Wagner's Letters

Correspondence by, to, and around Richard Wagner

Wagner’s letters form one of the great documentary records of nineteenth-century artistic life. They reveal the practical, intellectual, emotional, and ideological world behind the works: artistic plans, financial crises, theatrical battles, friendships, quarrels, patronage, exile, revolution, Bayreuth, family life, philosophical reflection, and the shifting circle of figures who helped shape Wagner’s public and private destiny.

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Showing letters involving Franz Liszt (344 total)

Date	From	To	Place	Words	Subject
March 24, 1841	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Paris	219	Wagner reminds Liszt of their brief Paris meeting and writes in hopes of benefiting from Liszt's kindness and influence. He explains that Heinrich Laube had asked one of Liszt's Hungarian friends to introduce him and anxiously asks whether that promise was ever fulfilled.
August 5, 1845	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Marienbad	463	Wagner urges Liszt to support fund-raising for a Dresden monument to Weber, noting Liszt's influence amid the Beethoven monument efforts. He describes the project's current progress and fears that, without Liszt's help in stirring wider enthusiasm, Weber will receive an unworthy memorial.
March 22, 1846	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	411	Wagner thanks Liszt for supporting him and candidly asks him to use his influence in Vienna on behalf of a performance of Rienzi. He suspects personal intrigue and professional jealousy are stalling the production, and he sends the scores of Rienzi and Tannhauser in hopes of winning Liszt's stronger sympathy.
January 30, 1848	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	148	Wagner sends Liszt his Faust overture after hearing that Liszt wants it, despite his own dissatisfaction with the piece. He gives Liszt permission to use it as he sees fit, while asking to have the manuscript returned from time to time and commiserating with the burdens of conducting.
June 23, 1848	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	319	Wagner confesses that he is in a financial crisis because he borrowed money to publish his three operas and can no longer repay his creditors. He asks Liszt to raise or provide 5,000 thalers, even in exchange for the copyrights, arguing that the rescue would free him to live and work as an artist again.
July 1, 1848	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	194	Wagner tells Liszt that his financial situation has become desperate and that Liszt's influence may be his last hope of setting his affairs in order. He urgently begs Liszt to come to Dresden in person, offering him eventual ownership of his operas if his intervention can save him.
July 4, 1848	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	94	Liszt reports that he has already written to Herr von Villen to discuss Wagner's matter with Wagner's lawyer and with Meser. He says he cannot come to Dresden at present but is trying to obtain a definite arrangement and answer from a distance.
September 6, 1848	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	133	Wagner thanks Liszt for his efforts on his behalf and reports that the planned performance of Tannhauser has been delayed. He explains that Tichatschek's illness and prior obligations to the star singer Formes will likely postpone the opera for about a week, and he sends regards to Princess Wittgenstein.
September 19, 1848	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	133	Wagner informs Liszt that Tannhauser is finally scheduled for performance in Dresden on September 24, 1848, though he doubts the notice will allow Liszt to come. He also mentions a jubilee concert for the orchestra on September 22 featuring an excerpt from Lohengrin and says he would be glad to welcome Liszt and Princess Wittgenstein.
January 14, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	318	Wagner thanks Liszt for his continuing interest and reflects anxiously on the difficulty of producing Tannhauser, whose success he thinks depends on unusually capable performers and on Liszt's leadership. He also reports that he is living in reduced circumstances with little hope, though he remains determined to endure and is willing to forgo any honorarium connected with the Weimar plans.
February 8, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	410	Wagner warmly thanks Liszt for championing his work in Weimar and reflects on the shallow theatrical taste that makes any serious opera difficult to receive fairly. Even so, he trusts Liszt's diligence and goodwill more than outward resources, and he sends his thanks in advance for the forthcoming performance.
February 9, 1849	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	91	Liszt tells Wagner that the Weimar company is studying Tannhauser with increasing zeal, admiration, and sympathy. He invites Wagner to attend the final rehearsal on February 15 and the performance on February 16, and he thanks him for sending the Faust overture.
February 20, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	670	Wagner offers Liszt an effusive thanks for the Weimar production of Tannhauser, praising the devotion and practical labor with which Liszt made the work understood and successful. He adds that this support has personally sustained him at a moment when humiliations in Dresden had nearly driven him to abandon art altogether.
February 25, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	362	The writer joins the chorus of admiration for Tannhauser, praising Wagner's work for its emotional depth, poetic beauty, and power over the inner life of its listeners. She also regrets that Wagner could not come to Weimar and asks him to believe in the sincere admiration and devotion felt for him there.
February 26, 1849	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	526	Liszt responds warmly to Wagner's thanks, declaring himself one of Wagner's most devoted admirers and reporting the strong impression Tannhauser made in Weimar. He also proposes publishing piano arrangements of the overture and the Abendstern scene, asks Wagner how they should be disposed of, and sends cordial greetings to Tichatschek.
March 1, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	486	Wagner thanks Liszt for his letter, for the admiration shown him in Weimar, and especially for the Princess's moving praise, which he believes Liszt's advocacy helped to inspire. He gladly leaves Liszt free to arrange and publish the Abendstern as he wishes, thanks Biedenfeld and the Weimar artists, and looks forward eagerly to visiting in May.
March 20, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	779	Wagner reports from his flight into Switzerland that he has safely reached Rorschach and owes his escape to Liszt's counsel and practical help, while already turning his thoughts toward Paris and future artistic work. He asks Liszt to examine the score of Lohengrin, forward his other materials, retain The Flying Dutchman for Weimar, and help secure a safe refuge for his wife outside Saxony.
June 5, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Paris	1,447	Writing from Paris, Wagner pours out homesickness, gratitude, and dependence on Liszt's friendship while praising Liszt's Debats article on Tannhauser as a work of art in its own right. He describes his distrust of Parisian intrigues, his plans for radical writing and a new French project, his hope for London, and his anxiety over money and over news of his wife.
June 12, 1849*	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	840	Deeply distressed by separation from his wife, Wagner decides that Paris is impossible for him without domestic peace and resolves to settle in Zurich, where he hopes to reunite his household and work in quiet on both a Paris opera project and The Death of Siegfried. He asks Liszt to help secure a modest annual allowance from German patrons and to send immediate financial aid so that he and his wife can survive and establish themselves there.
June 19, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Reuil	781	Wagner retracts, or at least qualifies, his request that Liszt seek a stipend for him from royal patrons, since his role in the Dresden uprising would make such an appeal awkward and liable to look hypocritical or cowardly. He insists that his deeper impulse was always artistic rather than doctrinaire, and he asks instead for some immediate money so he can leave Paris, probably for Zurich, and recover enough peace to work.
June 29, 1849*	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	616	Liszt advises Wagner not to seek court patronage for now and instead to pursue practical success in Paris, especially by adapting Rienzi for the Paris Opera and cultivating useful allies such as Roger, Viardot, Janin, Vaez, and Royer. He urges political restraint, promises some financial help, approves a temporary retreat to Zurich, and adds that Lohengrin has impressed him deeply even if he worries about its consistently ideal tone onstage.
July 9, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	963	Now settled in Zurich through Liszt's help, Wagner thanks him and Belloni, explains that he hopes to find peace there for new work, and says he has arranged the outward terms of a Paris collaboration with Gustave Vaez. He rejects the idea of reworking Rienzi for the Grand Opera, defends himself bitterly against charges of ingratitude and worse in Saxony, and asks Liszt to forward the scores and books he needs in Zurich.
July 19, 1849*	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	744	Wagner begs Liszt to raise and send money to his wife so that she can leave Dresden, travel to Zurich with her sister, and rejoin him with at least minimal security. He says that reunion with his wife is the one thing necessary to restore his peace and productivity, and he promises renewed work for Paris once this immediate need is met.
July 29, 1849	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	343	Liszt tells Wagner that he has sent one hundred thalers to Wagner's wife through an anonymous admirer of Tannhauser and has also forwarded Wagner's scores to Zurich. He praises Lohengrin enthusiastically, though still with reservations about its stage effect, and suggests adding a dedication of Tannhauser to the Hereditary Grand Duke of Weimar as a tactful gesture.
August 4, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	373	Wagner sends Liszt a newly revised essay meant for translation and publication in Paris, saying it reflects his deepest artistic convictions without descending into mere political slogans or personal invective. He asks Liszt to forward the manuscript to Otto Wigand in Leipzig, hopes it may bring him a little income, and anxiously mentions that he still has no news from his wife.
August 7, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	352	Wagner thanks Liszt for helping his wife, forwarding his scores, and arranging the proposed dedication of Tannhauser to the Grand Duke, which he accepts without feeling that he has compromised his principles. He says he may have to pawn the score of Lohengrin for ready money, acknowledges Liszt's doubts about its stage effect, and promises that real artistic work will repay all Liszt's care if he can only be given peace.
October 14, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	1,716	Wagner thanks Liszt for the help that reunited him with his wife, then offers an earnest critique of Liszt's Goethe compositions, admiring their strength while urging him toward the larger, more complete form of opera. He goes on to describe his own material desperation in Zurich, explains why he must devote himself to Siegfried rather than force a Paris project, and implores Liszt to find patrons, purchasers, or immediate funds that will let him keep working and living.
October 28, 1849	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Bockeburg	1,073	Liszt explains that illness, politics, and his own strained finances make it difficult for him to help Wagner immediately, though he may later try to interest the King of Prussia or the Duke of Coburg in Wagner's future. In the meantime he proposes practical expedients such as concert income, publication of songs, and even a possible Byron-based oratorio project for himself, while discreetly planning to reserve some Hamburg festival proceeds for Wagner.
December 5, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	1,490	Wagner thanks Liszt for his sympathy even when he cannot provide immediate funds, then explains that he has now found a Paris opera subject he can treat in his own way without ceasing to be himself. He asks Liszt to help open London to Lohengrin, to assist once more with travel and living expenses for planned trips to Paris and London, and reports that a possible Zurich benefit concert remains uncertain.
January 14, 1850	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	591	Liszt sends Wagner five hundred francs for his Paris journey and strongly endorses his plan of remaining artistically himself while addressing Paris and, if possible, London. He urges Wagner to persevere through the transition, promises to seek London contacts, and reports current Weimar work including Iphigenia in Aulis and another performance of Tannhauser.
April 21, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Paris	439	Wagner reports that the hoped-for Paris performance of his overture has failed and says the collapse has severed his remaining ties to a world that was ruining both his mind and health. Turning away from Paris, he urgently asks Liszt to undertake the first performance of Lohengrin, authorizes him to obtain the score from Dresden, and mentions the additional five hundred francs expected through Belloni.
July 2, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Thun	1,189	Wagner sends Liszt detailed staging and orchestral instructions for Lohengrin, urges him to perform the opera essentially uncut except for one specified passage in Lohengrin's final narration, and stresses that the work will succeed only if its full conception is respected. He also discusses publication of the libretto and piano score, asks whether he might somehow attend the Weimar premiere incognito despite the danger of arrest, and longs to see Liszt again in Zurich.
July 11, 1850*	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	233	Wagner asks Liszt for a clear answer about the five hundred francs supposedly due for his version of Iphigenia, including whether the money exists, where it has been sent, and how it might be divided between Belloni in Paris and Wagner in Zurich. He adds his amazement that Liszt may have secured such a payment for a mere arrangement and asks again whether he might soon hear from or even briefly see Liszt.
July 20, 1850*	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	1,268	Liszt assures Wagner of his practical and intelligent devotion, explains that he could not extract the requested Iphigenia payment from the management, but sends private funds through Belloni and expects further help from Zigesar and from Lohengrin honoraria. He also describes the exceptional preparations for the Weimar premiere of Lohengrin, forbids Wagner to think of returning incognito because it is impossible, and quietly proposes that a successful reception might later justify a commission and advance for Siegfried.
July 29, 1850*	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	1,575	Wagner responds with an exalted meditation on friendship, telling Liszt that his practical devotion has made exile bearable and has given him a living example of what true friendship means. He then unfolds his convictions about the death of contemporary art, the primacy of present representation over posthumous fame, and concludes that he will compose Siegfried only for Liszt and Weimar once Lohengrin has been successfully brought to life there.
August 7, 1850*	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	497	Liszt forwards another anonymous hundred thalers to Wagner and says the gift comes, as before, from a hidden official source rather than from himself or Zigesar. He reports intense daily rehearsals for Lohengrin, promises that everything possible in Weimar is being done for a faithful performance, asks Wagner to send metronome markings for key passages, and suggests gracious letters afterward to Zigesar and Genast.
August 16, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	1,014	Wagner thanks Liszt and the anonymous benefactor again, reflects on the painful distance that keeps him from hearing Lohengrin in performance, and asks Liszt for occasional news from the rehearsals. He also promises the requested letters to Zigesar and Genast, asks for care with the printed libretto and for seats for two friends, and sends a few tempo and expression indications while insisting that Liszt's sympathy will find the right effect better than any numbers.
August 19, 1850*	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	154	Wagner worries that Liszt may not have received his previous letter, since Liszt has not referred to several practical points contained in it. He asks to be told at once if the letter is missing so that he can resend the added bar for Lohengrin and make sure the intended cut and other details are not lost before the general rehearsal.
August 22, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	245	Wagner introduces his young friend Karl Ritter, praises his culture and musical gifts, and asks Liszt to be kind to him, admit him to the general rehearsal, and secure him a good place at the performances of Lohengrin. He adds that he and his wife will spend August 28 alone on the Righi, hoping the excursion made possible by Liszt's care will help his health during an emotionally charged time.
August 30, 1850*	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	318	Liszt tells Wagner that Lohengrin has moved him deeply and that he regards the whole opera as an indivisible marvel, singling out the third-act duet as its highest point of beauty and truth. He reports that the first performance was relatively successful, that the court and the more intelligent listeners are full of admiration, and that articles and notices are being arranged to secure the work's standing in Weimar and beyond.
September 8, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	3,314	Wagner thanks Liszt for the extraordinary labor behind the first performance of Lohengrin, but, from the reports he has received, reflects anxiously on why the work may have seemed overlong and only partly successful, especially in the singers' recitative style and dramatic truth. He argues at length that every musical detail exists for the drama, criticizes specific failures of stage action and characterization, and even suggests replacing the singer of Lohengrin if a better representative can be found.
September 9, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	1,470	Writing directly to Zigesar, Wagner thanks him for the care and sympathy shown to Lohengrin but argues strongly against the idea of securing success through cuts or concessions to routine operatic habits. He insists that the opera is an indivisible dramatic whole, that the real problem lies in weak dramatic delivery by the singers rather than in the work itself, and that only a reform of performance practice, not mutilation of the score, can give the piece a meaningful victory.
September 11, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	553	Wagner corrects part of his previous criticism after hearing Karl Ritter's fuller account, acknowledging that Liszt had in fact kept the recitative tempos as intended and suggesting that the real remedy lies in warmer, more vivid declamation rather than cuts. He then turns with enthusiasm to Liszt's own compositions, asking urgently for copies of the Prometheus and Tasso overtures so that he may study them and perhaps arrange a performance in Zurich.
September 16, 1850	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	924	Liszt reports that the second performance of Lohengrin confirmed his hopes and that the work will be better executed, better understood, and more effective with each repetition. He insists that Wagner's dramatic revolution requires not only retraining singers but also educating and even forcing the public beyond old habits, and while he mentions that Zigesar and Genast still have observations about cuts, he promises to carry out whatever final decision Wagner makes.
September 25, 1850	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	339	Liszt tells Wagner that he is finishing a long article on Lohengrin which he hopes to publish in Paris despite the press's reluctance to praise a living foreign composer without reserve. He asks Wagner, if personal reasons permit, to revise and authenticate a German translation as well, whether for newspaper publication or as a separate pamphlet, so that the article can appear in Germany without distortion.
October 2, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	1,433	Wagner tells Liszt that they now stand so close in conviction that he mainly longs for personal reunion, asks again for Liszt's scores, and reflects on being forced to think through his ideas before returning to purely creative work. He argues that the true enemy is the ruling Philistine spirit rather than an uneducated public, criticizes Dingelstedt's confused account of Lohengrin as harmful, and asks whether Liszt might secure a more fitting notice in the widely read Allgemeine Zeitung.
October 8, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	485	Wagner is embarrassed but grateful for Liszt's public praise and agrees to help with the projected article if Liszt truly wants it, while announcing that he has begun a new theoretical work, The Essence of Opera, to state his views more clearly. He also explains that harmful journalistic misunderstandings make such clarification necessary, reports that winter and health will delay serious work on Siegfried, and quietly confesses that his money will be exhausted by the end of the month.
October 8, 1850	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Zurich	395	The writer thanks the recipient for her steadfast sympathy and says that such faithful friendship means more to him than popular acclaim. He then asks her to persuade Liszt to take over the unfinished poem Wiland, which he no longer wishes or is able to complete himself, and offers the design to Liszt outright if it should truly inspire him.
October 8, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	257	Wagner tells Liszt he is writing The Nature of Opera to define opera as an art form and show how musical drama can fulfill its promise, though he hesitates to dedicate it to Liszt so as not to bind him publicly to the polemic. He is troubled by critics who accuse his works of musical confusion while he preaches drama, prepares to fight Winter again, and says health may delay Siegfried until spring though he intends to finish it in summer.
October 18, 1850	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	770	Liszt thanks Wagner for the manuscript of Wieland but says his commitments will prevent him from considering its musical setting for at least a year or more, after which they can revisit the idea. He also sends Wagner his long article on Lohengrin for possible German translation and publication, reports an upcoming Paris performance of the Tannhauser overture, comments on possible Dresden and further Weimar performances of Lohengrin, and regrets that he cannot presently lend out his own overture scores.
No letters found.

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