Letters of Franz Liszt, Volume 1, "From Paris to Rome:
by
Franz Liszt; Letters assembled by La Mara and translated

Part 1 out of 9



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This etext was produced by John Mamoun
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Letters of Franz Liszt, Volume 1, "From Paris to Rome: Years of
Travel as a Virtuoso"

by Franz Liszt; letters collected by La Mara and translated by
Constance Bache




CONTENTS



BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
DEDICATION
PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION, BY CONSTANCE BACHE
TABLE OF LETTER CONTENTS
THE LETTERS OF FRANZ LISZT, VOL. 1
INFO ABOUT THIS E-TEXT EDITION



BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH



The Austrian composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was a pianistic
miracle. He could play anything on site and composed over 400
works centered around "his" instrument. Among his key works are
his Hungarian Rhapsodies, his Transcendental Etudes, his Concert
Etudes, his Etudes based on variations of Paganinini's Violin
Caprices and his Sonata, one of the most important of the
nineteenth century. He also wrote thousands of letters, of which
260 are translated into English in this first of a 2-volume set
of letters.

Those who knew him were also struck by his extremely
sophisticated personality. He was surely one of the most
civilized people of the nineteeth century, internalizing within
himself a complex conception of human civility, and attempting to
project it in his music and his communications with people. His
life was centered around people; he knew them, worked with them,
remembered them, thought about them, and wrote about them using
an almost poetic language, while pushing them to reflect the high
ideals he believed in. His personality was the embodiment of a
refined, idealized form of human civility. He was the consummate
musical artist, always looking for ways to communicate a new
civilized idea through music, and to work with other musicians in
organizing concerts and gatherings to perform the music publicly.
He also did as much as he could to promote and compliment those
whose music he believed in.

He was also a superlative musical critic, knowing, with few
mistakes, what music of his day was "artistic" and what was not.
But, although he was clearly a musical genius, he insisted on
projecting a tonal, romantic "beauty" in his music, confining his
music to a narrow range of moral values and ideals. He would have
rejected 20th-century music that entertained cynical notions of
any kind, or notions that obviated the concept of beauty in any
way. There is no Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Cage, Adams
and certainly no Schoenberg in Liszt's music. His music has an
ideological "ceiling," and that ceiling is "beauty." It never
goes beyond that. And perhaps it was never as "beautiful" as the
music of Mozart, Bach or Beethoven, nor quite as rational (Are
all the emotions in Liszt's music truly "controlled?"). But it
certainly was original and instructive, and it certainly will
linger.



DEDICATION



To the Memory of
MY BROTHER WALTER,
AND TO OUR
DEAR AND HONORED FRIEND
A.J. HIPKINS, ESQ.,
I DEDICATE THIS TRANSLATION.

--C.B.



PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION, BY CONSTANCE BACHE



In writing a few words of Preface I wish to express, first and
foremost, my appreciation of the extreme care and
conscientiousness with which La Mara has prepared these volumes.
In a spirit of no less reverence I have endeavored, in the
English translation, to adhere as closely as possible to all the
minute characteristics that add expression to Liszt's letters:
punctuation has, of necessity, undergone alteration, but italics,
inverted commas, dashes and other marks have been strictly
observed. It may be objected that unnecessary particularity has
been shown in the translation of various titles, names of
Societies or newspapers, quotations, etc.; but there are many
people who, while understanding French, do not read German, and
vice versa, and therefore it has seemed better to translate
everything. Where anything has been omitted in the printed
letters I have adhered to the sign .--. employed by La Mara to
indicate the hiatus. It has seemed best to preserve the spelling
of all proper names as written by Liszt, and not to Anglicise
any, as it is impossible to do all; and therefore, even at the
risk of a seeming affectation, the original form of the name has
been preserved. In the same spirit I have adhered to the correct
form of the name of our adopted composer Handel, and trust I may
be pardoned for so doing on the strength of a little joke of
Liszt's own "The English," he said, "always talk about Gluck and
Handel!"

La Mara says in her Preface that this collection can by no means
be considered a complete one, as there must exist other letters--
to Liszt's mother, to Berlioz, Tausig, etc.--which it is hoped
may yet be some day forthcoming. In like manner might there not
also be letters to his daughter Madame Ollivier (not to mention
his still-living daughter Madame Wagner)? [Another volume of
Liszt's letters, of a still more intimate character, addressed to
a lady friend, will be published later on.]

The English edition is increased by four letters one to Peter
Cornelius, No. 256A in Vol. I., which is interesting in its
reference to the "Barbier"; and, in Vol. II., a kind letter of
introduction which the Master gave me for Madame Tardieu, in
Brussels; one letter to Walter Bache, and one to the London
Philharmonic Society (Nos. 370A and 370B); one of these, it is
true, is partially quoted in a footnote by La Mara, but at this
distance of time there is no reason why these letters should not
be inserted entire, and they will prove of rather particular
interest, both to my brother's friends, and also as having
reference to that never-to-be-forgotten episode--Liszt's last
visit to England.

This visit, which took place in 1886, a few months before the
Master's death, was for the purpose of his being present at the
performance of his Oratorio of St. Elizabeth (see Letter 370 and
subsequent letters).

More than forty years had elapsed since Liszt's previous visit to
our shores; times had changed, and the almost unknown, and wholly
unappreciated, had become the acknowledged King in a realm where
many were Princes. Some lines embodying in words England's
welcome to this king--headed by a design in which the Hungarian
and the English coats-of-arms unite above two clasped hands, and
a few bars of a leading theme from the St. Elizabeth--were
written by me and presented to Liszt with a basket of roses
(emblematic of the rose miracle in the Oratorio) tied with the
Hungarian colors, on his entrance into St. James's Hall on April
6th, 1886.

As a memento of that occasion it has been chosen as frontispiece
to the Second Volume.

Constance Bache

London, December 1893



TABLE OF LETTER CONTENTS (LETTER NUMBER, FOLLOWED BY ADDRESSEE):



1. Carl Czerny in Vienna. December 23rd, 1828
2. De Mancy in Paris. December 23rd, 1829
3. Carl Czerny. August 26th, 1830
4. Alphonse Brot in Paris. Beginning of the 30th year
5. Pierre Wolff in Geneva. May 2nd, 1832
6. Ferdinand Hiller. June 20th, 1833
7. Abbe de Lamennais, La Chenaie. January 14th, 1835
8. Liszt's Mother 183-
9. Abbe de Lamennais. May 28th, 1836
10. Lydie Pavy in Lyons. August 22nd, 1836
11. Abbe de Lamennais. December 18th, 1837
12. Breitkopf and Hartel in Leipzig. April 5th, 1838
13. Robert Schumann in Leipzig. May, 1838
14. The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. June 1st, 1815
15. Simon Lowy in Vienna. September 22nd, 1838
16. Pacini in Paris. September 30th, 1838
17. Breitkopf and Hartel. January 3rd, 1839
18. Princess Christine Belgiojoso in Paris. June 4th, 1839
19. Robert Schumann. June 5th, 1820
20. Breitkopf and Hartel. June, 1839
21. The Beethoven Committee at Bonn. October 3rd, 1839
22. Count Leo Festetics in Pest. November 24th, 1839
23. Clara Wieck. December 25th, 1839
24. Robert Schumann. March 27th, 1841
25. Franz von Schober in Vienna. April 3rd, 1840
26. Maurice Schlesinger in Paris. May 14th, 1840
27. Franz von Schober. May or June, 1840
28. the same. August 29th, 1840
29. Buloz in Paris. October 26th, 1840
30. Franz von Schober. December 5th, 1840
31. Breitkopf and Hartel. May 7th, 1841
32. Simon Lowy. May 20th, 1841
33. Franz von Schober. March 3rd, 1842
34. The Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Konigsberg.
March 18th, 1842
35. Freiherr von Spiegel in Weimar. September 12th, 1842
36. Carl Filitsch2 or 1843
37. Franz von Schober. March 4th, 1844
38. Franz Kroll. June 11th, 1844
39. Freund. June 11th, 1844
40. Franz von Schober. March 3rd, 1845
41. Franz Kroll in Glogau. March 26th, 1845
42. Abbe de Lamennais. April 28th, 1845
43. Frederic Chopin. May 21st, 1845
44. George Sand. May 21st, 1845
45. Abbe de Lamennais. June 1st, 1845
46. Gaetano Belloni in Paris. July 23rd, 1845
47. Mme. Rondonneau in Sedan. February 11th, 1846
48. Grillparzer 1846 (?)
49. Franz von Schober in Weimar. April 11th, 1846
50. the same. May 28th, 1846
51. Alexander Seroff. September 14th, 1847
52. Carl Haslinger in Vienna. December 19th, 1847
53. Baron von Dornis in Jena. March 6th, 1848
54. Franz von Schober. April 22nd, 1848
55. Bernhard Cossmann in Baden-Baden. September 18th, 1848
56. Carl Reinecke. March 25th, 1849
57. Count Sandor Teleky(?) May 5th, 1849
58. Belloni(?). May 14th, 1849
59. Carl Reinecke. May 30th, 1849
60. Robert Schumann. June 5th, 1849
61. the same. July 27th, 1849
62. the same. August 1st, 1849
63. Carl Reinecke. September 7th, 1849
64. Breitkopf and Hartel. January 14th, 1850
65. the same. February 24th, 1850
66. J. C. Lobe in Leipzig. July 10th, 1850
67. Friedrich Wieck in Dresden. August 4th, 1850
68. Simon Lowy. August 5th, 1850
69. Mathilde Graumann. October 11th, 1850
70. Carl Reinecke. January 1st, 1851
71. Leon Escudier in Paris. February 4th, 1851
72. Carl Reinecke. March 19th, 1851
73. Dr. Eduard Liszt in Vienna1
74. Count Casimir Esterhazy. June 6th, 1851
75. Theodor Uhlig in Dresden. June 25th, 1851
76. Rosalie Spohr in Brunswick. July 3rd, 1851
77. the same. July 22nd, 1851
78. Breitkopf and Hartel. December 1st, 1851
79. Louis Kohler in Konigsberg. April 16th, 1852
80. Carl Reinecke. April 16th, 1852
81. Carl Czerny. April 19th, 1852
82. Gustav Schmidt in Frankfort-on-the-Maine. May 18th, 1852
83. Robert Schumann. June 8th, 1852 84.the same. June 26th, 1852
85. Peter Cornelius. September 4th, 1852
86. Clara Schumann. September 11th, 1852
87. Carl Czerny. September or October, 1852
88. Breitkopf and Hartel. October 30th, 1852
89. the same. November 10th, 1852
90. Julius Stern in Berlin. November 24th, 1852
91. Wilhelm von Lenz in St. Petersburg. December 2nd, 1852
92. Robert Radecke in Leipzig. December 9th, 1852
93. Bernhard Cossmann. December, 1852
94. Wilhelm Fischer in Dresden. January 13th, 1853
95. Edmund Singer. January 15th, 1853
96. To Frau Dr. Lidy Steche in Leipzig. February 14th, 1853
97. Gustav Schmidt. February 27th, 1853
98. Heinrich Brockhaus in Leipzig. March 22nd, 1853
99. Dr. Franz Brendel in Leipzig. April 3rd, 1853
100. the same. April 30th, 1853
101. Louis Kohler. May 6th, 1853
102. the same. May 24th, 1853
103. the same. August 1st, 1853
104. Richard Pohl in Dresden. November 5th, 1853
105. Wilhelm Fischer. January 4th, 1854
106. Escudier in Paris. January 21st, 1854
107. the same. January 28th, 1854
108. Dr. Franz Brendel. February 20th, 1854
109. Louis Kohler. March 2nd, 1854
110. Dr. Franz Brendel. March 18th, 1854
111. Louis Kohler. April or May, 1854
112. Dr. Franz Brendel. April 26th, 1854
113. Louis Kohler. June 8th, 1854
114. Dr. Franz Brendel. June 12th, 1854
115. Carl Klindworth in London. July 2nd, 1854
116. Dr. Franz Brendel. July 7th, 1854
117. Anton Rubinstein. July 31st, 1854
118. Dr. Franz Brendel. August 12th, 1854
119. Anton Rubinstein. August, 1854
120. Alexander Ritter in Dresden. September 6th, 1854
121. Bernhard Cossmann. September 8th, 1854
122. Gaetano Belloni. September 9th, 1854
123. Dr. Eduard Liszt October 10th, 1854
124. Anton Rubinstein. October 19th, 1854
125. Dr. Franz Brendel. Beginning of November, 1854
126. Anton Rubinstein. November 19th, 1854 215
127. Dr. Franz Brendel. December 1st, 1854
128. J. W. von Wasielecvski in Bonn. December 14th, 1854
129. William Mason in New York. December 14th, 1854
130. Rosalie Spohr. January 4th, 1855
131. To Alfred Dorffel in Leipzig. January 17th, 1855
132. Anton Rubinstein. February 1st, 1855
133. Louis Kohler. March 16th, 1855
134. Dr. Franz Brendel. March 18th, 1855
135. the same. April 1st, 1855
136. Anton Rubinstein. April 3rd, 1855
137. Freiherr Beaulieu-Marconnay. May 21st, 1855
138. Anton Rubinstein. June 3rd, 1855
139. Dr. Franz Brendel. June, 1855
140. the same. June 16th, 1855
141. Edmund Singer. August 1st, 1855
142. Bernhard Cossmann. August 15th, 1855
143. August Kiel in Detmold. September 8th, 1855
144. Moritz Hauptmann. September 28th, 1855
145. Dr. Eduard Liszt December 3rd, 1855
146. Frau Meyerbeer in Berlin. December 14th, 1855
147. Dr. Ritter von Seiler in Vienna. December 26th, 1855
148. Dr. Eduard Liszt February 9th, 1856
149. Dr. von Seiler. February loth, 1856
150. Dr. Franz Brendel. February 19th, 1856
151. Dionys Pruckner in Vienna. March 17th, 1856
152. Breitkopf and Hartel. May 15th, 1856
153. Louis Kohler. May 24th, 1856
154. the same. July 9th, 1856
155. Hoffmann von Fallersleben. July 14th, 1856
156. Wilhelm Wieprecht. July 18th, 1856
157. Edmund Singer. July 28th, 1856
158. Joachim Raff. July 31st, 1856
159. Anton Rubinstein. August 6th, 1856
160. Joachim Raff. August 7th, 1856
161. Anton Rubinstein. August 21st, 1856
162. Dr. Eduard Liszt September 5th, 1856
163. Louis Kohler. October 8th, 1856
164. Dr. Gille in Jena. November 14th, 1856
165. Dr. Adolf Stern in Dresden. November 14th, 18293
166. Louis Kohler. November 21st, 1856
167. Dr. Eduard Liszt November 24th, 1856
168. Alexander Ritter in Stettin. December 4th, 1856
169. L. A. Zellner in Vienna. January 2nd, 1857 299
170. Von Turanyi in Aix-la-Chapelle. January 3rd, 1830
171. J. W. von Wasielewski. January 9th, 1857
172. Alexis von Lwoff in St. Petersburg. January 10th, 1857
173. Johann von Herbeck in Vienna. January 12th, 1857
174. Franz Gotze in Leipzig. February 1st, 1857
175. Dionys Pruckner. February 11th, 1857
176. Joachim Raff. February, 1857
177. Ferdinand David. February 26th, 1857
178. Wladimir Stassoff in St. Petersburg. March 17th, 1857
179. Wilhelm von Lenz in St. Petersburg. March 24th, 1857
180. Dr. Eduard Liszt March 26th, 1857
181. Georg Schariezer in Pressburg. April 25th, 1857
182. Dr. Eduard Liszt April 27th, 1857
183. Frau von Kaulbach. May 1st, 1857
184. Fedor von Milde in Weimar. June 3rd, 1857
185. Johann von Herbeck. June 12th, 1857
186. Countess Rosalie Sauerma. June 22nd, 1857
187. Ludmilla Schestakoff in St. Petersburg. October 7th, 1857
188. Carl Haslinger. December 5th, 1857
189. Stein in Sondershausen. December 6th, 1857
190. Alexander Ritter. December 7th, 1857
191. Max Seifriz in Lowenberg. December 24th, 1857
192. Alexander Seroff. January 8th, 1858
193. Basil von Engelhardt. January 8th, 1858
194. Felix Draseke. January Loth, 1858
195. Louis Kohler. February 1st, 1858
196. L.A. Zellner. February 8th, 1858
197. Peter Cornelius. February 19th, 1858
198. Dionys Pruckner. March 9th, 1858
199. Dr. Eduard Liszt March Loth, 1858
200. Fran Dr. Steche. March 20th, 1858
201. L. A. Zellner. April 6th, 1858
202. Dr. Eduard Liszt April 7th, 1858
203. Adolf Reubke in Hausneinsdorf. June 10th, 1858
204. Prince Constantin von Hohenzollern-Hechingen. August 18th,
1858
205. Frau Rosa von Milde. August 25th, 1858
206. Dr. Franz Brendel. November 2nd, 1858
207. Johann von Herbeck. November 22nd, 1858
208. Felix Draseke. January 12th, 1859
209. Heinrich Porges. March loth, 18379
210. Max Seifriz. March 22nd, 1859
211. Dr. Eduard Liszt April 5th, 1859
212. Music-Director N. N. April 17th, 1859
213. Peter Cornelius. May 23rd, 1859
214. Dr. Franz Brendel. May 23rd, 1859
215. Felix Draseke. July 19th, 1859
216. Peter Cornelius. August 23rd, 1859
217. Dr. Franz Brendel. September 2nd, 1859
218. Louis Kohler. September 3rd, 1859
219. Dr. Franz Brendel. September 8th, 1859
220. Johann von Herbeck. October 11th, 1859
221. Felix Draseke. October 20th, 1859
222. Heinrich Porges. October 30th, 1859
223. Ingeborg Stark. November 2nd, 1859
224. Johann von Herbeck. November 18th, 1859
225. Dr. Franz Brendel. December 1st, 1859
226. Anton Rubinstein. December 3rd, 1859
227. Dr. Franz Brendel. December 6th, 1859
228. Dr. Eduard Liszt December 28th, 1859
229. Josef Dessauer. December 30th, 1859
230. Wilkoszewski in Munich. January 15th, 1860
231. Johann von Herbeck. January 26th, 1860
232. Dr. Franz Brendel. January 25th, 1860
233. Friedrich Hebbel. February 5th, 1860
234. Dr. Franz Brendel. February, 1860
235. the same March or April, 1860
236. Louis Kohler. July 5th, 1860
237. Dr. Eduard Liszt July 9th, 1860
238. Ingeborg Stark. Summer, 1860
239. Dr. Franz Brendel. August 9th, 1860
240. Princess C. Sayn-Wittgenstein. September 14th, 1860
241. Dr. Franz Brendel. September 20th, 1860
242. Dr. Eduard Liszt September 20th, 1860
243. Hoffmann von Fallersleben. October 3oth, 1860
244. Franz Gotze. November 4th, 1860
245. Dr. Franz Brendel. November 16th, 1860
246. the same. December 2nd, 1860
247. C.F. Kahnt in Leipzig. December 2nd, 1860
248. the same. December 19th, 1860
249. Dr. Franz Brendel. December 19th, 1860
250. Felix Draseke. December 3oth, 1860
251. Dr. Franz Brendel. Beginning of January, 1861
252. the same. January 20th, 1861
253. the same. March 4th, 1861
254. Peter Cornelius. April 18th, 1861.
255. Hoffmann von Fallersleben. April 18th, 1861
256. Peter Cornelius. July 12th, 1861
256A. the same. July 14th, 1861
257. Alfred Dorffel. July 18th, 1861
258. Edmund Singer in Stuttgart. August 17th, 1861
259. C.F. Kahnt. August 27th, 1861
260. Dr. Franz Brendel. September 16th, 1861



THE LETTERS OF FRANZ LISZT, VOL. 1



1. To Carl Czerny in Vienna.

[Autograph in the possession of M. Alfred Bovet at Valentigney.--
The addressee was Liszt's former teacher, the celebrated Viennese
teacher of music and composer of innumerable instructive works
(1791-1857).]

My very dear Master,

When I think of all the immense obligations under which I am
placed towards you, and at the same time consider how long I have
left you without a sign of remembrance, I am perfectly ashamed
and miserable, and in despair of ever being forgiven by you!
"Yes," I said to myself with a deep feeling of bitterness, "I am
an ungrateful fellow; I have forgotten my benefactor, I have
forgotten that good master to whom I owe both my talent and my
success."...At these words a tear starts to my eyes, and I assure
you that no repentant tear was ever more sincere! Receive it as
an expiation, and pardon me, for I cannot any longer bear the
idea that you have any ill-feeling towards me. You will pardon
me, my dear Master, won't you? Embrace me then...good! Now my
heart is light.

You have doubtless heard that I have been playing your admirable
works here with the greatest success, and all the glory ought to
be given to you. I intended to have played your variations on the
"Pirate" the day after tomorrow at a very brilliant concert that
I was to have given at the theater of H.R.H. Madame, who was to
have been present as well as the Duchess of Orleans; but man
proposes and God disposes. I have suddenly caught the measles,
and have been obliged to say farewell to the concert; but it is
not given up because it is put off, and I hope, as soon as ever I
am well again, to have the pleasure of making these beautiful
variations known to a large public.

Pixis [a notable pianist (1788-1874)--lived a long time in Paris]
and several other people have spoken much to me of four concertos
that you have lately finished, and the reputation of which is
already making a stir in Paris. I should be very much pleased, my
dear Master, if you would commission me to get them sold. This
would be quite easy for me to do, and I should also have the
pleasure of playing them FROM FIRST HAND, either at the opera or
at some big concerts. If my proposition pleases you, send them to
me by the Austrian Embassy, marking the price that you would like
to have for them. As regards any passages to be altered, if there
are any, you need only mark them with a red pencil, according to
your plan which I know so well, and I will point them out to the
editor with the utmost care. Give me at the same time some news
about music and pianists in Vienna; and finally tell me, dear
Master, which of your compositions you think would make the best
effect in society.

I close by sending you my heartfelt greetings, and begging you
once more to pardon the shameful silence I have kept towards you:
be assured that it has given me as much pain as yourself!

Your very affectionate and grateful pupil,

F. Liszt

December 23rd, 1828

P.S.--Please answer me as soon as possible, for I am longing for
a letter from you; and please embrace your excellent parents from
me. I add my address (Rue Montholon, No. 7bis).



2. To De Mancy in Paris

[Autograph in the possession of M. Etienne Charavay in Paris.]

December 23rd, 1829

My Dear M. de Mancy,

I am so full of lessons that each day, from half-past eight in
the morning till 10 at night, I have scarcely breathing time.
Please excuse me therefore for not coming, as I should have liked
to do, to lunch with Madame de Mancy, but it is quite impossible.
The only thing I could do would be to come about 10 o'clock, if
that would not be too late for a wedding day, and in that case I
will beg M. Ebner [Carl Ebner, a Hungarian, a talented violinist
(1812-1836)] to come with me. I don't write you a longer letter,
for there is a pupil who has been waiting for me for an hour.
Besides, we are not standing on ceremony. Ever yours,

F. Liszt



3. To Carl Czerny

[Autograph in the Musical Society's Archives in Vienna. Printed
in a German translation: "La Mara, Letters of Musicians extending
over Five Centuries." II. Leipzig, B. and H. 1887.]

My dear and beloved Master,

It would be impossible to explain to you the why and wherefore of
my leaving you so long without news of me. Moreover, I have now
only five minutes in which to write to you, for Mr. Luden, a
pianist from Copenhagen, is starting shortly, and for fear of
delaying his journey I must be brief; but what is postponed is
not lost, so cheer up, for very soon you will get a great thick
letter from me, which I will take care to prepay, as I should not
like to ruin you.

Among all the circles of artists where I go in this country I
plead your cause tremendously: we all want you to come and stay
some time in Paris; it would certainly do you a great deal of
good, and you are so widely esteemed that you will doubtless be
well satisfied with the reception you will meet with here. If you
ever entertain this idea, write to me, I entreat you, for I will
do for you what I would do for my father. I have been making a
special study of your admirable sonata (Op. 7), and have since
played it at several reunions of connoisseurs (or would-be
connoisseurs): you cannot imagine what an effect it made; I was
quite overcome by it. It was in a burst of enthusiasm caused by
the Prestissimo, that Mr. Luden begged for a few words of
introduction to you; I know your kindness, indeed I could never
forget it. I therefore commend him in all confidence of your
goodness, until the time when I am so happy as to embrace you
myself and to show you (however feebly) all the gratitude and
admiration which fill me.

F. Liszt

Paris, August 26th, 1830



4. To Alphonse Brot in Paris

[Autograph in the possession of M. Etienne Charavay in Paris.]

(Paris, Beginning of the 30th year.)

It would give us great pleasure, my dear M. Brot, if you would
come and dine with us without ceremony tomorrow, Monday, about 6
o'clock; I do not promise you a good dinner,--that is not the
business of us poor artists; but the good company you will meet
will, I trust, make up for that. Monsieur Hugo [the poet] and
Edgard Quinet [French writer and philosopher] have promised to
come. So do try not to disappoint us, for we should miss you
much. My good mother told me to press you to come, for she is
very fond of you. Till tomorrow then! Kind regards and thanks.

F. Liszt

I have been at least six times to you without having the pleasure
of seeing you.

61, Rue de Provence.



5. Monsieur Pierre Wolff (Junior), Rue de la Tertasse, Geneva,
Switzerland

[Autograph in the possession of M. Gaston Calmann-Levy in Paris.]

Nous disons: "Il est temps. Executons, c'est l'heure." Alors nous
retournons les yeux--La Mort est la! Ainsi de mes projets.--Quand
vous verrai-je, Espagne, Et Venise et son golfe, et Rome et sa
campagne,

Toi, Sicile, que ronge un volcan souterrain, Grece qu'on connait
trop, Sardaigne qu'on ignore, Cites de l'Aquilon, du Couchant, de
l'Aurore, Pyramides du Nil, Cathedrales du Rhin! Qui sait?--
jamais peut-etre!

[We say: "Now it is time. Let's act, for 'tis the hour." Then
turn we but our eyes--lo! death is there! Thus with my plans.
When shall I see thee, Espagna, And Venice with her gulf, and
Rome with her Campagna; Thou, Sicily, whom volcanoes undermine;
Greece, whom we know too well, Sardinia, unknown one, Lands of
the north, the west, the rising sun, Pyramids of the Nile,
Cathedrals of the Rhine! Who knows? Never perchance!]

Earthly life is but a malady of the soul, an excitement which is
kept up by the passions. The natural state of the soul is rest!

Paris, May 2nd [1832]

Here is a whole fortnight that my mind and fingers have been
working like two lost spirits, Homer, the Bible, Plato, Locke,
Byron, Hugo, Lamartine, Chateaubriand, Beethoven, Bach, Hummel,
Mozart, Weber, are all around me. I study them, meditate on them,
devour them with fury; besides this I practice four to five hours
of exercises (3rds, 6ths, 8ths, tremolos, repetition of notes,
cadences, etc., etc.). Ah! provided I don't go mad, you will find
an artist in me! Yes, an artist such as you desire, such as is
required nowadays!

"And I too am a painter!" cried Michael Angelo the first time he
beheld a chef d'oeuvre...Though insignificant and poor, your
friend cannot leave off repeating those words of the great man
ever since Paganini's last performance. Rene, what a man, what a
violin, what an artist! Heavens! what sufferings, what misery,
what tortures in those four strings!

Here are a few of his characteristics:--

[Figure: Liszt here writes down several tiny excerpts from
musical scores of Paganini's violin music, such as his famous
"Caprices"]

As to his expression, his manner of phrasing, his very soul in
fact!----

May 8th [1832]

My good friend, it was in a paroxysm of madness that I wrote you
the above lines; a strain of work, wakefulness, and those violent
desires (for which you know me) had set my poor head aflame; I
went from right to left, then from left to right (like a sentinel
in the winter, freezing), singing, declaiming, gesticulating,
crying out; in a word, I was delirious. Today the spiritual and
the animal (to use the witty language of M. de Maistre) are a
little more evenly balanced; for the volcano of the heart is not
extinguished, but is working silently.--Until when?--

Address your letters to Monsieur Reidet, the receiver-general at
the port of Rouen.

A thousand kind messages to the ladies Boissier. I will tell you
some day the reasons which prevented me from starting for Geneva.
On this subject I shall call you in evidence.

Bertini is in London; Madame Malibran is making her round of
Germany; Messemaecker (how is he getting on?) is resting on his
laurels at Brussels; Aguado has the illustrious maestro Rossini
in tow.--Ah--Hi--Oh--Hu!!!



6. To Ferdinand Hiller

[This letter, published by F. Niecks ("F. Chopin, Man and
Musician," Vol. 1. German by Langhans. Leipzig, Leuckart, 1890),
was written by Liszt and Chopin jointly, and was also signed by
Chopin's friend Franchomme, the violoncellist. The part written
by Chopin is indicated here by parentheses ().--Addressed to the
well-known composer and author, afterwards Director of the
Conservatorium and Concert Society at Cologne (1811-1885).]

This is the twentieth time, at least, that we have tried to meet,
first at my house, then here, with the intention of writing to
you, and always some visit, or some other unforeseen hindrance,
has occurred. I don't know whether Chopin will be strong enough
to make excuses to you; for my part, it seems to me that we have
been so unmannerly and impertinent that no excuses are now
permissible or possible.

We sympathized most deeply in your bereavement, and more deeply
did we wish that we could be with you in order to soften, as far
as possible, the grief of your heart. [Hiller had lost his
father.]

(He has said it all so well that I have nothing to add to excuse
me specially for my negligence or idleness, or whim or
distraction, or--or--or--You know that I can explain myself
better in person, and, this autumn, when I take you home late by
the boulevards to your mother, I shall try to obtain your pardon.
I am writing to you without knowing what my pen is scribbling, as
Liszt is at this moment playing my Studies, and transporting me
away from all suitable ideas. I wish I could steal his manner of
rendering my own works. With regard to your friends who are
staying in Paris, I have often seen, during this winter and
spring, the Leo family [August Leo, banker in Paris], and all
that follows. There have been evenings at certain ambassadresses'
houses, and there was not a single one at which somebody living
at Frankfort was not mentioned. Madame Eichthal sends you many
kind messages--Plater [Count Plater, Chopin's countryman, and a
friend also of Liszt], the whole family were very sorry for your
departure, and begged me to give you their condolences.) Madame
d'Apponyi [Apponyi, the Austrian ambassador in Paris] was very
much vexed with me for not having taken you there before your
departure; she hopes that when you come back you will be sure to
remember the promise you made me. I will say as much of a certain
lady who is not an ambassadress.

Do you know Chopin's wonderful Studies?--(They are admirable! and
moreover they will last only until yours appear) = an author's
little piece of modesty!!! (A little piece of rudeness on the
part of the regent, for--to explain the matter fully--he is
correcting my spelling) according to the method of Monsieur
Marlet.

You will come back in the month of (September, isn't it? tr)y
[Tach]ez] to let us know the day; we have determined to give you
a serenade or charivari [mock serenade]. The company of the most
distinguished artists of the capital = M. Franchomme (present),
Madame Petzold, and the Abbe Bardin [passionate lover of music,
who had a great many artists to see him], the leaders of the Rue
d'Amboise (and my neighbors), Maurice Schlesinger [music
publisher], uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, brothers-in-law,
sisters-in-law, and--and ("en plan du troisienae," etc.). ["in
the third row--i.e. less important people]. The responsible
editors,

F. Liszt

(F. Chopin) (Aug. Franchomme.)

(By-the-bye, I met Heine yesterday, who begged me to grussen you
herzlich and herzlich.) [to send you his warmest and most
heartfelt greetings]

(By-the-bye, also, please excuse all the "you's" [Instead of the
more familiar "thee" and "thou."]--I do beg you to excuse them.
If you have a moment to spare, give us news of yourself, which
would be most welcome. Paris, Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin, No. 5.
At present I am occupying Franck's lodging [Dr. Hermann Franck,
author, friend of Chopin and of many other celebrities; editor
also for a short time, in the forties, of Brockhaus's "Deutsche
Allgemeine Zeitung"]--he is gone to London and Berlin. I am most
happy in the rooms which were so often our meeting-place. Berlioz
sends greetings.

As to pere Baillot, he is in Switzerland, at Geneva. So now you
can guess that I can't send you the Bach concerto.

June 20th, 1833)



7. To Abbe F. de Lamennais

[Autograph in the possession of M. Alfred Bovet at Valentigney.--
Addressed to the celebrated French author (1782-1854), who
followed his brilliant apology of Catholicism, "Essai sur
l'Indifference en Matiere de Religion" (Essay on Indifference in
Matters of Religion, 1817-1823), by the "Paroles d'un Croyant"
(Words of a Believer, 1834), a veritable "Ode to revolution in
the sublimest biblical style," and sought to bring religious and
political liberty into accord with true religiousness. The latter
work made an unheard-of sensation, but brought upon him the
anathema of the Church. He obtained a great influence over Liszt,
who was on intimate terms with him.]

Four months have actually passed, dear Father, since we parted,
and I feel very sad at not getting a word from you!--at the same
time I do not wish to complain, for it seems to me that you can
never doubt my deep and filial affection...Much more, I even know
that you have been willing to accept it, and, however humble it
may be, to count it for something...What more then can I
desire?...

Eugene, whose brotherly friendship becomes dearer to me day by
day, has often given me good tidings of you. The last time I saw
him he told me confidentially that you were working at a sort of
Introduction, or developed Preface to your works.--Although I
know perfectly well that my interest counts for nothing in this
matter, I may be permitted nevertheless to tell you how glad I am
to know that you are occupied with this work. To yourself, first
of all, I think you owe it--your name and glory will shine out
all the more powerfully for it. And, secondly, for the public it
will be a work of art the more (and this commodity becomes rather
rare as time goes on), and which will besides have the double
advantage of aiding and fixing them in the understanding of your
past works, whilst at the same time preparing them for, and
initiating them into, your future thoughts.

And, lastly, for us who love you, and who would glory and be
proud to be one day called your disciples, we rejoice in it
because the world will learn to know you better by this means,
and because it will probably be another opportunity for us to
show our sympathetic admiration as well as our unalterable
devotion for you.

Unless something very unforeseen occurs, I shall come again and
beg you to receive me for a few days towards the middle of July;
I trust sufficiently to your sincerity to tell me that you would
rather not have me if my individuality would trouble or bother
you too much.--Before that, I shall have the honor of sending you
a little work, to which I have had the audacity to tack a great
name--yours.--It is an instrumental De profundis. The plain-song
that you like so much is preserved in it with the Faburden.
Perhaps this may give you a little pleasure, at any rate, I have
done it in remembrance of some hours passed (I should say
"lived") at La Chenaie.

Farewell, dear Father. I don't give you any news of Paris,--you
know all that. You know that Ballanche wants to be an
Academician, and accepts Salvandy and Dupaty as competitors,--you
know the little check of January,--the miserable petty intrigues
of court and newspaper and vestry;--in a word, you know how men
are wanting in noble and generous sentiments, and how they make
the most of their own ignoble ends and interests, to which their
words and actions yet give the lie.

Farewell once more, dear Father. Think as often as possible of
all the good you have done, and of that which men have a right to
expect of you. Think sometimes also of the help and the wealth of
affection that you have showered on me in particular, and may the
remembrance of this be sweet to you!...

Yours ever, for life--from heart and soul,

F. Liszt

January 14th, 1835

Tomorrow morning I have to leave for two months. If you should be
so good as to write to me before my return, please address
always, 61, Rue de Provence. My mother will take care that I have
your kind letter.



8. To his Mother

[From a copy, by Mr. Vladimir Stassoff of St. Petersburg, the
original of which is in Russia. The letter in itself is
unimportant, but it is the only one to Liszt's mother which the
editor could get, and gives a fresh proof of the devotion of the
artist to his mother.]

Dear Mother,

Please send me at once, without any delay, the Pianist's
Glossary, which you will get at Lemonier's, Rue de l'Echelle.

Simply put it in a cover, and put it in the post (General
Office), and I shall get it, at latest, by Monday or Tuesday.--

Address to Mr. Hermann Cohen, Grande Rue, No. 8.

[Cohen was a frequently mentioned pupil and favorite of Liszt's
who was born at Hamburg in 1820, much thought of as a pianist in
Paris, and immortalised as "Puzzi" by George Sand ("Lettres d'un
Voyageur"); he followed Liszt to Geneva, and gave lessons there.
In 1850 he entered the order of Carmelites, and, under the name
of Pater Augustin, died in Berlin in January 1871, whither he had
gone with French prisoners.]

I have an immense deal to do this morning, so that I have barely
time to tell you that I love you with all my heart, and that I
rejoice above everything at the prospect of seeing you again
soon--that is to say, in six or eight months.

F. Liszt

You will hear of me from Mr. Pinondel, who passed a day with us.



9. To the Abbe F. de Lamennais, La Chenaie

[Autograph in the possession of Mr. Marshall in London.]

[Paris, May 28th, 1836--according to the stamp of the post
office]

Dear and venerable Father,

I shall expect you. Whatever sorrow there is in the depth of my
soul, it will be sweet and consoling to me to see you again.

You are so wonderfully good to me! and I should suffer so much by
being so long away from you!--

Au revoir then, once more--in eight days at latest it will be,
will it not? I do nothing else than keep expecting you.

Yours, with the deepest respect and most sincere devotion,

F. Liszt



10. To Mademoiselle Lydie Pavy, of La Glaciere, Lyons

[Autograph in the possession of M. Etienne Charavay in Paris.]

St. Gervais, August 22nd [1836].

Your postscript deserves a punishment, and here it comes dated
from St. Gervais. I do not know whether your charming sister-in-
law, Madame Pavy, will consider this stamp of St. Gervais worthy
to appear in her collection; be that as it may, it gives me no
less a pleasure to converse a little with you who are always so
charming, so versatile, so excellent, and, permit me to say, so
kind to me.

Mademoiselle Merienne, whom I saw only quite lately (for you must
know that during the whole month of July, of glorious memory, I
have barely condescended to go down once or twice to Geneva; I
was living in a little bit of a house on the mountain, whence,
let me say parenthetically, it would have been quite easy for me
to hurl sermons and letters at you); Mademoiselle Merienne (what
shall I say to you after such an enormous parenthesis?), somewhat
like (by way of a new parenthesis) those declaimed discourses of
Plantade or Lhuillier, which put a stop to music whilst
nevertheless admitting that there is such a thing, whether at the
beginning or at the end--Mademoiselle Merienne--au diable
Mademoiselle Merienne! You guess by this time that she gave me
tidings of you, that she is a delightful and enchanting person,
that she makes admirable portraits, and that mine, amongst
others, has been a wonderful success. Etc., etc., and always
etc...

And yet I do wish to talk to you about this good Mademoiselle
Merienne, for she said a heap of charming things to me for your
sake, which will certainly not astonish you. But how to set about
it after all this preamble of parentheses? Ah, I have it!--In
three or four weeks I shall come and knock at your door.--And
then? Well, then we will chatter away at our ease. So much the
worse for you if you are not satisfied with my cunning stratagem.
Now let us talk business; yes, seriously, let us talk business!

Has your brother returned from his journey? And is he well? And
has no accident happened to him on the way? You are surprised,
perhaps, at my anxiety; but by-and-bye you will understand it
without difficulty, when I have explained to you how terribly
interested I am in the fact of his journey being safely
accomplished.

Just imagine that at this moment I have only 200 fr. in my purse
(a ridiculously small sum for a traveler), and that it is M. Pavy
who is to be my financial Providence, considering that it is to
him that my mother has confided my little quarterly income of a
thousand francs. Now at this point I must entrust you with a
little secret, which at present is only known to two individuals,
Messrs. Paccard and Roger (charming names for confidants, are not
they?), and which I beg you to make known as quickly as possible
to your brother. It concerns a little scrap of paper (which these
rogues of bankers call a draft, I believe), for a thousand
francs, by which Messrs. Paccard and Roger are authorized by my
signature, which is at the bottom, to demand the above sum of a
thousand francs (which my mother entrusted to M. Pavy in Paris)
from M. Pavy, junior, living at La Glaciere at Lyons, after the
22nd of August, 1836.

A thousand pardons for troubling you with these details, but I
should never have had the courage to write direct to your
brother, on account of my profound ignorance in money matters.

You tell me that you passed part of the fine season in the
country--why did not you arrange so as to tour for a little among
the mountains of Switzerland? I should have had such pleasure in
doing the honors, and Mademoiselle Merienne also...but don't let
us speak any more of Mademoiselle Merienne (who, be it observed
in parenthesis, must have already appeared a dozen times in this
letter), for fear of again falling into inextricable parentheses.

Au revoir then; in five weeks at latest I shall come and warm
myself at your "glacier."

F. Liszt



11. To Abbe de Lamennais

[Autograph in the possession of M. Alfred Bovet at Valentigney.]

My friend Louis de Ronchaud writes me word that he has had the
honor of seeing you, dear Father, and that you were kind enough
to give him a message of affectionate remembrance for me. I am
very happy to know that you continue to keep this precious and
friendly feeling for me, of which you have already given me so
many proofs, and which I shall endeavour always to deserve as far
as is in my power.

I am still not very far advanced in my Italian journey. The
beauty of these parts, the necessity of writing with some little
continuance, and also, if all be said, some altogether unexpected
successes, have kept me in Milan and the neighborhood (Como and
the delicious shores of the lake) much longer than I had
foreseen. As regards musical matters, the presence of Rossini,
whom I frequently see, gives a certain impetus to this country. I
have been singularly well received here, so I shall probably pass
the greater part of the winter here, and shall not start for
Venice till towards the beginning of March. Thence I shall go to
Florence and Rome, where I expect I shall stay a good long time.

D. has no doubt talked to you of our stay at Nohant last summer.
I think that he got rid there of a good many old prejudices about
me. It was a sweet satisfaction to me to learn through him how
good and indulgent you have been towards me on several occasions,
even so far as to contradict and defend me warmly against him and
against others who knew me still less. I had charged our secret
friend to defend me in his turn from a slight wrong which I had,
only apparently, committed, but even "apparently" is too much,
and I think I have entirely justified myself with regard to it. I
don't know whether in his noble carelessness he will have thought
of it. However that may be, I shall always count on your paternal
affection more than all the rest.

What can I say to you of Italy that you do not know, and that you
have not said in such manner as to cause despair for ever to the
makers of observations!--It is always the same status quo, the
excellent and perfectly happy government that you know.--I am
hoping and longing ardently for your next book [probably "Le
Livre du Peuple": Paris, 1837], which I shall read with my whole
heart and soul, as I have read all that you have written for four
years. I shall owe you just so many more good and noble emotions.
Will they remain for ever sterile? Will my life be for ever
tainted with this idle uselessness which weighs upon me? Will the
hour of devotion and of manly action never come? Am I condemned
without respite to this trade of a Merry Andrew and to amuse in
drawing-rooms?

Whatever may be my poor and humble destiny, do not ever doubt my
heart. Do not ever doubt the deep respect and unalterable
devotion with which you have inspired me.

Yours for ever,

F. Liszt

Como, December 18th, 1837



12. To Breitkopf and Hartel in Leipzig

[Autograph in the possession of Herr Hermann Scholtz,
Kammervirtuoso in Dresden.]

I thank you much, gentlemen, for the obliging letter that you
have written me. Up to the present time I have had none but the
most pleasant business relations with Mr. Hofmeister, who has the
kindness to publish the greater part of my works in Germany. As I
do not know very much of the laws which regulate literary and
musical proprietorship in Saxony, I had spoken to him about the
Beethoven Symphonies, of which I have undertaken the arrangement,
or, more correctly speaking, the pianoforte score. To tell the
truth, this work has, nevertheless, cost me some trouble; whether
I am right or wrong, I think it sufficiently different from, not
to say superior to, those of the same kind which have hitherto
appeared. The recent publication of the same Symphonies, arranged
by Mr. Kalkbrenner, makes me anxious that mine should not remain
any longer in a portfolio. I intend also to finger them
carefully, which, in addition to the indication of the different
instruments (which is important in this kind of work), will most
certainly make this edition much more complete. If, then, as I
imagine, it is impossible for Mr. Hofmeister to publish them, I
shall be very grateful if you will undertake it. The reputation
of your house is European, and I perfectly remember having had
the pleasure of seeing Mr. Raymond Hartel in Paris. It will be a
pleasure to me to conclude this little business with you, at the
rate of eight francs a page. Up to the present time I have only
finished three Symphonies (that in A major), but I could promise
to let you have the others successively, according as you might
wish, or I could limit my work to the four most important
Symphonies (if I may express my opinion), namely, the Pastoral, C
minor, A major, and the Eroica. I think those are the ones which
are most effective on the piano.

I start tomorrow for Vienna, where I expect to remain till the
end of April. Please address to me to the care of Mr. Tobias
Haslinger till the 25th of April, and after that to Mr. Ricordi,
Milan, who has undertaken to forward me all my letters while I am
in Italy. My compliments and affectionate thanks.

F. Liszt



13. To Robert Schumann

[Addressed to the celebrated German Tone-poet (1810-1856). Liszt
had spoken of Schumann's Op. 5, 11, and 14 in the Gazette
Musicale, 1837, with equal enthusiasm and understanding, which
soon brought the two together.]

[Without a date; received by R. S. May 5th, 1838.]

My dear Monsieur Schumann,

I shall not attempt to tell you how grateful and touched I am by
your friendly letter. Mademoiselle Wieck, whom I have been so
happy as to meet here, will express to you, better than I can,
all the sympathy, all the admiring affection I have for you. I
have been such a nomad latterly that the pieces you were kind
enough to address to me at Milan only reached me on the eve of my
departure from Venice about a fortnight ago; and since then we
have been talking so much of you, day and night, that it hardly
occurred to me to write to you. Today, however, to my great
astonishment, I get a fresh token of your friendly remembrance,
and I certainly will not delay thanking you many times for it, so
I have just left a charming party of very pretty women in order
to write these few lines to you. But the truth is you need hardly
thank me for this little sacrifice, for it is a great pleasure to
me to be able to have a little chat with you.

The "Carneval" and the "Fantasiestucke" have interested me
excessively. I play them really with delight, and God knows that
I can't say as much of many things. To speak frankly and freely,
it is absolutely only Chopin's compositions and yours that have a
powerful interest for me.

The rest do not deserve the honor of being mentioned...at least,
with a few exceptions,--to be conciliatory, like Eusebius.

In six weeks to two months I shall send you my twelve Studies and
a half-dozen of "Fantasiestucke" ("Impressions et Poemes")--I
consider them less bad than others of my making. I shall be happy
to think that they do not displease you.

May I confess to you that I was not very much struck with
Henselt's Studies, and that I found them not up to their
reputation? I don't know whether you share my opinion, but they
appear to me, on the whole, very careless. They are pretty to
listen to, they are very pretty to look at, the effect is
excellent, the edition (thanks to our friend Hofmeister) is most
carefully done; but, all counted, I question whether H. is
anything but a distinguished mediocrity. [How highly Liszt
thought, later on, of Henselt's Concerto and other of his
compositions is well known, and is spoken of in a subsequent
letter to Baroness Wrangel, in May, 1883.] For the rest, he is
very young, and will doubtless develop. Let us, at least, hope
so.

I am extremely sorry that I cannot come and pay you a little
visit at Leipzig at present. It is one of my keenest desires to
make your personal acquaintance and to pass some days with you.
But as that is not possible now, let us, at least, try not to be
entirely separated, and let us combat, as far as we can, the
laziness about writing, which is, I think, equally in us both.

In a fortnight I am returning to Venice. I shall be back in Milan
at the time of the coronation (towards the end of August). Next
winter I expect to pass in Rome, if the cholera or some other
plague does not stop it. I will not induce you to come to Italy.
Your sympathies would be too deeply wounded there. If they have
even heard that Beethoven and Weber ever existed, it is as much
as they have done.

Will you not have what you have sent me printed? Haslinger would
have it gladly, I think, and it would be a great pleasure to me
to see my name associated with yours.

If I might make a request, I would ask you to write some trios,
or a quintet or septet. It seems to me that you would do that
admirably, and for a long time nothing remarkable in that line
has been published. If ever you determine to do so, let me know
at once, as I should be anxious to have the honor of making them
known to the public. Adieu, my dear Monsieur Schumann; keep me
always in affectionate remembrance, and accept once more my warm
sympathy and devotion.

F. Liszt



14. To the "Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde" in Vienna

[Society of Musical Dilettanti, or Amateur Musical Society.
Autograph in the Archives of the Society in Vienna]

Gentlemen,

I am extremely grateful for the honor you have done me in
admitting me among you as a member of the Vienna Musik-Verein
[Musical Union]. I cannot, unfortunately, flatter myself that I
have as yet deserved this distinction, but allow me to say that
it will not be my fault if I do not become worthy of it.

If ever the occasion should offer in which I can be agreeable or
useful to the Society of the Musik-Verein, be assured that I
shall gladly avail myself of it, and that you will henceforth
have a claim on my gratitude and devotion.

I have the honor to be, gentlemen,

Yours faithfully,

F. Liszt

Venice, June 1st, 1838



15. To Simon Lowy in Vienna

[Autograph in the possession of Herr O. A. Schulz, bookseller in
Leipzig.--Addressed to a Vienna banker, an intimate friend of
Liszt The "Soirees de Vienne," composed on Schubert Valses, are
dedicated to him.]

I am very sensible, my dear sir, of your friendly remembrance.
Your kind letter found me in the midst of the official hurly-
burly of the coronation fetes. What business on earth had I to do
with such an affair? I have not the least idea. Thank Heaven we
are now at the end of it all, safe and sound, rejoicing, and
sated with amusement!

I found at Milan a certain number of my Vienna connections. One
or two of the persons whom you will not mention to me (and whose
anonymity I respect) were also there. I know that a great many of
the people who approach me with a smile on their lips, and
protestations of friendship on their tongues, have nothing better
to do than to pull me to pieces as best they can as soon as they
are outside my door. It is, moreover, the fate of all the world.
I resign myself to it willingly, as I do to all the absurd and
odious necessities of this lower world. There is, besides, just
this much good in these sad experiences of various relations with
men--which is, that one learns to relish and appreciate better
the devotion of the few friends whom chance has thrown in your
path.

In a few days from now I shall start for Bologna, Florence, and
Rome. In spite of all my desire to return to Vienna, where people
have been so kind and indulgent to me, I do not yet see when I
shall be able to get there. However this journey may be put off,
I hope, nevertheless, my dear sir, that you will continue till
then the affectionate feelings you so kindly entertain towards
me. Receive in return my assurances of consideration and
affectionate devotion.

F. Liszt

Milan, September 22nd, 1838

Will you be so good as to give the enclosed note to the charming
woman who is good enough to remember me so kindly?



16. To M. Pacini, Music Publisher in Paris

[Autograph in the possession of M. Alfred Bovet at Valentigney.]

My Dear Monsieur Pacini,

In two or three days at latest from now you will receive the
manuscript for which you asked me for the book of the Hundred and
One. [A collective work with contributions by celebrities of the
day.] Mr. Hugot has kindly undertaken to bring it to you.

As the title implies, it is an Etude (di Bravura) after Paganini.
[Bravura Studies on Paganini's Capricci, arranged for the
pianoforte, brought out by Haslinger, Vienna, in 1839. A second,
newly arranged edition, dedicated to Clara Schumann, "Grandes
Etudes de Paganini," was brought out by Breitkopf and Hartel in
1851.] You will oblige me by recommending the engraver to engrave
it very spaciously. In addition, you had better, I think, reprint
directly afterwards this Etude facilitee, which I have also sent
you. This second arrangement is by M. Schumann, a young composer
of very great merit. It is more within the reach of the general
public, and also more exact than my paraphrase.

Many apologies for having kept you waiting so long for such a
small thing, and kind remembrances to Emilien.

Yours affectionately,

F. Liszt

Please send the corrected proofs of this study to Haslinger,
musical editor to the Court, at Graben, Vienna.

I must have at least two corrected proofs. Prego! Prego!! [I
beg!] leave only such mistakes as are absolutely necessary in
order that an edition may be supposed to be correct.

Padua, September 30th, 1838



17. To Breitkopf and Hartel.

[This is the first of the Liszt letters extant in the archives of
the firm.]

I am really grieved, gentlemen, at the trouble you have been good
enough to take about these unlucky Symphonies, and I hardly know
how to express my acknowledgments. As I have already had the
honor of telling you, Mr. Mori had been previously engaged to
publish these Symphonies, and, as the steps you have taken have
not been crowned with success, I will keep to this first
publisher, with whom I have every reason to be satisfied up to
now.

You can then publish this work in two or three months from now.
[Pianoforte scores of the C minor and Pastoral Symphonies of
Beethoven.] Only it is essential that I should correct the last
proof, so that the edition may be absolutely correct. I also wish
to add the fingering to several passages, to make them easier for
amateurs. Be so good, therefore, as to send me, through the
Embassy (or by any other opportunity which is not too expensive),
two proofs to Rome, where I shall be in about twelve days, and
where I expect to remain till the middle of March.

I hope, gentlemen, that you will not have cause to regret the
obliging advances that you have made to me in this matter, and
for which I am sincerely grateful to you. If you will be so good
as to add to the proofs of the Beethoven Symphonies such of the
songs of Beethoven (or Weber) as you would like me to transcribe
for piano solo, I will then give you a positive answer as to that
little work, which I shall be delighted to do for you, but to
which I cannot assent beforehand, not knowing of which songs you
are the proprietors. If "Leyer und Schwert" was published by you,
I will do that with pleasure. I think that these songs, or at any
rate four or five of them, would be rather satisfactory for the
piano.

Accept, gentlemen, the expression of my high esteem.

F. Liszt

Florence, January 3rd, 1839



18. To Princess Christine Belgiojoso in Paris

[Autograph in the possession of M. Alfred Bovet at Valentigney.--
Addressed to the celebrated writer and patriot. In 1837 a charity
concert took place in her salons, at which Liszt and Thalberg
both played.]

It would be self-conceit in me, Princess, to complain of your
silence. Your letters have always been for me a favor, a charm. I
am not meaning to say that I have the slightest right to them.
Nevertheless, as you do not reply to me any more, I hope you will
at least permit me to tell you how very much I feel the very
slightest marks of your kindness, and what a price I set upon
your remembrance.

Some numbers of the Gazette or Revue Musicale, which have
accidentally fallen into my hands at the house of one of my
Russian friends (for in this happy country of the Arts, and of
music in particular, you can well imagine that no one is foolish
enough to spend a thirty francs' subscription on the Revue
Musicale), have informed me that you had decidedly raised altar
for altar, and made your charming salon echo with magnificent
harmonies. I confess that this is perhaps the one regret of my
winter. I should so immensely have liked to be there to admire
you, to applaud you. Several people who had the honor of being
present at these choice evenings have spoken to me about them
with enthusiasm.

What a contrast to the tiresome musical soliloquies (I do not
know what other name to give to this invention of mine) with
which I contrived to gratify the Romans, and which I am quite
capable of importing to Paris, so unbounded does my impudence
become! Imagine that, wearied with warfare, not being able to
compose a programme which would have common sense, I have
ventured to give a series of concerts all by myself, affecting
the Louis XIV. style, and saying cavalierly to the public, "The
concert is--myself." For the curiosity of the thing I copy one of
the programmes of the soliloquies for you:--

1. Overture to William Tell, performed by M. L.

2. Reminiscences of the Puritani. Fantaisie composed and
performed by the above-mentioned!

3. Etudes and fragments by the same to the same!

4. Improvisation on themes given--still by the same. And that was
all; neither more nor less, except lively conversation during the
intervals, and enthusiasm if there was room for it.

A propos of enthusiasm, I ought at least to talk to you of St.
Peter's. That is the proper thing to do when one writes from
Rome. But, in the first place, I am writing to you from Albano,
whence I can only discern the dome, and, secondly, this poor St.
Peter's has been so disguised, so embellished by papier-mache
wreaths, horrid curtains at alcoves, etc., etc., all in honor of
the five or six last saints whom His Holiness has canonised, that
I try to put away the recollection of it. Happily there have not
been any workers of miracles to glorify at the Coliseum and the
Campo Vaccino, otherwise it would have been impossible to live in
Rome.

If nothing occurs to prevent it, I expect to pass the end of next
winter (March and April) in Paris. Will you permit me then to
fill up all the gaps in my correspondence from the Rue d'Anjou?
[Here the Princess lived.] I count always upon your friendly and
indulgent kindness. But shall you extend this so far as to give
me a sign of life before the close of my stay in Italy? I do not
know. In any case, letters addressed poste restante, Florence,
will reach me till the 1st of next September.

I beg you, Madame la Princesse, to accept the expression of my
profound and most devoted respect.

F. Liszt

Albano, June 4th, 1839

Will you be good enough to remember me affectionately to (Madame)
your sister and to Mr. d'Aragon?



19. To Robert Schumann

[From a copy from the Royal Library in Berlin.]

Albano, June 5th, 1839

My dear Monsieur Schumann,

At the risk of appearing very monotonous, I must again tell you
that the last pieces you were so kind as to send me to Rome
appear to me admirable both in inspiration and composition. The
"Fantaisie" dedicated to me is a work of the highest kind--and I
am really proud of the honor you have done me in dedicating to me
so grand a composition.

Op. 17, C dur. With the motto:--

"Durch alle Tone tonet
Im bunten Erdentraum
Ein leiser Ton gezogen
Fur den, der heimlich lauschet."

("Through all the sounds of nature,
In earth's fair dream of joy,
An under-current soundeth
For him whose ears can hear."]

I mean, therefore, to work at it and penetrate it through and
through, so as to make the utmost possible effect with it.

As to the "Kinderscenen," I owe to them one of the greatest
pleasures of my life. You know, or you don't know, that I have a
little girl of three years old, whom everybody agrees in
considering angelic (did you ever hear such a commonplace?). Her
name is Blandine-Rachel, and her surname Moucheron. [Pet name;
literally, "little fly."] It goes without saying that she has a
complexion of roses and milk, and that her fair golden hair
reaches to her feet just like a savage. She is, however, the most
silent child, the most sweetly grave, the most philosophically
gay in the world. I have every reason to hope also that she will
not be a musician, from which may Heaven preserve her!

Well, my dear Monsieur Schumann, two or three times a week (on
fine and good days!) I play your "Kinderscenen" to her in the
evening; this enchants her, and me still more, as you may
imagine, so that often I go over the first repeat twenty times
without going any further. Really I think you would be satisfied
with this success if you could be a witness of it!

I think I have already expressed to you, in one of my former
letters, the desire I felt to see you write some ensemble pieces,
Trios, Quintets, or Septets. Will you pardon me for pressing this
point again? It seems to me that you would be more capable of
doing it than any one else nowadays. And I am convinced that
success, even commercial success, would not be wanting.

If between now and next winter you could complete some ensemble
work, it would be a real pleasure to me to make it known in
Paris, where that sort of composition, when well played, has more
chance of success than you perhaps think. I would even gladly
undertake to find a publisher for it, if you liked, which would
moreover in no wise prevent you from disposing of it for Germany.

In the interim I mean to play in public your "Carnaval," and some
of the "Davidsbundlertanze" and of the "Kinderscenen." The
"Kreisleriana," and the "Fantaisie" which is dedicated to me, are
more difficult of digestion for the public. I shall reserve them
till later.

Up to the present time I only know the following works of
yours:--

Impromptus on a theme by Clara Wieck.
Pianoforte Sonata, dedicated to Clara.
Concerto without orchestra.
"Etudes Symphoniques"
"Davidsbundlertanze"
"Kreisleriana."
"Carnaval."
"Kinderscenen" and my "Fantaisie."

If you would have the kindness to complete your works to me it
would be a great pleasure to me; I should like to have them bound
all together in three or four volumes. Haslinger, on his side,
will send you my Etudes and my other publications as they come
out.

What you tell me of your private life has interested and touched
me deeply. If I could, I know not how, be in the least pleasant
or useful to you in these circumstances, dispose of me as you
will. Whatever happens, count on my absolute discretion and
sincere devotion. If I am not asking too much, tell me if it is
Clara of whom you speak. But if this question should seem to you
misplaced, do not answer it.

Have you met at Leipzig Mr. Frank, [Dr. Hermann Frank edited
Brockhaus' Allgemeine Zeitung for a year.] at the present moment
editor of the Leipzig Allgemeine Zeitung? From the little I know
of him (for he has been much more intimate with Chopin and Hiller
than with me) I think he is capable of understanding you. He has
left a charming impression behind him in Rome. If you see him,
give him my affectionate regards.

My plans remain the same. I still intend to be in Vienna at the
beginning of December, and in Paris at the end of February. I
shall be capable of coming to look you up in Leipzig if you will
let me make the journey from Paris with you. Try! Adieu, my dear
Monsieur Schumann; write soon (address care of Ricordi, Florence:
I shall be in the neighborhood of Lucca till the middle of
September), and depend always on my sincere esteem and lively
affection.

Yours in all friendship,

F. Liszt



20. To Breitkopf and Hartel

[Milan, June, 1839]

Gentleman,

About three weeks ago I gave to Mr. Ricordi (who was on his way
to Rome) the proofs of the two Symphonies you addressed to me. I
hope they have reached you by now. Forgive me for having kept
them so long, and also for having corrected them with so much
care. But, firstly, they did not reach me till about the 20th of
February, and then I did not know how to send them to you direct,
for the diligences in this happy country are so insecure. I am
therefore of necessity (though very unwillingly) behindhand.

Allow me to ask you for a second proof (for it is of great
consequence to me that the edition should be as correct as
possible), and this time I will beg you to send me three proofs
of each Symphony, so that I may forward one to Paris and the
other to London. Probably there will not be any more corrections
to make in this second proof, and in that case I will let you
know in two words (without returning your proof), telling you at
the same time the date of publication.

My intention being to visit Vienna, Munich, and perhaps Leipzig
at the beginning of next year (before going to England in the
month of April), I shall take advantage of this opportunity to
let the Symphonies be heard at my concerts, so as to give them a
certain publicity.

I have looked through the Lieder you have been good enough to
send me. I shall certainly do the "Adelaide," however difficult
it may seem to me to transcribe simply and elegantly. As regards
the others, I am afraid I cannot find the necessary time.
Moreover, that good Haslinger overwhelms me with Schubert. I have
just sent him twenty-four more new songs ("Schwanengesang" and
"Winterreise"), and for the moment I am rather tired with this
work.

Would you be so kind as to send me, at the same time with the
proofs of the Beethoven Symphonies, Mr. Mendelssohn's "Preludes
and Fugues"? It is an extremely remarkable work, and it has been
impossible to get it in Italy. I shall be greatly obliged if you
will send it me.

When you see Mr. Schumann please remember me very kindly to him.
I have received the "Fantaisie" which he has done me the honor to
dedicate to me, and the "Kinderscenen." Don't you think you ought
to publish a book of Studies by him? I should be extremely
curious to make acquaintance with them. All his works interest me
in a high degree. It would be difficult for me to say as much of
many of the compositions of my respected colleagues, with some
exceptions.

I beg to remain, Gentlemen,

Yours most sincerely,

F. Liszt

Address the Symphonies to Mr. Ricordi, Florence. From the 15th of
June till the 1st of September I shall be in the neighborhood of
Lucca. Ricordi's address is the safest.



21. To the Beethoven Committee at Bonn

[Printed in L. Ramann's Biography of Liszt, vol. 1]

Gentlemen,

As the subscription for Beethoven's monument is only getting on
slowly, and as the carrying out of this undertaking seems to be
rather far distant, I venture to make a proposal to you, the
acceptance of which would make me very happy. [In Bonn,
Beethoven's birthplace, a committee had been formed to erect a
Beethoven monument. Yet, in spite of the assent which met the
proposal, the contributions flowed in so meagrely--Paris, for
example, contributed only 424 francs 90 centimes--that Liszt, on
reading this in a paper, immediately formed the noble resolution
mentioned in the above letter. "Such a niggardly almsgiving, got
together with such trouble and sending round the hat, must not be
allowed to help towards building our Beethoven's monument!" he
wrote to Berlioz. Thus the German nation has in great measure to
thank Franz Liszt for the monument erected to its greatest
composer at Bonn.]

I offer myself to make up, from my own means, the sum still
wanting for the erection of the monument, and ask no other
privilege than that of naming the artist who shall execute the
work. That artist is Bartolini of Florence, who is universally
considered the first sculptor in Italy.

I have spoken to him about the matter provisionally, and he
assures me that a monument in marble (which would cost about
fifty to sixty thousand francs) could be finished in two years,
and he is ready to begin the work at once. I have the honor to
be, etc.,

Franz Liszt

Pisa, October 3rd, 1839



22. To Count Leo Festetics in Pest

[Printed in F. von Schober's "Letters about Liszt's Sojourn in
Hungary."]

Dear Count,

Shall you like to have me again at Pest this year? I know not. In
any case you are threatened with my presence from the 18th to the
22nd of next December. I shall come to you a little older, a
little more matured, and, permit me to say, more finished an
artist, than I was when you saw me last year, for since that time
I have worked enormously in Italy. I hope you have kept me in
remembrance, and that I may always count on your friendship,
which is dear to me.

What joy, what an immense happiness it will be to be once more in
my own country, to feel myself surrounded by such noble and
vigorous sympathies, which, thank God, I have done nothing to
forfeit in my distant and wandering life. What feelings, what
emotions will then fill my breast! All this, dear Count, I will
not attempt to express to you, for in truth I should not know
how. Let it suffice you to know that the love of my country, of
my chivalrous and grand country, has ever lived most deeply in my
heart; and that, if unhappily it does not seem likely that I can
ever show to my country what a love and devotion I feel for it,
the sentiments will remain none the less unchanged in my heart.

But I will not tire you any longer with myself and my sentiments.

I forgot to tell you that for nearly a week I have been confined
to my bed with a very severe fever, which might easily have
become more serious still. My second concert was obliged to be
put off on account of it. Today my doctor has given me permission
to play on Wednesday. I don't really know whether I shall be able
to do it, for my hand trembles fearfully. Excuse this horrible
writing, but I did want to send you a few words. It is a sort of
anticipation of Pest, which is sweet to me.

A revoir then very soon, dear Count; meanwhile believe me, as
ever, yours most sincerely,

F. Liszt

November 24th, 1839, in bed



23. To Clara Wieck

[The great pianist, afterwards Schumann's wife.]

Pest, December 25th, 1839

How grateful I am, Mademoiselle, for the kind remembrance you
keep of me! And how much I am already rejoicing at the thought of
seeing you and hearing you again soon in Leipzig! I was so vexed
not to be in Paris last winter when I knew you were going to
spend some time there. Perhaps I should have been able to be of
some little use to you there. You know that, at all times and in
every country, I shall always be at your service. I should become
too lengthy if I allowed myself to reply in detail to your kind
questions about my new compositions. I worked immensely hard in
Italy. Without exaggeration I think I have written four to five
hundred pages of pianoforte music. If you have patience to hear
half a quarter of them I shall be delighted to play them to you,
so so.

The "Studies after Paganini," which are dedicated to you, will
only appear in two months' time; but I will bring you the proofs,
which have long been corrected, to Leipzig.

Once more many thanks, and many tender and respectful wishes for
everything that can contribute to your happiness. And above all a
bientot.

Yours in admiration and sympathy,

F. Liszt



24. To Robert Schumann in Leipzig

[Autograph in the Royal Library in Berlin.]

Dresden, March 27th, 1840

My dear Schumann,

It is all splendid. Only I should prefer to play the "Hexameron"
last, so as to finish with orchestra. Please, therefore, have the
"Etudes" and the "Carnaval" put after the Mendelssohn Concerto!
[Refers to Liszt's third concert in Leipzig, on March 30th, 1840,
for the benefit of the Orchestral Pension Fund.]

Best remembrances to Mendelssohn and Hiller; and believe me yours
ever,

F. Liszt

I shall certainly return Monday morning, for on Sunday I am
giving a concert for the poor here. But if it should de possible
for me to come on Sunday...but I doubt it. [Together with this
letter a friend, Carl K[ragen?], writes to Schumann: "He [Liszt]
has played me the glorious Mendelssohn Concerto. It was divine!
Tomorrow Tieck is to read Faust for Liszt at my mother's house,
and Liszt is to play at our house with Lipinski!, Do come for it!
Ah, if you could only induce Mendelssohn and his wife to come
too!"]



25. To Franz von Schober in Vienna

[The autographs of all the letters in this collection to Schober
are in the possession of Fran Babette Wolf at Dresden.-Addressed
to the poet and writer, an intimate and worthy friend of Franz
Schubert. He became Councillor of Legation to Weimar, and died at
Dresden in 1882.]

Metz, April 3rd, 1840

I did not get any news from you at Leipzig, dear Schober, as I
expected. I am afraid I was very indiscreet in asking you to be
so good as to undertake this work, which I should have valued so
much, coming from you. [In answer to the distorted reports in
various newspapers of Liszt's visit to Hungary (January, 1840),
Schober, who had been an eyewitness, thought it right to clear up
the misrepresentations, which he did in the form of "Letters
about Liszt's Sojourn in Hungary"; these he published, but much
later (Berlin, Schlesinger, 1843)] But I will not speak of it any
more. If by any chance you have already done it I should be
grateful to you to send it me--otherwise we will not speak of it
any more.

Do you know that I have been pursued by one constant regret
during my journey, the regret not to have induced you to
accompany me? Your society has always been beneficial and
strengthening to me: I do not know why, but I imagine that we
should live smoothly together. Your qualities, your faults (if
you have any), your character and temper, all please me and
attach me to you. You know that I flatter myself I can understand
and appreciate you...Should you see any great difficulty in
joining me somewhere next autumn-at Venice, for example--and in
making a European tour with me? Answer me frankly on this matter.
And once more, the question of money need not be considered. As
long as we are together (and I should like you to have at least
three free years before you) my purse will be yours, on the sole
condition that you consent to undertake the management of our
expenses,--and that you are thoroughly convinced beforehand of
the gratitude I shall feel towards you.

Excuse me, my dear good friend, for entering so plainly into
matters, but we have talked together too openly, it seems to me,
for it to be possible that your delicate feeling on certain
points should be wounded by this.

I have sent back Kiss, of Dresden. He is a good fellow, but a
little awkward, and wanting in a certain point of honor, without
which a man is not a man as I understand the word. So I am alone
now, and am not going to have any one tacked on to me. A former
pupil of mine, Monsieur Hermann, has undertaken to arrange my
concerts, which is a great relief to me. A propos of concerts, I
gave six (in nine days!) at Prague, three at Dresden, and the
same number at Leipzig (in twelve days)--so I am perfectly tired
out, and feel great need of rest. That was good, wasn't it?
Adieu, my dear good friend-let me hear from you soon (address 19,
Rue Pigalle, Paris), and depend entirely upon me--nunc et semper.

Yours ever sincerely,

F. Liszt

Will you be so good as to go to Diabelli's [Music publisher in
Vienna] when you pass by, and advise him again not to publish the
third part of the Hungarian Melodies (which I sent him by Hartel)
without first sending me a proof to Paris to correct. Adieu.

Best remembrances to Kriehuber [A well-known Vienna painter and
lithographer, from whom a number of Liszt portraits have come.]
and Lowy. Why does not the latter write to me?



26. To Maurice Schlesinger, Editor of the Gazette Musicale in
Paris

[Given by L. Ramann, "Franz Liszt," vol. ii., i.]

Sir,

Allow me to protest against an inexact assertion in your last
number but one:--

"Messieurs Liszt and Cramer have asked for the Legion of Honor,"
etc.

I do not know if M. Cramer (who has just been nominated) has
obtained the cross.

In any case I think that you, like every one else, will approve
of a nomination so perfectly legitimate.

As to myself, if it be true that my name has figured in the list
of candidates, this can only have occurred entirely without my
knowledge. It has always seemed to me that distinctions of this
sort could only be accepted, but never "asked for."

I am, sir, etc.,

F. Liszt

London, May 14th, 1840



27. To Franz von Schober

[London, May or June, 1840]

My worthy friend,

A fortnight ago my mother wrote me word that she had given
several letters, which had come for me from Germany, to a
gentleman who was to bring them to me to London. I suppose there
was one from you among the number, but up to now I have not
received anything.

Allow me to repeat once more the request, which I have already
made to you, to come for some time with me (a year or two, and
more if you can); for I feel deeply that, the more we are
separated by time and space, the more my thoughts and my heart go
out to you. I have rarely felt this so strongly, and my wish to
feel you settled with me grows daily stronger.

Moreover the persuasion that I feel that we should pass a happy
and serious life together, makes me again press you further.

Try then to be at liberty as soon as possible, and once for all
make a frank and friendly resolve. I assure you that it will not
be difficult to ameliorate, by each other, our two lives, which
in their different ways are sad and bad thus separated.

Let me have two words in reply on this point--which, to tell the
truth, is the only important one for us both at this moment.
Speak quite freely to me, and depend on me thoroughly.

Yours ever,

F. Liszt

Address care of Erard, 18, Great Marlborough Street.

Need I again assure you that any question will not be a question
between us?



28. To Franz von Schober

Stonehenge, Salisbury, August 29th, 1840

It is with an unspeakable feeling of sadness and vexation that I
write to you today, my dear good friend! Your letter had done me
so much good; I was so happy at the thought of our meeting at the
end of the autumn at latest; I wanted so to feel that I could
rest on your arm, and that your heart, so full of kindness and
brotherly help, was near me,--and, lo and behold! I am obliged to
give it up, or at least to put it off...

An unfortunate engagement which I have just renewed, and which
will keep me in England till the end of January, makes it
impossible for me to say to you the one word which I wish to say,
"Come!"--

England is not like any other country; the expenses are enormous.
I really dare not ask you to travel with me here, for it would
almost ruin us. Moreover we should hardly be able to be together,
for I have three or four compulsory companions, from whom it is
impossible for me to separate. I hoped to have done with all that
by the beginning of October, but now I have to begin again in the
middle of November. If I have time to make my journey to Russia
this year it will be the utmost I can do, but it is a journey
that I am in a way obliged to make after the gracious invitation
of Her Majesty the Empress at Ems. On the 15th of next May I
return again to London, probably by the steamer coming direct
from St. Petersburg.

Where shall I find you in a year--fifteen months? It is very
possible that I shall come and look for you in Vienna, but then I
shall assuredly not leave without taking you with me.

I have some thoughts of spending the following winter at
Constantinople. I am tired of the West; I want to breathe
perfumes, to bask in the sun, to exchange the smoke of coal for
the sweet smoke of the narghileh [Turkish pipe]. In short, I am
pining for the East! O my morning land! O my Aborniko!--

My uncle writes that you have been very good and obliging to him.
I thank you warmly.--Do you meet Castelli from time to time? When
you see him beg him from me to translate the article I published
in the Paris "Revue Musicale" (of August 23rd) on Paganini, and
to get it put into the "Theater-Zeitung". I should be very glad
also if it could be translated into Hungarian, for the Hirnok
(excuse me if I make a mess of the word!), but I do not know who
could do it.

A propos of Hungarian! I shall always value highly the work on my
sojourn in Pest. Send it me as soon as you possibly can, and
address it to Madame la Comtesse d'Agoult, 10, Rue Neuve des
Mathurins, Paris. Most affectionate remembrances to Kriehuber.
His two portraits of me have been copied in London. They are
without doubt the best.

Adieu, my dear excellent Schober. In my next letter I shall ask
you about a matter of some consequence. It is about a Cantata for
Beethoven, which I should like to set to music and to have it
given at the great Festival which we expect to organize in 1842
for the inauguration of the Statue at Bonn.

Yours ever most affectionately,

F. Liszt



29. To Buloz

[Published in Ramann's "Franz Liszt," vol. ii., I.]

Editor of the Revue des Deux Mondes.

Sir,



 


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