Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt, Volume 2

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

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America is a terrible nightmare. If the New York people should
ever make up their minds to offer me a considerable sum, I should
be in the most awful dilemma. If I refused I should have to
conceal it from all men, for every one would charge me in my
position with recklessness. Ten years ago I might have undertaken
such a thing, but to have to walk in such by-ways now in order to
live would be too hard,--now, when I am fit only to do, and to
devote myself to, that which is strictly my business. I should
never finish the "Nibelungen" in my life. Good gracious! such
sums as I might EARN in America, people ought to GIVE me, without
asking anything in return beyond what I am actually doing, and
which is the best that I can do. Besides this, I am much better
adapted to spend 60,000 francs in six months than to "earn" it.
The latter I cannot do at all, for it is not my business to "earn
money," but it is the business of my admirers to give me as much
money as I want, to do my work in a cheerful mood. Well, it is a
good thing, and I will take courage from the thought that the
Americans will make me no such offer. Do not you instigate it
either, for in the "luckiest" case it would be a great trouble to
me. Of your dear ones I never have any real news; I am frequently
asked, and do not know what to say. But you must greet them all
the more cordially for me, and, if you can, love me with all your
heart. Will you not? Adieu.

Your R. W.

And how about your great compositions? To know them at last is
worth a whole life to me. I have never looked forward with such
desire to anything. Let me know AT ONCE that my score has
arrived, so that I may not worry myself about it.

201.

One word, dearest Franz, to say that my score has safely arrived!
I am anxious.

Your

R.

202.

Your "Valkyrie" has arrived, and I should like to reply to you by
your "Lohengrin" chorus, sung by 1,000 voices, and repeated a
thousandfold: "A wonder! a wonder!"

Dearest Richard, you are truly a divine being, and it is my joy
to feel after you and to follow you.

More by word of mouth about your splendid, tremendous work, which
I am reading "in great inner excitement," to the horn rhythm,
page 40, in D:

[musical notation] The scores of Berlioz I possess, but have lent
them all to friends for the moment, and shall not be able to get
them back for some weeks.

About the middle of November I shall send you a parcel of them.
You will find in them much to please you.

The day after tomorrow I am going for a few days to Brunswick to
conduct, on the 18th instant, one of the Symphony Concerts given
by the orchestra there. For the 2lst, Sunday week, your "Flying
Dutchman" is announced here, and at the beginning of November
there will be a performance of "Tannhauser" in honour of several
Berlin people (Hulsen, Dorn, the operatic stage manager Formes,
etc.), who have announced their visit here. I shall send you an
account of it.

Go on with your "Valkyrie," and permit me to adapt the proverb,

"Quand on prend du galon, on n'en saurait trop prendre,"

to your case in the following manner:

"Quand on fait du sublime on n'en saurait trop faire, surtout
quand ce n'est qu'une question de nature et d'habitude!"

Your

F.

WEYMAR, October 12th, 1855.

203.

November 16th, 1855.

DEAREST FRANZ,

Thank the Child a thousand times for her letter, and tell her
that I shall not send the album back till you return from here,
because I want to write something good in it which will not be
finished till then.

I must write many and reasonable things to the Princess, and that
I cannot do at present. So I remain in her debt also, but only to
satisfy her. She may see from this how much I value her letter.

I have not yet gone out into the air; but I am getting accustomed
to my room, and do not particularly long for our autumn mists. I
am doing a little work too. You are coming, are you not?

I should like to be silent till then and for ever, for whenever I
speak or write it is sure to be something stupid.

Au revoir!!!

204.

DEAR FRANZ,

I am making a tentative effort to rise from the sick bed on which
I have lain again exactly three weeks.

Carl Ritter has informed you of my condition. The thorns of my
existence have now been supplemented by blooming "roses." I have
suffered from continual attacks of erysipelas in the face. In the
luckiest case I shall not be able to go out into the air this
year, and during the whole winter I shall live in continual fear
of relapses. For the slightest excitement, accompanied by the
least cold, may throw me back on my sick bed for two or three
weeks at any moment.

I am now reaping the fruit of my stupid postponement of your
visit, for I cannot possibly expect you to visit me in the
present uncertain state of my health. Anyhow, I thus relieve you
of the burden which a visit in this evil, hard winter would no
doubt have been to you. As concerns myself, nothing can make my
mood worse than it is. I am getting accustomed to all kinds of
trouble, and the disagreeable and the necessary and natural are
to me convertible terms.

I long for news of you, of which you are too chary.

As soon as I get better and am accustomed to sitting up I shall
write more. For today a thousand greetings to the Altenburg.

Your

R. W.

ZURICH, December 12th, 1855.

205.

Chronos has made another step across all our heads. How can I
write to you, dear poet, without telling you of the kind wishes
which I and the Child entertain for you, and the desire we both
of us have of seeing you again in the course of 1856? I can
assure you that if fate were to send me a messenger with the
assurance of this, I should consider it the best New Year's gift,
although there are many things which I demand of it.

But one must hope--hope is a virtue. Is not this a beautiful
identification?

It gives us great pain to know that you are suffering. I would
accept double and treble the rheumatism which I have caught in
this climate, where we have eight months of bad weather, and not
four of fine, if I could secure you perfect liberty thereby.
Liszt is sad because his travelling plans are dis-* arranged,
although he hopes to see you more at his ease another time. He
must be at Vienna at the beginning of January in order to conduct
a Mozart festival given for the centenary of the Master's
birthday; and as Berlioz is coming here at the beginning of
February, he will have to leave Vienna immediately afterwards.

The papers have no doubt informed you of his stay at Berlin,
where he will soon return to attend the first performance of
"Tannhauser," two rehearsals of which he almost entirely
conducted. Stupid people will not be silenced thereby. To poets
living in the tropical regions, where passion expands her
gigantic blossoms and her sidereal marvels, stupid people appear
like little gadflies which sometimes annoy them and draw blood by
their stings, but cannot disturb the enchantment of this
luxuriant nature. Liszt also has been honoured by a swarm of
these insects, which buzz with all the more noise and self-
sufficiency because they can make so little honey. He is quite
composed, and goes quietly on his way, only uttering occasionally
such BONMOTS as "They have cast me down, but I remain standing
none the less," or "What does it matter if other people do things
badly so long as I do them well?" etc., etc.; and so life goes
on.

Write to me, dear poet, and do not always wait for a REASON; and
if you will give pleasure to my daughter send her for the New
Year the autograph for which she has asked you.

Embrace your wife for me, and convey to her my kindest wishes.
She ought to be sure of them, as indeed ought you. Have you
resumed the "Valkyrie?" The duet between Siegmund and Siegliende
has made me shed copious tears. It is as beautiful as love, as
the Infinite, as earth and the heavens.

Your devoted,

CAROLYNE W.

December 23rdd, 1855.

206.

Today I ought to be with you and prepare your Christmas tree,
where the rays and gifts of your genius should shine. And now we
are apart, you troubled with erysipelas, and I with all manner of
red roses grown in similar gardens. But this abominable FLORA
shall not delay the joy of our meeting too long.

You probably know that I have to go to Vienna, in January, to
conduct the Centenary Mozart Festival, which takes place on
January 27th, and will require at least a few weeks' preparation.
At the beginning of February I shall be back here. Berlioz is
coming on the 8th of February, and Johanna Wagner on the 20th.
Berlioz's "Faust" and "Cellini" will be given before the 16th,
and your niece is announced in three roles. As soon as this is
over I shall write to tell you when I can come to Zurich, but I
am afraid I shall have to wait for the summer.

At Berlin, where I stayed three weeks, I attended a few
pianoforte rehearsals of "Tannhauser," by invitation of Messrs.
von Hulsen and Dorn, and if the first performance is not delayed
after January 6th to 8th (for when it is announced), I shall be
able to send you a report of it as an eye and ear witness.
Johanna will sing and act Elizabeth beautifully, and Formes is
studying his part most conscientiously. Dorn has already had a
number of pianoforte and string rehearsals, and makes it a point
of honour to produce the work as correctly and brilliantly as
possible.

No doubt "Tannhauser" will become a "draw" at Berlin, which is
the chief thing, even for the composer, and I hope that the
CRITICAL treatment which I received at the hands of the critics
will redound to the credit of "Tannhauser," and that the
infallible impression of your work on the public will not be
impaired by carping notices. I shall write to you about this at
great length.

The day after tomorrow, Boxing-day, we shall have "Tannhauser"
here, which retains its position as a "draw," a distinction which
it shares at Weymar, with "Lohengrin" and "The Flying Dutchman."

Next spring "Lohengrin" is to be mounted again here. Up to the
present we still want an Ortrud, and, unfortunately, cannot get a
good one from elsewhere. The Leipzig one would, for example, be
quite useless, and the voice of Frau Knopp is still much impaired
by her late illness.

I am looking forward to "Lohengrin," that wonderful work, which,
to me, is the highest and most perfect thing in art--until your
"Nibelungen" is finished.

At Berlin, at Count Redern's, I heard a few pieces from
"Lohengrin" splendidly executed by several regimental bands, and
was reminded of our pompous entry into the "Drei Konige" of
Basle: Our new Weymar Union has adopted the entry of the trumpets

[Musical notation]

as its "Hoch," and I wish we could sing it to you in chorus soon.

Of my concert affairs, etc., I have nothing to tell you. When I
come to you I shall bring some of my scores with me. The rest
will not interest us much. With similar compositions, the only
question is, what is IN them? The publication I shall delay a few
months (although six numbers are already engraved), for the
reason that some of my EXCELLENT friends (an expression which
Kaulbach is fond of using for people who do not like him) had the
EXCELLENT intention of producing these things at once by way of a
WARNING EXAMPLE. That amiable intention I want to forestall by a
few performances under my own direction during the winter.

Try to get better again soon, and remember kindly

Your faithful

F. LISZT.

December 24th, 1855.

Best remembrances to Ritter.

207.

DEAR FRANZ,

I am again, or rather still, unwell and incapable of anything. I
was just going to write something in the album, so that the Child
might have it for the new year. But it will not do; my head is
too confused and heavy. I write to you only to tell you so; a
real letter I could not accomplish. Apart from this I have
nothing to tell you; I mean that I have no materials.

I should like to ask you, however, to return the two acts of the
"Valkyrie" to me at once before you start. I have at last found a
good copyist to whom I have promised work, and I am anxious to
have the copy finished soon,--perhaps for the same reason which
induces insects to place their eggs in safety before they die.

If I ever finish the last act I will send you the whole, although
you are so great a man of the world. Till then be of good cheer,
and remember that if you are abused you have willed it so. I also
rejoice in the FIASCO of my "Faust" overture, because in it I see
a purifying and wholesome punishment for having published the
work in despite of my better judgment; the same religious feeling
I had in London when I was bespattered with mud on all sides.
This was the most wholesome mud that had ever been thrown at me.

I wish you joy for the Vienna mud.

Adieu, and do your work well. Of your Christianity I do not think
much; the Saviour of the world should not desire to be the
conqueror of the world. There is a hopeless contradiction in this
in which you are deeply involved.

My compliments and thanks to the Princess, and tell the Child
that I was unable to manage it today. WHEN shall I? Heaven knows!
It is largely your own fault.

Adieu. I cannot say more, and have, moreover, talked nonsense
enough. Farewell, and enjoy yourself.

208.

TELEGRAM

TO R. WAGNER, ZELTWEG, ZURICH.

Yesterday "Tannhauser." Excellent performance. Marvellous mise-
en-scene. Much applause. Good luck.

F. LISZT.

BERLIN, January 8th, 1856.

2O9.

DEAREST RICHARD,

From Berlin I brought home so dreadful a cold that I had to go to
bed for a few days, and to delay my journey till this evening. I
have to supplement my Berlin telegram by the following notes:--

Johanna was beautiful to see and touching to hear as Elizabeth.
In the duet with Tannhauser she had some splendid moments of
representation, and her great scene in the finale she sang and
realised in an incomparable manner. Formes's intonation was firm,
pure, and correct, and there was no sign of fatigue in the
narration, where his sonorous, powerful voice told admirably.
Altogether Formes is not only adequate but highly satisfactory,
in spite of his small stature, which, especially by the side of
Johanna, somewhat interferes with the illusion. Herr Radwaner as
Wolfram, although not equal to our Milde, deserves much praise
for the neatness, elegance, and agreeable style of singing with
which he executed his part; and Madame Tuczek proved herself to
be an excellent musician and a well-trained actress, who may be
confidently intrusted with the most difficult part. Dorn and the
band took every pains to carry out your intentions, and the
orchestral performance was throughout successful, with the
exception of two wrong tempi, in the first chorus

[Here, Wagner illustrates with a 2-bar musical example.]

where you have forgotten to mark the tempo as piu moderato, that
is almost twice as slow as before, and in the G major passage
(before the ensemble in B major), which, in my opinion, was also
taken too fast, the rhythmical climax of the second part of the
finale being considerably impaired thereby.

The chorus had studied its part well, but it is much too weak for
Berlin, and in proportion to the vastness of the opera house,
scarcely more efficient than ours, which always gives me great
dissatisfaction. The stringed instruments, also, are not
sufficiently numerous, and should, like the chorus, be increased
by a good third. For a large place like this eight to ten double
basses, and fifteen to twenty first violins, etc., would
certainly not be too many at important performances. On the other
hand, the scenery and mounting of "Tannhauser" left nothing to be
desired, and I can assure you that never and nowhere have I seen
anything so splendid and admirable. Gropius and Herr von Hiilsen
have really done something extraordinary and most tasteful. You
have heard, no doubt, that his Majesty the King had ordered the
decorations of the second act to be faithfully reproduced after
the designs for the restoration of the Wartburg, and that he had
sent Gropius to Eisenach for the purpose. The aspect of the hall
with all the historic banners, and the costumes taken from old
pictures, as well as the court ceremonial during the reception of
the guests by the Landgrave, gave me incredible pleasure, as did
also the arrangement of the huntsmen with their horns on the
hill, the gradual filling up of the valley by the gathering of
the hunt (four horses and a falcon bringing up the rear) in the
finale of the first act; and, finally, the fifteen trumpets in
the march of the second act

[Musical notation]

which blew their flourish from the gallery of the hall in a bold
and defiant manner.

I only hope, dearest Richard, that you will hear and see all this
before very long, and when I pay you a visit in the course of the
summer, we shall have some more talk about it.

Your last letter was very sad and bitter. Your illness must have
put you out still more, and, unfortunately, your friends can do
little to relieve you. If the consciousness of the most sincere
and cordial comprehension of, and sympathy with, your sufferings
can be of any comfort to you, you may rely upon me in fullest
measure, for I do not believe that there are many people in this
universe who have inspired another being with such real and
continual sympathy as you have me.

As soon as you are well again go to work and finish your
"Valkyrie." The first two acts I returned to you. You must sing
them to me at Zurich.

I have to ask you yet another favour today. Schlesinger, of
Berlin, is bringing out a new edition of the scores of Gluck's
overtures, which is dedicated to me, and he wishes to print your
close of the overture of "Iphigenia in Aulis" in addition to that
by Mozart. For that purpose he wants your special permission, and
has asked me to get it from you. If you have no objection to this
close--which has already been published in Brendel's paper--
appearing in this edition, be kind enough to give me your consent
in a few lines, and address your letter, "Hotel Zur Kaiserin von
Oestreich," Vienna, for which I start to-night.

I shall conduct the two concerts for the Mozart centenary
celebration on the 27th and 28th instant, and shall be back in
Weymar on February 4th.

Your speedy recovery and patience is the wish with all his heart,
dearest Richard, of

Your faithful

F. LISZT.

WEYMAR, January 14th, 1856.

210.

ZURICH, January 18th, 1856.

My letter, dear Franz, you will have received at Vienna through
Gloggl. I once more put the question contained therein, and ask
you: Can you GIVE me the thousand francs, which would be still
better, and can you settle the same sum on me annually for two
years more? If you CAN, I know that you will willingly join with
those who keep me alive by their pecuniary assistance. My own
income is insufficient for the very expensive style of living
here, and every new year I am troubled by a deficit, so that I am
really no better off now than I was before. If it were not for my
wife you would see something curious, and I should be proud to go
about the world as a beggar; but the continual uncertainty, and
the miserly condition in which we live, affects my poor wife more
and more, and I can keep her mind at rest only by a certain
economical security. More of this when I see you. That I ask you
this question at the present moment when I am sick of life, and
would see the end of it today rather than tomorrow, you will
probably understand, when you realise that from the deepest
mental grief I am incessantly aroused to nothing but the mean
troubles of existence, this being my only change. I have no doubt
of your WILL, and believe even that it would give you pleasure to
belong to those from whom I receive a regular pension. It remains
to be asked only: Can you? I know that some time ago you were not
able, although even at that time you occasionally made real
sacrifices to assist me. Perhaps a change has taken place since
then, and on the chance of this "perhaps" I venture to trouble
you with my question.

One other matter I have to place before you. You remember that I
wrote to you some time ago that I had at last discovered here an
excellent and intelligent copyist for my musical manuscripts. To
him I gave, in the first instance, Klindworth's pianoforte score
of the "Valkyrie," and he brought me the first act beautifully
written; but his charge for the time employed, moderate enough
though I found it, appeared to me so high, that I could not
possibly afford the expense from my yearly income. I considered
what might be done, and found that, if I really went on with my
composition, I should have exactly three years' occupation for a
copyist This would include the copying of the full scores, the
pianoforte scores, and all the vocal and orchestral parts. If the
enterprise of the performance should in any way be accomplished,
three years' salary for a copyist might well be added to the
estimate of the costs, and the question would be whether one
could find, at this moment, a small number of shareholders who
would advance the necessary funds. I should have to engage my
amanuensis for exactly three years, and pay him an annual salary
of eight hundred francs. The only awkward part would be that I
should have to bind myself to furnish the compositions in this
given time. I might, however, as soon as I found myself unable to
continue, give notice to both shareholders and copyist. For one
year I have more than sufficient work for the copyist, and
whatever he had written might, in such a case, be handed over to
the shareholders as a security. I think that would be fair
enough. Kindly see, dearest Franz, whether you can manage this
for me. In the meantime I let him go on with the pianoforte
arrangement, but as soon as you are bound to give me a negative
answer I shall stop him, for, as I said before, I cannot bear
this expense from my housekeeping money.

It was an evil, evil fate that we did not see each other last
year. You must come soon, if POSSIBLE this SPRING. I feel that on
our meeting this time everything, everything depends. I am
continually at war with my health, and fear a relapse at every
moment. But let us leave this for today. We shall soon meet.

Many thanks for your letter from Berlin, received today. Alwine
Frommann writes to me every day, always in a great state of
anxiety about the positive and permanent success of "Tannhauser."
It appears that in over-witty and wholly unproductive Berlin
everything has to be born anew. "Kladderadatsch" was quite right
in taunting me with the fact that I had surrendered "Tannhauser"
to Berlin, solely for the sake of the royalties. That is so. It
is my fault, and I have to suffer for it as vulgarly as possible.
Very well, I suffer, but unfortunately I do not even get anything
by it.

Could I only bring back the state of things of four years ago!
Enough. It is my own fault, and it serves me right.

Try to be as little annoyed as possible at Vienna. I am anxious
to learn whether you will be at all satisfied.

Your letter has once more done me a great deal of good. Yes, dear
Franz, I trust in you, and I know that there is some higher
meaning in our friendship. If I could live together with you I
might do many fine things yet. Farewell, and be cordially thanked
for your glorious friendship.

Your

R. W.

I have no objection to my close of Gluck's "Iphigenia" overture
being used, seeing that I have already published it. It would be
advisable, however, that the overture should appear with the
correct tempi and some necessary marks of expression. Apart from
this, Herr Schlesinger, in his musical paper, might adopt a
pleasanter tone towards me in case Herr M. will permit him to do
so.

R. W. 211.

DEAR FRANZ,

My letters to Vienna seem to have put you in a very awkward
position. Forgive me, and do not punish me any longer by your
silence!

Before anything else in the world I ask you to pay me as soon as
possible the visit, which was so unfortunately postponed. My
desire to consult with you definitely about my future life has
reached a painful pitch, and my longing for you is unspeakable. I
am very unhappy.

Your

R. W.

March 21st, 1856.

212.

DEAREST RICHARD,

At last I am able to tell you that you will receive one thousand
francs at the BEGINNING of May. When you wrote to me at Vienna
about this matter it was impossible for me to tell you anything
definite, and even now I am unable to undertake an ANNUAL
obligation.

I am always sincerely sorry to have to tell you anything
disagreeable, and for that reason I waited for the moment when I
should be able to state that the aforesaid sum would be sent to
you. I have more than once explained to you my difficult
pecuniary situation, which simply amounts to this, that my mother
and my three children are decently provided for by my former
savings, and that I have to manage on my salary as Capellmeister
of one thousand thalers, and three hundred thalers more by way of
a present for the court concerts. For many years, since I became
firmly resolved to live up to my artistic vocation, I have not
been able to count upon any additional money from the music
publishers. My Symphonic Poems, of which I shall send you a few
in full score in a fortnight's time, do not bring me in a
shilling, but, on the contrary, cost me a considerable sum, which
I have to spend on the purchase of copies for distribution
amongst my friends. My Mass and my "Faust" symphony, etc., are
also entirely USELESS works, and for several years to come I have
no chance of earning money. Fortunately I can just manage, but I
must pinch a good deal and have to be careful not to get into any
trouble, which might affect my position very unpleasantly. Do not
be angry, therefore, dearest Richard, if I do not enter upon your
proposal, because for the present I can really not undertake any
regular obligations. If, which is not quite impossible, my
circumstances should improve later on, it will be a pleasure to
me to relieve your position.

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