urgently entreat and command, that my burial may take place
without show, and be as simple and economical as possible. I
protest against a burial such as Rossini's was, and even against
any sort of invitation for friends and acquaintances to assemble
as was done at Overbeck's interment. Let there be no pomp, no
music, no procession in my honor, no superfluous illuminations,
or any kind of oration. Let my body be buried, not in a church,
but in some cemetery, and let it not be removed from that grave
to any other. I will not have any other place for my body than
the cemetery in use in the place where I die, nor any other
religious ceremony than a quiet Mass in the Parish Church (not
any kind of Requiem to be sung). The inscription on my tomb might
be: "Et habitabunt recti cum vultu suo.".--.
96. To Franz Servais
Your kind letter has given me very sincere pleasure, dear
Monsieur Franz. I hope your health is quite re-established, and
that you are plunging into Bach to your heart's content,--that
admirable chalybeate spring! I will bear you company, and have
given myself, for a Christmas present, the little 8vo edition of
Peters of the two "Passions," Masses and Cantatas of Bach, whom
one might designate as the St. Thomas Aquinas of music. Kahnt,
who sends me these scores, tells me of his earnest desire to get
Cornelius settled at Leipzig, in the position of editor-in-chief
of the Neue Zeitschrift, founded, as you know, by Schumann, and
bravely carried on by Brendel. It is the sole paper which has,
for thirty years past, sustained with steadfastness, knowledge
and consistency the works and the men of musical progress. If, as
I wish, Cornelius undertakes Brendel's task, I think you would do
well to follow out your project of staying again in Leipzig.--In
any case I hope to see you again this spring at Weimar; I shall
arrive there towards the middle of April, and shall stay till the
end of June. During the winter I shall abstain from all
travelling, and shall not leave my retreat at the Villa d'Este
except to stay a few days in Rome. Many people have very kindly
invited me to go to Paris; I have excused myself from doing so
for reasons of expediency which you know. Henceforth it is not
myself that I have to bring forward, but simply to continue to
write in perfect tranquillity and with a free mind. To do this
obliges me to seclude myself, to avoid the salons, the half-
opened pianos and the society drudgery imposed by the large
towns, where I very easily feel myself out of place.
Thank you cordially for your propaganda of the "Missa Choralis;"
I shall be much obliged if you will write me a couple of words
after the performance. Will you also please tell M. Brassin that
I thank him much for not having been afraid of compromising his
success as a virtuoso by choosing my Concerto? Up to the present
time all the best-known French pianists--with the exception of
Saint-Saens--have not ventured to play anything of mine except
transcriptions, my own compositions being necessarily considered
absurd and insupportable. People know pretty well what to think
by what they hear said, without any need of hearing the works.
How did the orchestra go with the piano in the Concerto? Had they
taken care to have enough rehearsals? There are several passages
that require minute care; the modulations are abrupt, and the
variety of the movements is somewhat disconcerting for the
conductor. And, in addition to this, the traitor triangle (proh
pudor!) [Oh shame!], however excited he may be to strike strong
with his cunning little rhythm, marked pianissimo, provokes the
most scandalous catastrophe...
Notwithstanding all the regrettable parleying, for in such a
matter all sensible people ought to be of the same opinion, I
presume that Mr. Godebski's bust of Chopin will shortly be placed
in the lobby of the theater at Warsaw. Certainly Chopin well
merits this mark of honor, which moreover need in no wise prevent
people from busying themselves about a larger monument to
Lemberg, and from collecting a sufficient sum for that purpose.
At Weimar we will talk of Hal and the pleasure it will be to me
to pay you a visit there. Pray present my respectful thanks to
your mother, and my affectionate remembrances to Madame
Godebski,--and believe me, dear Monsieur Franz, your sincere
friend,
F. Liszt
Villa d'este, December 20th, 1869
(Address always Rome.)
97. To Dr. Franz Witt in Ratisbon
[Like all the subsequent letters to Dr. Witt, this letter is
without date or ending, as printed in Walter's biography of Witt
(Ratisbon, Pustet, 1889).--Dr. Witt (1834-80) was a distinguished
musical scholar, also a composer, the founder and first general
president of the Cacilien-Verein [St. Cecilia Society], and died
as a clergyman in Landshut.]
[Rome, towards the end of 1869.]
Very Dear Sir and Friend,
Before I had the honor of knowing you personally the manuscript
of your "Litaniae lauretanae" aroused in me sincere interest and
religious sympathy towards you. This first impression is now
increased by my deeper knowledge of the substantial value of your
compositions and my fuller appreciation of the great services you
have rendered to Church Music. That you act as admirably in
practice as in precept is evident in other of your works, but
especially in the Mass and the Te Deum which were performed here
on the Emperor of Austria's name-day in the Church of the Anima
under the leadership of our dear friend Haberl [On the 4th
October, 1869] Both of these works are of rare value--and, what
is still more rare, both are equally devoted to Art and the
Church. The "Litaniae lauretanae" breathes also a spirit of
nobility of soul, and diffuses its pleasant aroma notwithstanding
the necessary musical limitation. The collective character of the
invocations shows uniformity; and yet the lines of melody are
very finely drawn; especially touching to me is
[Here, Liszt writes a 2-bar musical excerpt where the words "Sa--
lus infirmo---rum Refugium peccatorum, Conso-la-trix afllicto---
rum" are sung]
My hearty thanks for the dedication, my very dear friend; it
brings me justifiable and joyful pride, which your own
exaggerated modesty should dispel.--Next summer I will again come
to you for a few days on my way to Szegzard (Hungary), where my
Mass for male voices (2nd very much corrected edition,--now
published by Repos, Paris) is to be performed. A few months after
my visit you will I hope receive most satisfactory news (through
Haberl) about the Cacilien-Verein [Haberl had endeavored, through
the intervention of the Bishops assembled in Council in Rome, to
obtain the Pope's approbation of the Cacilien-Verein, and his
efforts met with success.], to which, in fullest conviction, I
remain firmly attached--as well as to its much esteemed
President.
98. To Prof. Dr. Siegmund Lebert
Dear Friend,
The proofs of Weber's and Schubert's Sonatas were despatched to
Stuttgart in two parcels by rail the day before yesterday. This
is the cheapest and quickest way of sending things, and I beg of
you in future to send parcels in this way, as packages sent by
spediteur come slowly and cost a great deal. N.B.--The parcels
must not be too thick, and must have the address written on the
wrapper. As soon as you send me the D minor Sonata, that is still
wanting, and Weber's Conzertstuck, I will revise them at once;
ere long you will receive Schubert's Impromptus, Valses, etc.
My endeavor with this work is to avoid all quibbling and
pretentiousness, and to make the edition a practical one for
teachers and players. And for this reason at the very last I
added a goodly amount of fingering and pedal marks; kindly get
the printers to excuse this, and I trust that the trouble it
causes will not prove superfluous.--With regard to the deceptive
Termpo rubato, I have settled the matter provisionally in a brief
note (in the finale of Weber's A flat major Sonata); other
occurrences of the rubato may be left to the taste and momentary
feeling of gifted players. A metronomical performance is
certainly tiresome and nonsensical; time and rhythm must be
adapted to and identified with the melody, the harmony, the
accent and the poetry...But how indicate all this? I shudder at
the thought of it.
Also kindly excuse me from writing a preface, and write it
yourself, dear friend. For you know exactly what I should wish to
say, and you would say it much more clearly than I could, for my
very small amount of pedagogism is, for the most part, confined
to the words of St. Paul: Littera occidit, spiritus vivificat!
Your success delights without surprising me. It is only what
ought to be, that Lebert and Stark's Pianoforte Method should
meet with general acceptance, and that the Stuttgart
Conservatoire should continue to prosper. Both of these points of
merit I took the opportunity of mentioning with due honor to H.M.
the Queen of Wurtemberg--on the occasion of her visit to the
Villa d'Este here.
Best thanks for sending the Bach Fugue, the 2 Etudes (separate
edition) and the last volume of the Method, which I found to
contain many, to me, new and praiseworthy items, among others the
Etudes of Hiller and Brahms.
Ever, in all friendship, yours
F. Liszt
Villa d'Este, January l0th, 1870
I shall remain here till the end of April, and then go direct to
Weimar.
99. To C. F. Kahnt, the Music Publisher
Dear Friend,
The life's object of the Neue Zeitschrift remains firmly to stand
by the colors of Rheingold and the Nibelungen, and unfailingly to
represent the interests of the Deutsche Musikverein. This
embraces all essential consequences for us.
At the end of next week I will send you the piano-forte score of
the Beethoven Cantata, and write full particulars to Riedel.
By the middle of April I hope to reach Weimar. Best thanks for
sending the Ave maris stella--and in all friendliness I remain
yours,
F. Liszt
Rome, February 14th, 1870
100. To Herr Gille, councillor of justice
Dear Friend,
The best thing I have to tell you today is that we shall soon see
each other again. At the beginning of April I shall visit Bulow
in Florence, and then go direct to Weimar.
Last week I had a correspondence with Riedel about matters of the
Tonkunstler-Versammhung. The most important points are as
follows:--The utmost economy that is possible to making a
perfectly suitable orchestra and chorus. The spaces at our
disposal in Weimar (churches, theater and refreshment room) will
not allow of any great expenditure as regards the personnel. It
is to be hoped that Muller-Hartung can obtain a respectable
contingent for the Beethoven Mass, which will lessen the number
of outside co-operators; and I in like manner reckon chiefly on
the Weimar Vocal Union for the more important numbers of the
concert programme-Psalm by Schulz-Beuthen, Prometheus by Saint-
Saens, my Beethoven Cantata, etc. The arrangement of the
orchestra is to be as it was at the Carl August Festival and at
the Tonkunstler-Versammlung of '61--10 first violins, 6 to 7
double basses, etc. Riedel conducts Beethoven's Mass; Lassen the
concerts in the theater; and Muller-Hartung my Cantata.
Conzertmeister David and Director Hellmesberger will preside over
the 1st violins. Both gentlemen will also determine about the
performance of the Beethoven Quartet. Any other special violin
virtuoso would be superfluous this time. Riedel must arrange the
distribution of the solo parts of the Beethoven Mass according as
he thinks best. Milde only requires, in my Cantata,
"Dieser Brave sei verpflichtet
Das zu thun, was wir gedichtet."
["May this brave one be constrained
That to do which we ordained."]
(Schober, 49. Goethe-Feier.)
I flatter myself, by-the-bye, that Milde will also find a
pleasure in the "Sternen-Cantabile"--
[Here, Liszt illustrates with a musical score excerpt where the
words "Viel tau-send hal-ten nach-tig" ("Vide the accompanying
page") are sung. It contained the Cantabile in question for Milde
from Liszt's Beethoven Cantata.]
Riedel asks me who shall play the pianoforte?
If our meeting were at Jena I should decidedly invite Bulow to do
it; he is the veritable Beethoven player and interpreter, the one
who knows and who can do [Kenner und Konner]; but unfortunately
the shades of Dingelstedt and Gutzkow warn him from Weimar's
doors...
Meanwhile there is no hurry about the choice of a pianist (he or
she). Only arrange the principal things in a suitable manner, the
chorus, orchestra, solo singers and the Beethoven Quartet; all
the rest will soon be arranged after my arrival at Weimar in the
middle of April.
Yours most faithfully,
F. Liszt
Villa d'Este, February 26th, 1870
The piano arrangement of my Cantata must be written out again,
and cannot therefore be sent off for 8 or 10 days. The entire
work lasts about three-quarters of an hour. I am so far ready
with it, that there are only two or three more passages to be
instrumented.
101. To the Baroness E. M. Schwartz in Crete
[Autograph in the Liszt Museum at Weimar.--The addressee was
widely known as the writer Elpis Melena.]
My winter villeggiatura at the Villa d'Este is drawing to its
close; the day after tomorrow I return to Rome, and when you
receive these lines I shall be at Weimar. Address to me there
till the middle of June.
When will your Cretan volume, crowned [Untranslatable pun on the
words "cretois" and "crete."] with erudition and philhellenism,
be finished? Shall you return this summer for its publication? I
hope you will, and I will confess to you without any compliments
that you are among the very small number of my friends whose
absence I feel to be a privation. Now, to accustom one's self to
this kind of privation does not become easier with age.
You doubtless know the novel of your great historical friend,
published now by the "Gaulois" (if I am not mistaken) under the
title "La Domination du Moine" (or "Clelia.") I question whether
another of your friends--less historical although very
distinguished--M. St. Rene Taillandier, recently appointed
Secretary General to the Minister of Public Instruction, would
subscribe to many copies of G.'s novel for the Imperial
libraries; but he will have a fine opportunity of ministerial
revenge when the biographer of the hero of l'unita italiana (not
the "cattolica," relegated to Turin) brings out "la Crete," in
which the Cretans will at last be relieved from the anathema of
their Epimenides narrated in St. Paul's Epistle to Titus,--
"Cretenses semper mendaces, malae bestiae, ventres pigri."--In
the matter of "mendaces" and "ventres pagri" there would be a
tremendous competition with the rest of Europe.
My plans for the spring and summer remain always the same.
Weimar--from the 10th April till the 20th June--with the
Tonkunstler-Versammlung (which has the honor of counting you
amongst its illustrious members); then in the last week of May I
should be very much tempted to be present at the famous "Passion
Play" at Ober-Ammergau; at the end of August I shall go to my odd
friend August at Szegzard (Hungary), who is anxious that a new
Mass of mine should be performed on the day of the dedication of
a church (29th September); and in October I shall return to Rome.
I suppose you receive the Allgemeine Zeitung. It gives but too
much news, and little edifying, about serious things here by its
"Roman Letters," no less widespread than badly put together. If
you want to obtain complete information on these difficult
questions you must read l' Univers and the letters of Veuillot,
or at least l'Unita cattolica; but it would be exacting too much
from your impartiality. Moreover you have better things to do
than to read; your chief duty is to make yourself read,
consequently to write and to write again;--in a secondary manner
occupy yourself a little with your beautiful vines, and, above
all, don't forget to bring soon some samples of their excellent
product, which will enliven our material and intellectual
"substantials," at which, hoping to participate again in the year
of grace 1870, I am,
Your very affectionate and very devoted servant,
F. Liszt
Villa d'Este, March 15th, 1870
As handy gossip I send you the following: they say that Odo
Russet [sic] will shortly go to England for his wife's
confinement, and will not return to his post in Rome. It is also
said that Schlozer will pay a visit here in the spring;--and that
the daughter of Countess Garcia is to marry a nephew of Cardinal
Antonelli, and will bring a fortune of ten thousand pounds
sterling.
Tarnowski will return to his Penates in Gallicia at Easter, and
will write to you. Wider continues to be president of the German
circle. Next door to one another, there are many concerts given
at the Sala Dante, and our friend Sgambati is acquiring more and
more the reputation of a great artist, which he merits. Remenyi
spent the winter in Hungary. I should very much like to invite
him to come to the Tonkunstler-Versammlung at Weimar; but our
programme is already over-full. In any case I shall meet Rem.
again at Szegzard.
102. To Camille Saint-Saens
Dear Friend,
The rehearsals of your "Noces de Promethee" (Marriage of
Prometheus) are proceeding well at Weimar and Jena; we shall pay
particular attention to the 4 harps, the saxophones, etc. But
what is of the greatest consequence is yourself. I have announced
your coming at the Court and in the town. A revoir then! Try to
be here on the 24th, [Saint-Saens came to Weimar for the
Tonkunstler-Versammlung of the "Allgemeine Deutsche Musik-
Verein," with which the Beethoven Centenary was simultaneously
celebrated; and for the first time, on the 27th May, 1870, Saint-
Saens' name appeared on the programme of these concerts. He also
appeared as a pianist, and Liszt played with him at a Matinee on
two grand pianos.]--and believe me yours ever in sincere
friendship,
F. Liszt
Weimar, May 12th, 1870
103. To Johann von Herbeck
Very dear friend,
Being perfectly convinced of your genuine friendship I am quite
willing to follow the instructions you will briefly give me
concerning the Beethoven Festival [For the benefit of the
Beethoven Memorial. It took place in Vienna on the 18th March,
1877. Liszt played the E-major Concerto and the pianoforte
Fantasia (with chorus), and accompanied the Scotch songs sung by
Caroline Bettelheim.] in Vienna. Whether, and in what way, I may
be able to take part in it will be decided when we have discussed
the subject. Meanwhile I most modestly determine to consider
myself unusable. [There is here a play on the word bescheiden,
the German being ich bescheide mich bescheidenst, which is
untranslatable.]
About the beginning of August I shall pay you a visit in Vienna,
whence my road leads onwards to Szegzard. My earlier halting
points will be: 3rd July, Leipzig--performance of my Missa
choralis; 13th and 17th July, "Rheingold" and the "Walkure" in
Munich; and after that the Passion Play at Oberammergau.
The favorable reception accorded to the Coronation Mass [By
Liszt] is essentially due to your having conducted it. My best
thanks for this. The score is to be printed shortly, and I must
ask you to hand over to the publisher Schuberth the manuscript
which I gave you in Munich last summer. Schuberth is going to
Vienna in a few weeks.
With sincerest esteem, I remain your ever gratefully devoted
F. Liszt
Weimar, June 20th, 1870
104. To Sophie Menter
[The favorite and most distinguished of Liszt's lady-pupils, of
whom he wrote to Navratil on 29th September, 1881, that he had
"for many years past regarded her as the most brilliant and
accomplished of the lady-pianists of the day." Since 1874 she has
held the appointment of Court pianist at the Imperial Court of
Austria.]
Dear and Very Honored One,
A telegram from Abranyi informs me that an invitation, addressed
to Capellmeister O.B. in Salzburg, has already been sent to you
to ask you to take part in the Sangerfest in Pest. Hence, after
having triumphantly played in the Mozarteum on the 18th, your
triumphs are to be continued forthwith in Pest on the 20th. Baron
Augusz and your humble servant expect you there from the 19th.
Kindly let me know (per telegram) by which train you will arrive,
and--a few days afterwards--my rigidly adhered-to plan of
carrying you off to Szegzard shall be brilliantly fulfilled.
Here in this house you will find rest, comfort, friendly sympathy
and harmless affability, and, in addition, music too, and that
not of the worst kind, for we shall arrange it ourselves.
Your sincerely attached and devoted
F. Liszt
Szegzard, August 11th, 1870
105. To Sophie Menter
Your hearty and humorous little note closes delightfully with the
promise that you are soon coming to Szegzard. You will not find
here any vestige of all the artistic enjoyments and glories of
the Mozarteum; the whole symphonic contingent of Szegzard is
limited to half a dozen gypsies with instruments out of tune and
harmonising in pell mell fashion one with the other; the choruses
are free and performed in the open air, namely: soprano and alto-
-flocks of geese; tenor and bass--cattle;--so that a conductor
like O.B. would have nothing further to do than to pose as a
mythological figure...
Nevertheless I promise you, dear kind patroness, many pleasant
and befitting things in this restful, genial and refined home of
our mutual friend Baron Augusz.
You will be most heartily welcome to us all--especially to your
most sincerely attached
F. Liszt
Szegzard, August 29th, 1870
Between the middle and the end of September Remenyi, Mosonyi and
Mihalovich will be staying here.
106. To Kornel von Abranyi in Budapest
[Autograph in the possession of Herr E. von Mihalovich in
Budapest.--The addressee was a musician, writer and critic
there.]
Dear Friend,
The death of Mosonyi puts our hearts in mourning. [Michael
Mosonyi, the friend of Liszt, and to whose sudden death the
latter here refers, was famous in Hungary as a composer, teacher
and author.] It makes us sorrow also for Music in Hungary, of
which Mosonyi was one of the noblest, most valiant and
praiseworthy representatives. One might be proud of walking side
by side with him in the right road. In truth his name had not its
due eclat and renown abroad; but he did not trouble himself the
least about that, and possibly he did not even take enough
trouble about it,--as much by wisdom as by contempt of equivocal
and vulgar means, which were repugnant to the elevated rectitude
of his soul. He felt what esteem was due to him, and thought of
nothing but real glory; that which is attained by conscientious
perseverance in the Good and the Beautiful.
Let us honor his memory by setting ourselves to make his examples
and teaching bear further fruit!--
Many of the published compositions of Mosonyi deserve to be more
and better known; others, still in manuscript,--his last great
dramatic work "Almos" in particular--will soon be spread abroad,
I hope.
We will talk about this shortly at Pest. For today I wish merely
to share with some friend, such as yourself, dear Abranyi, the
grief at the loss which we have sustained. Yours from my heart,
F. Liszt
Szegzard, November 2nd, 1870
107. To Sophie Menter
Dear Patroness,
Your dear little notes joyfully alarm the whole household. All
beg you urgently to come as soon as possible, and I all the more
urgently as I have to go to Vienna at the end of April.
Your bewitching description of the "Ambrosia-Concerto" makes me
most inquisitive: be sure not to forget to bring the tremendous
manuscript with you; we will arrange an historically memorable
performance of it in the salon of the Town-Vicarage.
Hearty greetings, and in all friendliness yours,
F. Listz
Pest, March 22nd, 1871.
In musical matters as follows: this evening and Friday concerts
by Remenyi; next Sunday and on the Wednesday before Easter
Philharmonic concerts;--in between a grand concert at the Musik
Academie of Ofen, and on Good Friday a performance of the Stabat
Mater, etc., etc.
Our programme shall be arranged here, forthwith, by word of
mouth, at any quarter of an hour that my dear patroness Sophie
may feel disposed to appoint.
108. To Edmund von Mihalovich in Budapest
[Composer of several operas and large orchestral works (born
1842), now director of the Music Academy in Budapest.]