It Is Well Known That Scudo Has, For
Years Past, With The Unequivocal Arrogance Of Mediocrity, Taken
Up The Position
Of making the most spiteful and maliciously
foolish opposition, in the revue des Deux Mondes (the
"Grenzboten" only gives a
Faint impression of it), to our views
of Art, and to those men whom we honor and back up. (I can tell
you more about this by word of mouth.) If Panofka calls that
"persuasion and design," I give him my compliments...on his
silliness. -
Your views on the characteristic motives are right, and for my
part I would maintain them very decidedly against the bornes
attacks which they have to bear - yet I think it is advisable not
to discuss Marx's book ["The Music of the Nineteenth Century,"
1855.] at present.
Yours ever,
F. Liszt
135. To Dr. Franz Brendel
April 1st, 1855
Dear Friend,
The question of criticism through creative and executive artists
must some time come on the tapis, and Schumann affords a
perfectly natural opportunity for it. [Liszt's article on Robert
Schumann, "Gesammelte Schriften," Vol. iv.] By the proofs of the
second article (which I thank you much for having corrected with
the necessary exactitude) you will observe that I have modified
several expressions, and have held them in more just bounds.
Believe me, dear friend, the domain of artists is in the greater
part guilty of our sluggish state of Art, and it is from this
side especially that we must act, in order to bring about
gradually the reform desired and pioneered by you.
Tyszkiewicz's [Count Tyszkiewicz, writer on music, collaborator
of the Neue Zeitschrift.] letter gave me the idea of asking you
to make him a proposal in my name, which cannot be any
inconvenience to him. In one number of Europe artiste he
translated the article on "Fidelio." [By Liszt, "Gesammelte
Schriften," Vol. iii., I.] Should he be disposed to publish
several of my articles in the same paper, I am perfectly ready to
let him have the French originals, [Liszt's articles were, as
already mentioned, written in French and translated into German
by Cornelius.] whereby he would save time and trouble. He has
only to write to me about it; for, after his somewhat capricious
behaviour towards me, I am not particularly inclined to apply to
him direct, before he has written to me. I am in perfect
agreement with his good intentions; it is only a question how far
he is able and willing to carry them out, and how he sets about
it. His "Freischutz-Rodomontade" is a student's joke, to which
one can take quite kindly, but which one cannot hold up as a
heroic feat. If he wishes to be of use to the good cause of
musical progress, he must place and prove himself differently.
For my part I have not the slightest dislike to him, only of
course it seemed rather strange to me that, after he had written
to me several times telling me that he was coming to see me at
Weymar, and had also allowed Wagner to write a letter of
introduction for him, which he sent to me, he should ignore me,
as it were, during his long stay in Leipzig.
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