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.
This archive is organized chronologically, but it is also designed as a map of Wagner’s relationships. The letters may be browsed by year and month, by sender and recipient, or by major correspondents such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Theodor Uhlig, and Franz Liszt.
Letters from Wagner should be read beside letters sent to him. The outgoing letters often show Wagner fashioning his own cause, defending his works, pleading for help, or advancing his vision of art. The incoming letters reveal how that vision was received, resisted, misunderstood, supported, or transformed by those around him.
Because the collection contains thousands of letters, the table below is intended as a finding aid rather than a replacement for the individual letter pages. Use the filters to narrow the archive by year, month, correspondent, or direction, then open a letter to read the full text.
Note: An asterisk (*) next to the date indicates an exact date for the letter was unavailable and a date has been interpolated from context and ordering.
| Date | From | To | Place | Words | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 19, 1836 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Leipzig | 236 |
Wagner sends Schumann a report on Magdeburg musical life and allows him to alter it, explaining that he has mentioned Schumann carefully and without compromising him. He defends including himself and Das Liebesverbot in the article because his official role made omission artificial and because no one else was discussing the opera.
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| May 28, 1836 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Berlin | 1,093 |
From Berlin, Wagner sends Schumann an anonymous article for his journal, explaining that he will continue contributing under the name Wilhelm Drach and reflecting ruefully on German composers being forced into criticism and speculation. He outlines a possible temporary post at the Königstadt opera where he hopes to mount Das Liebesverbot, asks for notice in the paper, and seeks paid work while apologizing for leaving Leipzig without farewell.
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| December 3, 1836 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Konigsberg | 759 |
From Königsberg, Wagner tells Schumann that isolation has made him cling to hopes in Germany and asks for practical advice on reaching Paris. He describes Das Liebesverbot, based on Measure for Measure, as ill-suited to German conditions and asks how to approach the Opéra Comique, mentioning that he has also sent Scribe a plan for Die hohe Braut.
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| December 29, 1840 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Paris | 318 |
Wagner writes Schumann a playful, ironic letter from Paris, joking that he is about to become famous and fantastically claiming that his French setting of Heine's Grenadiers has won him honors from Louis Philippe. He privately rededicates his own setting to Schumann, accepts Schumann's implied dedication in return, and adds a serious postscript asking him not to attack Meyerbeer, whom Wagner credits with crucial support.
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| December 16, 1841 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Paris | 246 |
Wagner tells Schumann that a notice in the Zeitschrift für Musik has taught him how little publicity arises without direct effort, even for his forthcoming Dresden production. He resolves to keep Schumann informed of important projects and asks for support, while sending an unsigned piece for the journal because Paris circumstances make anonymity useful.
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| November 3, 1842 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Dresden | 1,197 |
Wagner reports that Dresden now wants to stage The Flying Dutchman immediately after Rienzi, whose extraordinary success has brought full houses, intense public attention, and a disappointing but larger-than-usual honorarium that must first go to debts and necessities. He also reflects on suddenly being in demand, the possible Dresden kapellmeistership after Rastrelli's death, his desire to remain creatively free, and prospects for helping family members and Paris creditors once further income arrives.
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| January 3, 1843 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Dresden | 149 |
Wagner tells Schumann with joy that The Flying Dutchman has achieved a triumphant first performance in Dresden, a success he values even more than Rienzi because it follows a new artistic path. He says the immediate audience acclaim exceeded expectations, with enthusiastic calls after the later acts and a particularly powerful performance by Devrient.
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| January 27, 1843 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Dresden | 351 |
Wagner sends Schumann the score of The Flying Dutchman before forwarding it to Berlin, hoping Schumann will grasp his artistic direction and perhaps write about it, while proposing an exchange of scores and criticism between them. He also reports that he now belongs in Dresden as kapellmeister on full salary, criticizes Berlin's artistic demoralization, and asks about Leipzig and its music school.
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| February 25, 1843 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Dresden | 841 |
Wagner tells Schumann that Dresden's musical taste has moved beyond Bellini and Italian-opera dominance, with audiences increasingly receptive to serious German works despite weak concert institutions. He cites the growing success of The Flying Dutchman, rejects Schumann's suggestion of a Meyerbeer flavor as a damaging misunderstanding, and praises Schumann's quintet while affirming their shared aim of beauty.
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| May 12, 1843 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Dresden | 999,999 |
Wagner tells Schumann that after eighteen months without composing he is preparing a large choral work for the Dresden men's choir festival, The Love-Feast of the Apostles. He also plans to shorten Rienzi for provincial theatres and says he has completed the three-act libretto for a new opera combining the Tannhäuser legend with the Wartburg song contest, to be composed that summer.
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| September 21, 1843 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Dresden | 360 |
Wagner regrets not having discussed Schumann's new works, especially Peri, and reflects that the Leipzig concert hall may offer a purer refuge for serious music than the socially mixed and artistically compromised theatre. He says he has not composed since The Love-Feast but will begin Tannhäuser once settled, while hesitating over a renewed Vienna request for an opera because he distrusts that city.
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| No letters found. | |||||