I Received Your Letter On A Day When I Again Greatly Missed Your
Presence.
We were together with Wagner at St. Gall, and the
Musical Society there had distinguished itself by the production
of an orchestra of ten first, ten second violins, eight violas,
six celli and double basses.
Wagner conducted the Eroica, and I
two of my Symphonic Poems - "Orpheus" and "Les Preludes." The
performance and reception of my works were quite to my
satisfaction, and the "Preludes" had to be repeated (as they were
in Pest). Whether such a production would be possible in Stettin
I much doubt, in spite of your friendly advances. The open,
straightforward sense of the public is everywhere kept so much in
check by the oft-repeated rubbish of the men of the "But" and
"Yet," who batten on criticism, and appear to set themselves the
task of crushing to death every living endeavour, in order
thereby to increase their own reputation and importance, that I
must regard the rapid spread of my works almost as an imprudence.
You desire "Orpheus," "Tasso," and "Festklange" from me, dear
friend! But have you considered that "Orpheus" has no proper
working out section, and hovers quite simply between bliss and
woe, breathing out reconciliation in Art? Pray do not forget that
"Tasso" celebrates no psychic triumph, which an ingenious critic
has already denounced (probably mindful of the "inner camel,"
which Heine designates as an indispensable necessity of German
aestheticism!), and the "Festklange" sounded too confusedly noisy
even to our friend Pohl!
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