Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt, Volume 2

F >> Francis Hueffer (translator) >> Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt, Volume 2

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For the present my Paris enterprise occupies me altogether, and
mercifully obscures my view of future German misery. I do not
know what rumours are current with you as to the difficulties
placed in my way. They may be well intended, but they are false.
NEVER YET HAS THE MATERIAL OF AN EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE BEEN
PLACED AT MY DISPOSAL SO FULLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY as has been
done at Paris for the performance of "Tannhauser" at the Grand
Opera, and I can only wish that some German prince would do the
same for my new works. This is the first triumph of my art which
I personally witness. I owe it to the success of my works in
Germany, which has gained me such warm admirers, that the
Emperor, on the strength of their word, has issued a truly
imperial COMMAND, which makes me master of the whole material,
and protects me from all intrigues. A translation, as excellent
as could have possibly been expected, is another earnest of
general success. I have secured the best singers that are to be
had, and the preparations in every department are made with a
zeal and a care to which Germany has little accustomed me. All
the leading people go with pleasure to a task which offers them a
more interesting occupation than is usual. I also' take the
matter seriously. I am removing such weak points as I have
discovered in the score. I take great delight in the re-writing
of the great Venus scene, and hope to improve the effect thereby.
The ballet scene also will be executed on the larger scale
designed by me.

Unfortunately I have not yet been able to begin this necessary
work in the proper way. Before my journey to the Rhine the
translation occupied me exclusively, and on my return here I had,
first of all, to complete a little piece of literary work which
has only just been finished. M. Frederic Villot, about whom H.
has probably spoken to you, asked me to publish an edition of my
operatic poems in a prose-translation, and to add a preface
explaining my ideas. This I have done, and I hope that the opus
will appear about the beginning of October at the latest. The
rehearsals are in full swing, but unfortunately I had to object
to the baritone at the last moment. Fould had at once to give
orders for the engagement of a new singer, but we have not yet
found the right man, and this has caused a slight delay. There
has, however, been no trace of ill-will on the part of any one.
M., who is working here in his underhand way, will not, after
all, be able to do anything against the Emperor and the cause; he
is trying, however, to secure the good engagements which have
been made for me for his own benefit later on. Well, I do not
grudge him this; the man has no real initiative.

You have now, dearest friend, an approximate view of my life and
work. That I should be happy you can scarcely expect, but I feel
the calm of the fatalist who surrenders himself to his fate,
astonished perhaps a little at the often curious manner in which
it disposes of me and leads me into unexpected paths, and saying
to myself: "So it was to be."

With real horror I think of Germany and of my future enterprises
in that country. God forgive me, but I discover nothing but mean
and miserable things, conceit and a pretence of solid work
without any real foundation; half-heartedness in everything.
After all I prefer to see "Le Pardon de Ploermel" in Paris than
under the shadow of the famous, glorious German oak tree. I must
also confess to you that my treading once more German soil did
not produce the slightest impression upon me, except in so far as
I was astonished at the insipidity and impertinence of the
language I had to listen to. Believe me, we have no Fatherland,
and if I am "German" it is because I carry my Germany along with
me. This is fortunate, because the Mayence garrison has certainly
not inspired me with enthusiasm.

X. seems to be angry with me; I at last got annoyed with him
because his optimism irritated me.

I cannot understand a good many things, and allowance ought to be
made for me on account of my curious life. X., it seems to me,
fritters himself away; he undertakes too much, and by that means
loses the compact, concentric quality which a true man needs. I
cannot look on without being painfully affected. On the other
hand, I am, no doubt, very wrong in not accepting so true a
friend as he is; and I have much reason to acknowledge X.'s
friendship. He must not be angry with me and do as he likes; but
he should be sometimes a little more punctual with his letters.

Believe me, that in spite of my Paris surroundings I feel awfully
lonely, while of you I can never think except as of some one who
is surrounded by people, even at Weimar. Perhaps I have a good
many erroneous notions in that respect; at least Madame Street
gave me to understand as much when she described her visit to
you. She said that you had been very sad, although in very good
health. Well, I certainly cannot see why you should be
particularly joyous; at the same time this news has struck me
very much, and Madame W., to whom I spoke about it, was quite
frightened. There is something about you which causes you to
appear surrounded by splendour and light, and makes it difficult
for us to understand what could make you sad. Least of all am I
inclined to discover the cause of your irritation in the stupid
reception which your works have met with now and then, for it
seems to me that no one ought to know better than you that this
animosity is caused not by your works, but by the false light in
which you appear to the multitude. That light which reveals you
as so exceptional a phenomenon, that a misconception of it is
only too easily accounted for, is now and then too powerful,
especially for German eyes. I think, therefore, you are right in
withdrawing yourself from that illumination as much as possible,
and in letting your works take their own course for a time
without the least anxiety about them. One thing you will gain,
the avoidance of personal contact. In that, everything is misery,
and believe me that while we try to "do violence to the kingdom
of heaven," we only stir up the nether mud. No, the kingdom of
heaven comes to us in our sleep. But enough of this vague talk!
Let us soon meet, when we shall see how we can ward off all
sadness. I shall soon make a long stay with you.

God bless you, my Franz! Pardon this long talk to my desire of
being near you once more.

A thousand greetings from

Your

R. W.

309.

WEYMAR, September 21st, 1860.

Your glorious letter, dearest Richard, made me breathe the pure
atmosphere of high mountains once more. You know what I require,
and offer it to me in abundance. I was almost afraid that you
might have misunderstood my non-appearance at Soden or Baden, and
I am cordially delighted at being set right by you as to this. As
I wrote to you before, it was IMPOSSIBLE for me to get away from
here before Thursday, August 16th. Well, all is over now, and you
have pardoned me. Let us talk of something else. How proud I
should be of your visit here, and how beneficial and
strengthening prolonged intercourse with you would be to me, I
need not tell you. I think it more probable, however, that I
shall pay you a visit in Paris first. The exact date I shall not
be able to determine until the continued uncertainty and wavering
of all my circumstances here have ceased, which must happen
shortly. As regards your visit here, I repeat what I have said to
you and others. Weymar owes you a special distinction, and it is
necessary that an appropriate and adequate opportunity of
presenting yourself here should be offered to you. It is
extremely amiable of you to mean principally me when you
pronounce the name of Weymar. I wish that this SYNONYM (in an
artistic sense) were a little more pronounced; that my advice
were followed, and my reasonable wishes complied with a little
more readily. But this can scarcely be expected, and I must in
this, as in other matters, show myself resigned, determined, and
consistent. I quite agree with what you say of the "INSUFFICIENT
artistic doings" here; however, many things COULD and SHOULD be
done, especially for you and your works. You will understand that
I cannot abandon this view, and that I shall do all in my power
to realise it. The impending performance of "Rienzi" may do
something towards it.

I consider Hanover a well-chosen ground for the first performance
of "Tristan." The King works magnificently for his theatre, and
if the matter is placed before him in the proper way, it may be
expected that he will carry out your wishes and intentions.
Unfortunately I cannot be of service to you, for to the
particular influence of some of my "FRIENDS" I owe a distinctly
pronounced dislike on the part of His Majesty. All I can do in
the face of this is to wait quietly and resignedly, until the
King condescends to adopt a more correct view. Fortunately
Niemann is devoted to you, body and soul, chest-voice and head-
voice. He will, no doubt, do all in his power to bring about the
scenic embodiment.

Berlin and Vienna will probably hold back a little in existing
circumstances, and the rest of Germany, which is united at least
in the spirit of NEGATION, will probably wait prudently until the
camel comes walking along, after which it will consult no end of
folios in order to describe and appreciate it properly. Oh! lazy
abomination, your name is--artistic conditions.

At Wiesbaden, Frankfort, and I know not where else, they were
waiting for Wagner, and wanted to see him conduct, or at least
listen to, "Tannhauser", "Lohengrin", etc., and there would
certainly have been no lack of enthusiastic demonstrations; but
from a work like "Tristan", at the very first sight of the score
of which every one must exclaim: "This is something unheard of,
marvellous, sublime," they run away, and hide themselves like
fools.

I have taken the liberty of making use of the passage of your
letter referring to the ready assistance you receive from the
artists, and the management of the Grand Opera in Paris by
Imperial command; and in the next number of Brendel's paper you
will read something corresponding to your letter in the form of
an original correspondence. We had, of course, to adapt some
things too true in themselves to our laudable habits here. As I
have named Brendel I should like to mention a request, viz., that
you should publish the preface to the French translation of your
dramas in Germany, simultaneously with the Paris edition, and
that you should for that purpose send the ORIGINAL, probably
written in German, either to Brendel or some publisher. A
translation of that preface will, no doubt, appear, unless you
forestall it by the original itself, and thus prevent the
travesty of your ideas, or at least of your style. If no German
sketch should be in existence, my request of course falls to the
ground, for it would be asking you too much to do the work twice
over.

Then you are satisfied with the translation of "Tannhauser?" I am
extremely pleased, for I confess that I think it no easy task to
Frenchify your works in your sense. I am very curious to see the
new version of the Venus scene and the ballet. When you have
finished it quite, and a copy has been made, you might perhaps
lend me the sketch of the new version for a few days, but I hope
that this will be made unnecessary by my visit to you.

Truly, dear Richard, we belong together and must come together at
last. Cordial thanks for your kind letter, which in these dreary
days has been a great and noble joy to me. Amongst other things
you have taken a fine and strikingly correct view of the totally
passive attitude with regard to the reception and promulgation of
my works which I shall observe for the future. Other people have
somewhat misunderstood my conduct. What a blessing it is to be
able to dispense with the explanation and discussion of certain
things!

God bless you, dearest Richard; keep fresh and brave and upright.
Your

F. LISZT.

I shall write to X. today, and give him news of you. 310.

PARIS, November 24th, 1860,

3, RUE D'AUMALE.

DEAREST FRANZ,

Forgive me for writing but a few lines. I have been severely ill
these four weeks, and my recovery is scarcely noticeable. I am
still extremely weak.

I have an urgent request to make. Fancy! I do not possess a
SINGLE copy of my poem of "The Ring of the Nibelung." I want to
publish it, and do not know where to get a copy for the printer.
I remember that at the time I sent a great number of copies to
Weimar, and there was such abundance there that (as I think
Draseke told me) the book was to be had secondhand. Be kind
enough to get me one copy in consideration of my urgent need, and
send it me as quickly as possible. If there should not be a
single possessor who could make up his mind to part with his copy
in spite of the author's great difficulty, I promise to restore
to him the identical copy after the completion of the reprint. I
may therefore fairly ask even the most ardent admirer of my poem
to make this sacrifice on my behalf.

Alas! I begin to perspire, and can write no more.

Come to Paris as you promised, and make me happy!

Your

R.W.

311.

DEAREST RICHARD,

I have managed to get a copy of your "Nibelungen." Counsellor
Muller was kind enough to give me his for you; it was taken
yesterday to Paris by the courier of the French Embassy here,
together with the volume "Wagner und das Musik-Drama," by Franz
Muller, which has just been published. You will receive the
little parcel from Monsieur Leree, chef de bureau des departs au
ministere des affaires etrangeres. It is not customary for the
ministry to transmit private messages, and you therefore must
either call on M. Leree personally, or send him a few lines.

I was in bed a whole week at the same time as you. There are
moods and conditions in which we bear physical illness better
than the uninterrupted sequence of every-day cares and
tribulations.

When will the French edition of your three operatic poems appear,
and what publisher undertakes the edition of the "Nibelungen?"
Have you arranged with Schott about the publication of the full
scores of "Rhinegold" and the "Valkyrie?" Send me word as to
these three things.

The first performance of "Rienzi" is announced for Boxing-day. I
have conducted several rehearsals, and have undertaken the others
as well, but I have declined most positively to conduct the
performance. That performance will be a brilliant one according
to the circumstances here, and will probably realise D.'s
expectations as to pecuniary success. Capellmeister Stor, who has
conducted your three other operas ever since I left the theatre
definitely, will undertake the direction of "Rienzi." Our artists
are full of enthusiasm.

As a trifle I may mention to you that Muller of Dresden (Messrs.
Meser) will shortly publish two transcriptions by me,--the
"Spinning Song" ("Dutchman"), and "Santo Spirito Cavaliere"
("Rienzi"). I shall not talk to you about my coming to Paris
until I am able to tell you the exact date; it will be before
long.

Your

F. L.

WEYMAR, December 2nd, 1860

312.

PARIS, December 15th, 1860.

DEAREST FRANZ,

I am very slowly regaining my strength. What impedes my recovery,
and indeed makes it impossible for the present, are the
extraordinary exertions and excitements to which I have to expose
my health, which is gradually coming back to me. My daily
occupation is this, that by the utmost care and by abstaining
from any other kind of activity, however slight, I manage to
attend the rehearsals at the opera. The proofs of "Rhinegold",
which Messrs. Schott would have liked so much to have published
at Christmas, have been lying on my table for seven weeks without
my being able to make any progress with them. Guess at my
condition from this fact, and forgive me anything that I may have
done to shock you.

Pardon, for example, my not having thanked you before for sending
me Muller's copy of my "Nibelungen." Good Lord! I wanted so much
to hasten the publication, and hurried you in consequence. Now I
possess the copy, and have not been able even to look at it. I
also found it impossible to send you the book before this; I have
a horror of undertaking anything, and apart from this, the Paris
publishers treat one with abominable negligence. The German
original of my letter to Villot you have probably seen. I have
not been able yet to address a single line to my Leipzig
publisher in connection with this matter.

For "Tannhauser" I have still to score the grand new scene for
Venus, and to compose the whole of the Venusberg dance music. How
this is to get done in time without a miracle I fail to perceive.

I wish YOU would at last come to Paris.

But no more of this. I cannot speak of anything at greater
length, firstly, because I know too little, and secondly, because
I must absolutely conclude these lines.

Farewell, and a thousand greetings.

Your

R. W.

3, RUE D'AUMALE.

313.

MY GREAT FRIEND,

How it is that we live for weeks and months BY THE SIDE OF EACH
OTHER while I know all the time that we are cordially united and,
so to speak, welded together in spirit, I will not explain to you
today. You have probably heard of the painful circumstances which
prevented me from visiting you in Paris at the end of February.
God be thanked, my anxiety is now slightly diminished, and I
intend to arrive at Paris between May 7th and 9th. But I do not
want to have it talked about because the many impediments which
have so far frustrated my travelling schemes have made me a
little superstitious.

With your permission I should like to advocate the offer made to
you by Brendel, concerning the perform-* *ance of the second act
of "Tristan," at the meeting of musicians (August 7th). Schnorr
and his wife have undertaken to sing, and the other parts will be
decently filled here. Of course, this fragmentary performance
ought not in the least to disturb or interfere with your original
and further plans concerning this work. I hope that you will
credit me with sufficient knowledge of the circumstance to
understand your hesitation at sanctioning this proceeding. Be
good enough to tell me simply what you think about it. If you do
not send us packing, and look favourably on our request, the
proper steps will be taken.

Write to me, if possible, by return of post, because I leave here
on the 29th inst.

Your

F. LISZT.

WEYMAR, April 18th, 1861.

314.

A thousand thanks, dearest Richard, for your kind letter. May the
treacherous fate which has hitherto kept us apart soon be
vanquished for ever. No one can understand better than I that a
fragmentary performance of "Tristan" must appear quite absurd to
you. I thank you for the gentle manner in which you reply to my
proposal, and take into account the narrow circumstances and
resources which impede my activity. You cannot believe how
painful it is to me not to be able to do anything PROPER for your
honour, benefit, and use. For several years all my steps and
efforts in that direction have been in vain; otherwise, not only
"Tristan" but "The Ring of the Nibelung" would be in existence
and do wonders. I was told several times, and positively assured,
that everything would be done here to further your efforts, and
especially to effect the performance of "The Nibelungen" and of
"Tristan." I, for my part, have clearly demonstrated, by word of
mouth and by letter, what they would have to do, viz., to invite
you here for the purpose of mounting and conducting those works
in accordance with your instructions and wishes. But the whole
plan was always wrecked on the score of expenses.

I will not trouble you with the details of this affair, the
failure of which, between ourselves, was my chief reason for
giving up my connection with our theatre altogether.

The Carlsruhe performance of "Tristan" in September will be a
great joy to me. The Grand Duke of Baden be praised and thanked
for it. You will reward his kindness and grace in a glorious
manner.

What will become of me in the course of this year is quite
uncertain. First of all I shall see you in Paris.

Your

F. LISZT.

WEYMAR, April 26th, 1861.

An answer would be too late to find me here.

315.

PARIS, June 15th, 1861.

DEAREST FRANZ,

A few days ago I received a telegram from Leipzig for Tausig, in
which he was requested to send his address. Today followed a
letter for him, accom-* *panied by one to me, in which I am asked
for information as to Tausig and his whereabouts. I think it
unnecessary to give that information, because I assume that
Tausig has either seen the person in question at Leipzig or given
news of himself. I therefore ask you to transmit to our young
friend these facts, and also the enclosed letter intended for
him, as I do not know what to do with the latter.

Beyond this I have nothing to tell you, dearest Franz--no event,
no plan, no hope--for not the slightest change has taken place in
my position.

Farewell, and, if possible, make me happy soon by news of your
well-being.

Cordially your

R. W.

3, RUE D'AUMALE.

316.

DEAREST RICHARD,

A letter from my daughter, Mdme. Ollivier, informs me that your
wife will go to Soden by the middle of this week, and that you
intend to come to Weymar by the end of the month.

Your presence here, coming as it does at the end of my too much
prolonged stay, will be a beautiful spiritual ray of sunlight;
let me urgently pray you not to refuse me this joy. On August
15th I intend to leave Weymar for a longer period, and have made
the necessary preparations for my removal.

You will, of course, stay with me at Altenburg, where H. and T.
also have quarters. To the Grand Duke I have announced your
visit, and I expect that your personal relations to him will be
of a most pleasant and satisfactory kind.

How about your settling at Carlsruhe? Have your pecuniary affairs
been arranged in Paris, and how? Let me know something about
this.

As to myself I know nothing definite, except that I am going away
from Weymar. Many objections have of course been raised, which,
however, have not been able to alter my resolution. Between this
and the beginning of August I shall fix on my next place of
abode, which will, in any case, not for the present be a large
town, because I want retirement and work above all. Briefly
speaking, my situation is indicated by this dilemma: Either my
marriage takes place, and that soon--or not. In the former case,
Germany later on, and especially Weymar, may still be possible
for me. Otherwise no!

For the moment I am plagued with all kinds of business matters.
Excuse me, dearest Richard, for writing you so little, and
vouchsafe soon the great joy of your presence to

Your sincerely devoted

F. LISZT.

P.S.--My daughter writes to say that she will arrive here with
Ollivier on August 3rd. The performance of the "Prometheus" and
"Faust" symphonies will be on August 6th.

END OF VOL II.

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INFO ABOUT THIS E-TEXT EDITION

This volume of "Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt" is the second
volume of a 2-volume set. The letters were translated into
English by Francis Hueffer. Each page was cut out of the book
with an X-acto knife and fed into an Automatic Document Feeder
Scanner to make this e-text; hence, the original book was
disbinded in order to save it.

Some adaptations from the original text were made while
formatting it for an e-text. Italics in the original book were
ignored in making this e-text, unless they referred to proper
nouns, in which case they are put in quotes in the e-text.
Italics are problematic because they are not easily rendered in
ASCII text.

Almost everything occurring in brackets [ ] are original
footnotes inserted into the text.

Also, special German characters like U with an umlaut, and French
characters like a's and e's with various markings above them were
ignored, replaced with their closet single-letter equivalents. U
with an umlaut is U, A with a caret above it is A, and so on.

This electronic text was prepared by John Mamoun with help from
numerous other proofreaders, including those associated with
Charles Franks' Distributed Proofreaders website. Special thanks
to G. Aagard, C. Aldarando, D. Anderson, M. Desjardins, S. Kulkarni,
T. McDermott, T. Meekins, S. Morrison, M. Pyne, J. Roberts, R. Rowe,
L. Sabel, A. Soulard, V. Walker, J. Zickerman, a gal named Kate and
several others for proof-reading.

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