniency in favor of a foreign country, the fact remains that up to the present time no European composer has received such distinctions from his own country as Berlioz did from France. Compare the position of Beethoven, Weber, Schubert, Schumann, with that of Berlioz. In the case of Beethoven the Archduke Rudolf alone bespoke the "Missa solemnis." The profit from his rarely given concerts was small, and at the last he turned to the London Philharmonic Society for support.
Weber acted as Court conductor in Dresden, and wrote his Oberon at the invitation of London.
Schubert's marvellous productiveness was badly paid by the publishers; other favorable conditions had he none.
Schumann's biography testifies no patriotic enthusiasm for his works during his lifetime. His position as musical conductor at Dusseldorf was by no means a brilliant one…
It was otherwise with Mendelssohn, who had private means, and who, by his delicate and just eclecticism, clinging to Bach, Handel, and even Beethoven, obtained continual success in England and Germany. King William IV. called him to Berlin at the same time with Cornelius, [This means the painter Cornelius.—Trans.] Kaulbach, Schelling, and Meyerbeer, which he did not enjoy any better than Leipzig.
I make no further mention of Meyerbeer here, because he owes his universal success chiefly to Paris. It was there that all his Operas, from "Robert" and "The Huguenots" to his posthumous "L'Africaine," were first performed—with the exception of "Das Feldlager in Schlesien" [The Camp in Silesia], which also sparkled later in Paris as "L'etoile du Nord."
Now let us see how things went with Berlioz in his native land.
Like Victor Hugo, he was, after three times becoming a candidate, elected a member of the "Institute of France,"—similarly (without any candidature) to be librarian of the Conservatoire; he was also a collaborator of the highly esteemed "Journal des Debats" and officer of the Legion of Honor.
Where do we find in Germany similar proofs of distinction? Why, therefore, the bitter insults of Berlioz against the Paris "gredins" and "cretins"? Unfortunately it certainly never brought Berlioz an out-and-out theatrical success, although his nature leaned that way.
I send you herewith Reyer's feuilleton (Journal des Debats, 14thSeptember) regarding the latest brochure by Ernst "upon Berlioz."
With hearty thanks, yours most truly,
F. Liszt
Weimar, September 12th, 1884
348. To Sophie Menter
My dear Friend,
My few days' stay at your fairy-like castle Itter [In Tyrol.] will remain a magic memory.
When you have signed the Petersburg Conservatorium contract let me know. You know, indeed, that I very much approve of this turn and fixing of your brilliant artistic career. It requires no excessive obligations, and will be an advantage to you.
Friendly greetings to the New School from your faithful admirer and friend,
F. Liszt
Weimar, September 13th, 1884
I am here till the end of October. Later on I shall visit my friends Geza Zichy and Sandor Teleky in Hungary.
349. To Baron Friedrich Podmaniczky, Intendant of the Royal Hungarian Opera in Budapest
[Printed in the Pester Lloyd (evening paper of 27th September, 1884).—Liszt having sent Podmaniczky a Royal Hymn for the opening of the New Hungarian Opera House instead of a Festal Prelude, which the latter had requested, Podmaniczky wrote to the Master on the 17th September, 1884, that the motive of the hymn having been borrowed from a revolutionary song would prove an "unsurmountable obstacle" to its performance. The letter was also signed by Alexander Erkel as conductor. Whereupon Liszt wrote the above reply.]
Dear, Hochgeborener [Many of these titles have been left in their original language, being unused in England, and having no equivalent with us.—Trans.] Herr Baron,
To your letter dated the 17th of this month I have the honor of replying as follows: that the song "Hahj, Rakoczy, Bercsenyi" was not unknown to me is shown by the piano edition of my "Hungarian royal hymn" published by Taborsky and Parsch, on the title-page of which stand the words "After an old Hungarian air." I learned to know this song from Stefan Bartolus's Anthology, and it took hold of me with its decided, and expressive and artless character; I at once provided it with a finale of victory, and without troubling my head further about its former revolutionary words I begged Kornel Abranyi, jun., for a new, loyal text with the refrain "Eljen a kiraly," so that my "Royal hymn" might attain its due expression both in words and music.
Transformations are nothing rare in Art any more than in life. From countless heathen temples Catholic churches were formed. In the classic epoch of Church music—in the 16th century—many secular melodies were accepted amongst devotional songs, and in later times the Catholic antiphones were heard as Protestant Chorales. And this went yet further, not excepting Opera, in which Meyerbeer utilised the Chorale "Eine feste Burg" for a stage effect, and in "L'Etoile du Nord" consecrated the "Dessauer Marsch" into the Russian National hymn. A revolutionary tendency is commonly ascribed to the universally known and favorite "Rakoczy March," and its performance has been more than once forbidden.
Music remains ever music, without superfluous and injurious significations. For the rest, God forbid that I should anywhere push forward either myself or my humble compositions. I leave it entirely to your judgment, hochgeborener Herr Baron, to decide whether my "Royal hymn" shall be performed in the new Hungarian Opera House or not. The score, as also the many orchestral and vocal parts, are to be had at the publishers, Taborsky and Parsch.
I beg you, Sir, to accept the expression of my high esteem.
F. Liszt
Weimar, September 21st, 1884
[To this Alex. Erkel made the proposal that Liszt's "Konigslied" ("Royal Song"), instead of being performed at the opening of the new theater on the 27th September, should be given at an "Extra Opera performance." The Master consented, but did not appear at this first performance of his work, which took place on the 25th March, 1885, and met with tremendous applause.]
350. To Walter Bache
[This letter is published, as a Preface, in the English edition of Liszt's "St. Elizabeth."]
Very honored Friend,
For some twenty years past you have been employing your beautiful talent as a pianist, your care as a professor and as a conductor to make my works known and to spread them in England. The task seemed an ungrateful one, and its want of success menacing, but you are doing it nobly, with the most honorable and firm conviction of an artist. I renew my grateful thanks to you on the occasion of the present edition of the "Legend of St. Elizabeth," published by the well-accredited house of Novello. [The translator of the English edition (Constance Bache) has also translated many of Liszt's songs into English.]
This work, which was performed for the first time in 1865 at Budapest, has been reproduced successively in several countries and languages. Let us hope that it will also meet with some sympathy in England.
Your much attached
F. Liszt
Weimar, October 18th, 1884
351. To the Composer Mili Balakireff, Conductor of the Imperial Court Choir in St. Petersburg
Very honored, dear Confrere,
My admiring sympathy for your works is well known. When my young disciples want to please me they play me your compositions and those of your valiant friends. In this intrepid Russian musical phalanx I welcome from my heart masters endowed with a rare vital energy; they suffer in no wise from poverty of ideas—a malady which is widespread in many countries. More and more will their merits be recognised, and their names renowned. I accept with gratitude the honor of the dedication [to me] of your Symphonic Poem "Thamar," which I hope to hear next summer with a large orchestra. When the 4-hand edition comes out you will greatly oblige me by sending me a copy. From the middle of January until Easter I shall be at Budapest.
Please accept, dear confrere, the expression of my high esteem and cordial attachment.
F. Liszt
Weimar, October 2lst, 1884
352. To Countess Louise de Mercy-Argenteau
[Known through her zealous propaganda, in Belgium and France, of the music of the New Russian School. After the death of her husband (1888), Chamberlain of Napoleon III., she left her native land of Belgium and removed to St. Petersburg, where she died in November 1890.]
October 24th, 1884
Certainly, my very dear and kind friend, you have a hundredfold right to appreciate and to relish the present musical Russia. Rimski-Korsakoff, Cui, Borodine, Balakireff, are masters of striking originality and worth. Their works make up to me for the ennui caused to me by other works more widely spread and more talked about, works of which I should have some difficulty in saying what Leonard once wrote to you from Amsterdam after a song of Schumann's: "What soul, and also what success!" Rarely is success in a hurry to accompany soul. In Russia the new composers, in spite of their remarkable talent and knowledge, have had as yet but a limited success.—The high people of the Court wait for them to succeed elsewhere before they applaud them at Petersburg. A propos of this, I recollect a striking remark which the late Grand Duke Michael made to me in '43: "When I have to put my officers under arrest, I send them to the performances of Glinka's operas." Manners are softening, and Messrs. Rimski, Cui, Borodine, have themselves attained to the grade of colonel.
At the annual concerts of the German and Universal Musical Association (Allgemeiner Deutscher Musik-Verein) they have, for many years past, always given some work of a Russian composer, at my suggestion. Little by little a public will be formed. Next year our Festival will take place in June at Carlsruhe. St. Saens is coming; why not you, too, dear friend? You would also hear something Russian there.
When you write to St. Saens, please tell him of my admiring and very constant friendship. By the work of translation which you have bravely undertaken, I think that you are doing wisely and skilfully in freeing yourself from the bondage of rhyme, and in keeping to rhythmic prose. The important point is to maintain the lyric or dramatic accent, and to avoid the "desastreuses salades de syllabes longues et breves, des temps forts et faibles" [disastrous mess of long and short syllables, and of the strong and weak time]. The point is to make good prose without any other scruples whatever. It is said that M. Lamoureux is admitting the "Steppes" by Borodine into one of his programmes. We shall see what sort of a reception it will have. For the rest, I doubt Lamoureux's venturing so soon on the Russian propaganda. He has too much to do with Berlioz and Wagner.
Do not let yourself be disconcerted either by the "ineffable" carelessness, or by the square battalions of objections such as these: "It is confusion worse confounded; it is Abracadabra" [Senseless jabber.]—etc.
Without politeness or ceremony I tell you in perfect sincerity that your instinct did not lead you astray the day when this music so forcibly charmed you. Continue, then, your work with the firm conviction of being in the right path.
Above all I beg that you will not falsely imagine that I am taking hold of the thing wrong end foremost. When you knock I shall not merely say, Enter, but I myself will go before you. To return to Paris and show myself off there as a young composer or to continue the business of an old pianist in the salons does not attract me in the least. I have other things to do elsewhere.
Faithful homage.
F. Liszt
P.S.—I do not know what date to put to these lines. I wrote the first page on the receipt of your bewitching letter. I meant to reply to it in full, but all sorts of pressing obligations and botherations intervened…I have also been to the inauguration of the statue of Bach at Eisenach, illustrated by three concerts, composed exclusively of numerous works of Bach's (the Mass in B minor first and foremost); then I was present at a more curious concert at Leipzig: on my return I had a severe attack of illness, which prevented me for several days from writing. In short, this letter ought to have reached you three weeks ago. Tomorrow, 25th October, I leave Weimar, and shall not return here till after Easter. If you condescend to continue writing to me, please address to Budapest (Hungary) till the end of November. A prompt answer shall follow.
F. Liszt
353. To Madame Malwine Tardieu
Budapest, December 7th, 1884
Dear Kind Friend,
Really and truly when it sometimes happens that I obtain successI rejoice less over that than over the success of my friends.Thank you for the pleasant tidings of the brilliant success ofOssiana [Madame Marie Jaell, the well-known artiste, a friend ofLiszt's.] at Godard's concert. .—.
You do not tell me where the little notice appeared (with my name at the heading) which you were so good as to send me. [In the Gaulois, from the pen of Fourcaud, and, later, in the Album of the Gaulois, to which the most celebrated tone-poets had contributed a piece of music as yet unpublished.] One of my works is mentioned in it with the greatest eulogy—the Gran Mass—which was so unhappily performed at Paris in '66, and more unhappily criticised then…The mistake I made was not to have forbidden a performance given under such deplorable conditions. A philanthropic reason, which is valueless in matters of Art, kept me from doing so. I did not wish to deprive the fund for the poor of the assured receipts of more than 40,000 francs. Pardon me for recalling this vexatious affair, which makes me all the more sensible of the flattering attention which the same work is receiving.
To my great regret the performances of Henry VIII. by our very valiant friend St. Saens, which were to have taken place at Weimar and Budapest, are put off. Mediocrity, as Balzac said, governs even theaters. Anyhow its power must sometimes be intermittent. Please say many cordial things to your husband from your much attached
F. Liszt
On Wednesday I shall be in Rome, and back here towards the middle of January.
354. To Freiherr Hans Von Wolzogen
Dear Freiherr,
Hearty thanks for your kind letter. To include me in your noble, zealous, high-minded efforts in matters for the glorification of Wagner and according to the wishes of his widow, is to me ever a duty and an honor.
Faithfully yours,
F. Liszt
Rome, December 18th, 1884
355. To Camille Saint-Saens
[End of 1884 or beginning of 1885.]
Very Dear Friend and Companion in Arms,
Your sympathy for the "Salve, Polonia" [Orchestral Interlude from the unfinished Oratorio Stanislaus. It was given at the Tonkunstler-Versammlung in Weimar in 1884, at which Saint-Saens was present.] makes me quite happy. Still writing music, as I am, I sometimes ask myself at such and such a passage, "Would that please St. Saens?" The affirmative encourages me to go on, in spite of the fatigue of age and other wearinesses.
If you do me the honor of playing one of my compositions at the Carlsruhe Festival please choose which it shall be: perhaps the Danse macabre [Dance of Death] with orchestra; or—which I think would be better, for the public would rather hear you alone—the Predication aux oiseaux [St. Francis preaching to the birds, followed by Scherzo and March. [Saint-Saens did not go to Carlsruhe.]
Cordial wishes for the year '85, and ever your admiringly attached
F. Liszt
Give my best remembrances from Budapest to Delibes.
356. To Countess Mercy-Argenteau
What wonders you have just accomplished with your Russian concert at Liege, dear admirable one! From the material point of view the Deaf and Dumb and Blind Institutions have benefited by it; artistically, other deaf and dumb have heard and spoken; the blind have seen, and, on beholding you, were enraptured.
I shall assuredly not cease from my propaganda of the remarkable compositions of the New Russian School, which I esteem and appreciate with lively sympathy. For 6 or 7 years past, at the Grand Annual Concerts of the Musical Association ("Allgemeiner Deutscher Musik-Verein"), over which I have the honor of presiding, the orchestral works of Rimsky-Korsakoff and Borodine have figured on the programmes. Their success is making a crescendo, in spite of the sort of contumacy that is established against Russian music. It is not in the least any desire of being peculiar that leads me to spread it, but a simple feeling of justice, based on my conviction of the real worth of these works of high lineage. I do not know which ones Hans von Bulow, the Achilles of propagandists, chose for the Russian concert he gave lately with the Meiningen orchestra, of an unheard-of discipline and perfection.
I hope Bulow will continue concerts of the same quality in various towns of Germany.
The best among my disciples, brilliant virtuosi, play the most difficult piano compositions of Balakireff, etc., superbly. I shall recommend to them Cui's Suite (piano and violoncello).
Considering the rarity of singers gifted at once with voice, intelligence and good taste for things not hackneyed,—there is some delay in regard to the vocal compositions of Cui, Borodine, etc. Nevertheless the right time for their production will come, and for making them succeed and be appreciated. In France your translation of the words will be a great help, and in Germany we must be provided with a suitable translation.
A portion of the articles which you kindly sent me upon your concert at Liege shallbe inserted in the Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik. I shall endeavor to find another paper also, although my relations with the Press are by no means intimate.
Rahter, the musical editor at Hamburg, and representative of Jurgenson in Moscow, will offer you in homage three of my Russian transcriptions,—Tschaikowsky's "Polonaise"; Dargomijsky's "Tarentelle" with the continuous pedal bass of A, A; and a "Romance" of Count Michel Wielhorsky. Let us add to these the "Marche tscherkesse" of Glinka, and, above all, the prodigious kaleidoscope of variations and paraphrases on the fixed theme
[Here, Liszt illustrates with a musical score excerpt]
It is the most seriously entertaining thing I know; it gives us a practical manual, par excellence, of all musical knowledge; treatises on harmony and composition are summed up and blended in it in some thirty pages, which teach the subject very fully— above and beyond the usual instruction.
My very amiable hosts at Antwerp, the Lynens, have invited me to return there this summer at the time of the Exhibition, of which M. Lynen is the president. I am tempted to do so after the Carlsruhe Festival, as I keep a charming remembrance of the kindness that was shown to me in Brussels and Antwerp.
In about ten days I return to Budapest, whence you shall receive a photograph of the old, sorry face of your constant admirer and devoted servant,
F. Liszt
Rome, January 20th, 1885
A pertinacious editor keeps asking me for my transcription of Gounod's "Ste. Cecile." If amongst your old papers you should find the manuscript of it, will you lend it me for a fortnight, so that it may be copied, printed, and then restored to its very gracious owner?
February and March my address—Budapest, Hungary.
357. To Camille Saint-Saens.
Very honored, dear Friend,
In order not to become too monotonous I won't thank you any more. Nevertheless your transcription of my Orpheus for Piano, Violin and Violoncello charms me, and I beg that you will send it either to Hartel direct, so that he may publish it at once, or else to yours very gratefully, so that I may remit it to him, after having had the pleasure of reading and hearing it at Budapest, whither, by next Thursday, will have returned
Your much-attached fellow-disciple,
F. Liszt.
Florence, Tuesday, January 27th, 1885.
Goodbye till we meet in May at Carlsruhe.
358. To Madame Malwine Tardieu.
I am writing to the director of our "Musik-Verein" to write to you, dear friend. You will tell Mademoiselle Kufferath, better than any one else can, how agreeable it will be to everybody, and to myself in particular, if she takes part in the concerts at Carlsruhe—in the last days of May. [This did not come to anything. Saint-Saens' "Deluge," in which she was to have sung, was not performed at Carlsruhe, and meanwhile Fraulein Kufferath married and gave up her artistic career.]
Our "Musak-Verein" has not the advantage of material wealth; nevertheless we have existed bravely for 25 years without getting into debt, and faithfully put in practice our principal rule, which is to perform every year in different towns the valid works of contemporary composers of any country whatsoever (exclusive of works for the theater, with the exception of occasional vocal numbers). This rule, which is difficult to maintain, considering the expenses and the difficult preparations, distinguishes us from other musical societies and gives us the character of pioneers of progress. We have not been behindhand with the group of composers of young Musical Russia, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Borodine, Cui, etc., for we have been giving their works for four years past.
The very gracious Countess of Mercy-Argenteau has been making them known lately at Liege, with a brilliant success, quite justified by the qualities of the works and the charm of the patroness.
Will you, dear friend, be so kind as to express my acknowledgments to Mr. de Fourcaud, [Musical and Art Correspondent of the Paris Gaulois, with outspoken Wagner tendencies and opinions.] and accept the expression of my cordial affection?
F. Liszt.
Budapest, April 6th, 1885.
In a few days I shall be back at Weimar.
359. To Lina Ramann.
[Weimar] April 27th, 1885.
I am sending you at once, my very dear friend, the volumes of scores which I have by me in Weimar. [Works of Palestrina's.] The celebrated Missa Papoe Marcelli is not amongst them, but can easily be found; the last edition of it by Amelli, Milan, the editor-in-chief of the Church-Music paper there. I got him to add a few indications of expression because, according to my opinion, without such indications any further editions of Palestrina and Lassus—the two great Cardinals of old Catholic Church-music— would serve only for reading, and not for actual performances. Of course no one can fix with absolute certainty the figures to the basses of Palestrina and Lassus; yet there are determining points from which one can steer.
The best model of all is and will continue to be—Wagner's arrangement of Palestrina's "Stabat Mater"—with marks of expression and plan of the division of the voices into semi- chorus, solos, and complete chorus.
Wagner made this model arrangement at the time when he was conductor in Dresden. It appeared 15 years later, published by Kahnt. It is to be hoped that people will gradually regulate themselves by this with judgment—and time.
Faithfully yours,
F. Liszt
360. To Camille Saint-Saens
Thank you cordially, my very dear friend, for the concession you are willing to make to me.
The Society of Musicians, in which I have taken part for 25 years, holds to the principle of producing the works of living Symphonic composers of all countries. I claim then your superior and continued share in it, and remain your admiring and attached friend,
F. Liszt
Weimar, May 8th, 1885
361. To Alexander Siloti
[Well known as one of the most gifted pupils of Liszt, and one of the first pianists of the present day. Born 1863, and lives now in Paris]
In Weimar it is wisest to keep oneself negative and passive.Therefore, dear Siloti, attempt no "Liszt-Verein."
[In consequence of the above letter the Liszt-Verein (LisztSociety) was not founded in Weimar, as Siloti intended, but inLeipzig in 1885, where it has flourished brilliantly under thedirection of Professor Martin Krause.]
With thanks, yours truly,
F. Liszt
May, 1885
362. To the Composer J.P. von Kiraly in Eisenstadt
[From a copy by Director Aug. Gollerich in Nuremberg.]
Dear Friend,
Ninety years ago my father was preparing for his duties as book- keeper to Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy in Eisenstadt. At that time he often took part, as an amateur, among the violoncellos in the Prince's frequent Court concerts, under the conductorship of the happy great master Josef Haydn. My father often told me about his intercourse with Haydn, and the daily parties he made up with him. In 1848 I visited the dear, affectionate Father Albach at the Franciscan monastery of Eisenstadt, and dedicated to him my Mass for men's voices, which will be brilliantly performed here very shortly. May the simple, artless genius of Haydn ever rule over the Eisenstadt Kindergarten conducted by your daughter.
"Joke and earnest!" Bravo, friend! The work honors the master who knows so well the Muses. In Oedenburg and Eisenstadt surely every one will subscribe. At the beginning of July I shall send you a small contribution for the Kindergarten. Perhaps later on I shall be able to do more; unfortunately I am anything but well off, and must content myself with a small amount.
F. Liszt
Antwerp, June 5th, 1885
363. To Ferdinand Taborszky, Music Publisher in Budapest
Antwerp, June 8th, 1885
Very dear Friend,
From Weimar, where I shall once more be in ten days' time, you will receive at the beginning of July some short Hungarian pianoforte pieces, which I shall orchestrate later on, entitled:
To the memory ofStephan | SzechenyiFranz | DeakJosef | Eotvos———————————-Ladislas | TelekMichael | VorosmartiAlexander | Petofi
The last piece has already been published by Taborszky, but must have a few more concluding bars in the new edition.
"Mosonyi's Trauerklange" (Mosonyi's funeral music), which you have already had by you for fifteen years, shall make No. 7. Our friend Mosonyi, so excellent and full of character, and so pre- eminent a musician, must also not be forgotten.
The seven numbers make altogether sixty pages of print. All the new pieces are perfectly ready, written out in manuscript, only requiring a copyist, whom I cannot find while I am on my journey. [Liszt's intention to orchestrate the pieces remained unfulfilled.]
When I send you the manuscripts I will write all further particulars with regard to the publishing of them.
First of all, dear friend, will you be so kind as to go to my house with Frau von Fabry? I stupidly forgot there—in the bedroom, not in the salon—the beautiful and revised copy of a composition for piano and violin or violoncello, together with the transcription of the same for pianoforte alone. The title is "La lugubre Gondola" (the funeral gondola). As though it were a presentiment, I wrote this elegie in Venice six weeks before Wagner's death.
Now I should like it to be brought out by Fritzsch (Leipzig),Wagner's publisher, as soon as I receive it from you in Weimar.[Published by Frizsch] Hearty greetings to your family.