- Or else to
give me permission to bring them out through another publisher.
Spina's answer, as Dachs gave me to understand, was that he could
not consent to either the one or the other of my proposals (which
were certainly reasonable enough)! And thus I must wait until
Spina can hit on a better plan! When I have an opportunity, I
shall venture to apply to him direct.
For the present, in consideration of the fact that Paprika and
Pfefferoni make one very thirsty, a barrel of Gumpoldskirchner
(with a slightly sharp, flowery after-taste) would be very
welcome to me, if by chance you are able to find a good kind and
cheap. - Forgive me for all these Lucullian extravagances! -
I will write soon to Cornelius. Give him my heartfelt greetings.
Also please remember me kindly to Dr. Kulke. I will give him my
thanks by letter on the first opportunity for his Prometheus
articles, as I would have already done through Cornelius, had he
not started so suddenly. -
Now farewell, dearest Eduard. Spare yourself and take care of
your health. Assure your dear wife of my heartfelt attachment,
and kiss your children for your faithful
F. Liszt
Weymar, July 9th, 1860
238. To Ingeborg Stark
[Summer, 1860]
If a sort of idiosyncrasy against letters did not hold me back I
should have told you long ago what pleasure your charming letter
from Paris gave me, and what a sincere part I have taken in your
late successes, dear enchantress. But you must know all that far
better than I could succeed in writing it.
So let us talk of something else - for instance, Baron
Vietinghoff's [He took the noun de plume Boris Scheel, and in
1885 he performed his opera "Der Daemon" in St. Petersburg, which
originated twenty years before that of Rubinstein.] Overture,
which you were so kind as to send me, and which I have run
through with B[ronsart] during his short stay at Weymar - too
short to please me, but doubtless much too long for you! - The
Overture in question is not wanting either in imagination or
spirit. It is the work of a man musically much gifted, but who
has not yet sufficiently handled his subject. When you have an
opportunity, will you give my best compliments to the author, and
give him also the little scale of chords that I add? It is
nothing but a very simple development of the scale, terrifying
for all the long and protruding ears, [Figure demonstrating a
descending whole-tone scale] that Mr. de Vietinghoff employs in
the final presto of his overture (page 66 of the score).
Tausig makes a pretty fair use of it in his Geisterschaff; and in
the classes of the Conservatoire, in which the high art of the
mad dog is duly taught, the existing elementary exercises of the
piano methods, [Figure:
