The last time he wrote to
me he told me that he had not yet had an answer from you. As he
is equally master of French and German, and as he thoroughly
succeeded in his translation of my pamphlet on "Tannhauser and
Lohengrin," I should be glad for the translation of Chopin to be
done by him; and in case you decide to publish his work please
put me down for fifty copies.
Pray excuse this long letter, my dear Mr. Hartel, and believe me
very sincerely,
Yours affectionately and devotedly,
F. Liszt
89. To Breitkopf and Hartel
[Autograph in the possession of M. J. Crepieux-Jamin at Rouen.]
My dear Mr. Hartel,
I thank you very heartily for the fresh proof of your kind
intentions towards me which your last letter gives me, and I
hasten to return to you herewith the two papers with my signature
by which our little accounts are thus settled. With regard to the
extra account of about eighty crowns, which I thank you for
having sent me by the same opportunity, I will not delay the
paying of it either. Only, as it contains several things which
have been got by the theater management (such as "Athalie," the
piano scores of "Lohengrin," Schubert's Symphony, etc.), you will
allow me to leave it a few days longer, so that I may get back
the sum which is due to me, - and which, till the present time, I
was not aware of having been placed to my account, thinking
indeed that these various works for which I had written for the
use of the theater had long ago been paid for by the
management. -
I beg that you will kindly excuse this confusion, of which I am
only guilty quite unawares.
With regard to the publication of the "Pater Noster" and of the
"Ave Maria," please do it entirely to your own mind, and I have
no other wish in the matter but that the "Pater" should not be
separated from the "Ave," on account of the former being so small
a work; but whether you publish these two pieces with the Mass,
or whether they appear separately (the two being in any case kept
together), either of these arrangements will suit me equally
well. For more convenience I have had them bound in one, as
having been written at the same time and as belonging to the same
style. - Berlioz has just written me word that he will probably
arrive here two or three days sooner - and the proprietors of our
repertoire have fixed the 17th November (instead of the 18th) for
the first performance of the revival of "Cellini." Immediately
after he is gone I will put in order the Catalogue that you are
kindly bringing out, and which I should be glad to be able to
distribute about before the end of the winter. You shall have the
manuscript before Christmas. -
As Mr. Weyden has been a friend of mine for several years I may
be permitted to recommend him to you, and have pleasure in hoping
that your relations with him, on occasion of the translation of
the Chopin volume, will be of an easy and agreeable nature. [The
German translation of the work was not done until it appeared, by
La Mara, in 1880, after the publication of a second edition.]
Pray accept once more, my dear Mr. Hartel, my best thanks,
together with every assurance of the sincere affection of
Yours most truly,
F. Liszt
November l0th, 1852
90. To Professor Julius Stern in Berlin
[1820-83; founder of the Stern Vocal Union (which he conducted
from 1847-74), and of the Stern Conservatorium (1850), which he
directed, firstly with Marx and Kullak, and since 1857 alone.]
November 24th, 1852.
My dear Mr. Stern,
I hope you will excuse my delay in replying to your friendly
lines, for which I thank you very affectionately. Mr. Joachim was
absent when they reached me, and all this last week has been
extremely filled up for Weymar (and for me in particular) by the
rehearsals and performance of Berlioz's works. Happily our
efforts have been rewarded by a success most unanimous and of the
best kind. Berlioz was very well satisfied with his stay at
Weymar, and I, for my part, felt a real pleasure in being
associated with that which he experienced in the reception
accorded to him by the Court, our artists, and the public. As
this week has, according to my idea, a real importance as regards
Art, allow me, my dear Mr. Stern, to send you, contrary to my
usual custom, the little resume that the Weymar Gazette has made
of the affair, which will put you very exactly au courant of what
took place. You will oblige me by letting Schlesinger see it
also, and he will perhaps do me the pleasure of letting the
Berlin public have it through his paper (The Echo).
I did not fail to conform to the wish expressed in your last
letter, immediately that Joachim returned to Weymar, and I urged
him much to accept the proposition you have made him to take part
in the concert of the 13th of December. You know what high esteem
I profess for Joachim's talent, and when you have heard him I am
certain you will find that my praises of him latterly are by no
means exaggerated. He is an artist out of the common, and one who
may legitimately aspire to a glorious reputation.
Moreover he has a thoroughly loyal nature, a distinguished mind,
and a character endowed with a singular charm in its rectitude
and earnestness.
The question of fee being somewhat embarrassing for him to enter
into with you, I have taken upon myself to speak to you about it
without any long comment, and to mention to you the sum of twenty
to twenty-five louis d'or as what seems to me fair.
