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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Date	From	To	Place	Words	Subject
November 5, 1858	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	800	Liszt thanks Wagner for a birthday letter whose calm tone pleased him, says he hopes Tristan is progressing well, promises continued help with possible performances of Lohengrin, The Flying Dutchman, and Rienzi, and urges Wagner to reply politely to Dingelstedt so Weimar cooperation can be preserved for Tristan and eventually the Nibelungen. He also reports on current Weimar operatic life, including Sobolewski's Komala and Cornelius's The Barber of Baghdad, while explaining plans and finances for a January performance of Rienzi.
November 21, 1858	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Venice	771	Wagner thanks Liszt for his letter, reports that illness interrupted him through the first half of November, and says Tristan has been delayed because he can only continue it in the right mood, though he has sent proof sheets of the first act and is also reviving the Nibelungen publication question. He then describes his worsening financial situation as hoped-for income from Rienzi falls through in Munich and Hanover, complains bitterly about theater functionaries, and closes with Venetian news about mutual acquaintances, princely admirers, and the quiet solitude he guards for his work.
November 26, 1858	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Venice	355	Wagner sends Liszt an autograph and grumbles that he must now conduct Weimar business through the formal Dingelstedt, which has made Weimar itself lose much of its former charm for him. He explains practical matters about available Rienzi scores and cuts, complains bitterly about the trouble required for small sums of money, reports severe pain from an abscess in his leg, and asks whether Liszt has received the first act of Tristan from Hartel.
December 5, 1858	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Venice	621	Wagner says he has written to Dingelstedt and now wants the planned Weimar performance of Rienzi abandoned, since the hoped-for financial benefit has failed elsewhere and the whole revival feels humiliating, premature, and out of place in Weimar. He tells Liszt not to trouble himself with honorariums or courtly diplomacy on his behalf, insists that what he really needs is sympathetic help that preserves his time and peace for work, and adds that illness has again confined him and interrupted composition.
December 15, 1858*	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Venice	1,009	No summary available.
December 26, 1858	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	586	Liszt greets the arrival of Tristan as a glorious Christmas gift, praising its beauty and emotional power with intense admiration and saying he feels united with Wagner in the work's deepest spirit. He then turns to practical matters, saying Wagner's refusal of Rienzi came at the right moment in Weimar, hinting at future efforts once Tristan is complete, discussing Karl Ritter's visit and prospects, and promising soon to send Wagner the Dante Symphony and the Gran Mass.
January 1, 1859	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	385	Liszt thanks Wagner for his New Year greeting and asks him to explain the “wonderfully miserable” event mentioned in his telegram, while hoping the new year will improve his fortunes. He then explains why he is refusing to conduct Lohengrin and Tannhauser at Weimar for the moment, saying he will not cooperate with the crude commercial spirit and lack of consideration shown in the long-dragging Rienzi affair, and advises Wagner to make no concessions unless Liszt later tells him the moment has changed.
January 2, 1859	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Venice	1,604	Wagner returns calmly but decisively to the question of his future, apologizing for earlier outbursts and telling Liszt that what he now values more than amnesty itself is a life permanently freed from financial anxiety, since only the act of creating new works truly gives him reason to live. He therefore asks Liszt to take the initiative in securing for him a substantial pension from a combination of German princes, rejecting ordinary appointments and conditional arrangements as inadequate, and laying out exactly why only an honorable, secure income can preserve his freedom and sustain his artistic work.
January 5, 1859*	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	26	Wagner sends a brief cry of loneliness and impatience at Liszt's silence. He asks whether Liszt truly has nothing to say to him and wonders what will become of him if everyone continues to ignore him.
January 7, 1859	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Venice	1,384	Wagner explains at great length that his earlier remarks about Dingelstedt and the withdrawal of Rienzi were never meant seriously as artistic principle but as a tactical attempt to force quicker payment of the small honorarium he desperately needed before the new year. He describes the poverty and humiliation behind his New Year's outburst, insists Liszt misunderstood his joking complaint because of his own irritation with Weimar affairs, and asks that the whole painful exchange be forgotten so their friendship can remain untouched.
January 19, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Venice	2,888	No summary available.
February 17, 1859	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	348	Liszt gratefully accepts Wagner's conciliatory greeting and says he had already mentioned Wagner's pension proposal in the proper quarter before being asked to keep it quiet, but met with several objections and can hope at best only for some smaller financial help later. He urges Wagner to believe how painful it is to bring such disappointing news, suggests Paris as the most practical large city if Germany remains closed to him, and hopes that Carlsruhe and the coming summer may finally lead to better fortunes and a reunion.
February 22, 1859	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Venice	185	Wagner sends an immediate note of thanks, saying Liszt's letter has already calmed the convulsive excitement under which he had been suffering and left him ready to reflect more honestly on himself. He promises a fuller answer the next day, begs Liszt not to send money for the moment, and asks instead for musical works such as Ideals and, when ready, the Dante Symphony.
February 22, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Venice	820	No summary available.
February 23, 1859	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Venice	2,383	Wagner sends Liszt a long, calmer confession in which he admits his recent violence, says Liszt's rebuke did him good, and then lays out the concrete political steps he is taking to clarify once and for all whether Saxony will ever permit his return or whether he must seek special protection elsewhere through princes such as the Grand Duke of Baden. He also reports more hopeful news about a possible secret personal appearance for Tristan at Carlsruhe, asks Liszt to help suppress press rumors about it, reflects on abandoning immediate Nibelungen publication hopes, leans increasingly toward Paris if Germany stays closed, and ends by saying that more frequent personal life with Liszt is the one real benefit that still makes amnesty worth sacrificing for.
March 2, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Venice	563	No summary available.
March 10, 1859	Richard Wagner	Myrrha Wesendonck	Venice	648	No summary available.
March 10, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Venice	333	No summary available.
March 25, 1859	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Milan	288	Wagner writes briefly from the road to say that, to begin and finish the third act of Tristan without interruption, he has chosen Lucerne as his new place of solitude, counting on the lake and mountains there as restorative remedies for both body and mind. He adds that his health still troubles him, hints at unresolved business with Liszt's cousin in Vienna, and reproaches Liszt gently for his silence while promising a fuller letter once he is settled.
March 25, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Milan	679	No summary available.
April 6, 1859	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	323	Liszt warmly welcomes Wagner to Lucerne and hopes Tristan will draw strength from the Alpine air before it goes out into the world, while reporting that Carlsruhe is already wavering over whether the premiere will happen in September or December. He hints that Wagner's recent “dose of gravy” will require serious discussion, promises that after Tristan the Nibelungen question will be taken up more effectively, and then gives a practical account of his own coming travels, obligations, and steady health.
April 7, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	96	No summary available.
April 10, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	539	No summary available.
April 12, 1859*	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	71	No summary available.
April 13, 1859*	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	63	No summary available.
April 15, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	905	No summary available.
April 19, 1859	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Lucerne	110	Wagner reproaches Liszt for not sending him the newly published Ideals and for remaining silent even as the appearance of Dante is publicly announced. Writing from a period of bad weather, solitude, and uncertain working spirits, he asks Liszt to imagine how such neglect would feel in his place and begs at least for some sign of life and contact.
April 22, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	291	No summary available.
April 26, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	1,079	No summary available.
April 28, 1859*	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	56	Liszt dedicates the work to Wagner in language of deep gratitude and devotion, comparing his own relation to Wagner with Dante's to Virgil. He says Wagner has guided him through mysterious regions of musical and inner life, and offers the dedication as a token of unfailing faithful love.
April 30, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	562	No summary available.
May 8, 1859	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Lucerne	1,609	Writing from an exhausted and isolated solitude at Lucerne, Wagner confesses that he feels unable to work, starved of both life and art, haunted by the possibility that he may fail to finish Tristan at all unless something in his outward circumstances changes. He complains of silence from friends, reflects bitterly on Germany, Paris, and even a possible American journey, speaks with painful self-doubt about his own musicianship in contrast to Liszt's Dante, yet still longs for Liszt's direct presence as the one thing that could restore him and make clear what remains alive in him.
May 9, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Monday	681	No summary available.
May 14, 1859	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	492	Liszt answers Wagner's stormy letter with affectionate firmness, rejecting Wagner's self-condemnation as madness and insisting that even such despair is itself a sign of his greatness, while urging resignation and patience rather than collapse. He discourages the American plan, says Carlsruhe remains the best practical hope with Tristan probably deferred until December, promises to visit and play for Wagner before then, and adds that his own highest reward would be to restore Wagner's conviction that he is indeed a great musician.
May 15, 1859	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Lucerne	255	Wagner warmly recommends the trombonist Thiele to Liszt for the Weimar orchestra, praising both his enthusiasm and his remarkable ability to make even weak colleagues play beyond themselves. He then abruptly reveals how badly he is faring by saying he has felt obliged to tell Devrient not to count on either Tristan or his personal participation any longer, thus ending that hope for the present.
May 21, 1859	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	57	Wagner asks Liszt to send Tausig to him if the young pianist is free, adding that his wife has even written that Tausig himself wanted to come. He says he has nothing sensible to report at the moment and simply confesses that he feels miserable, promising more news soon.
May 21, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	447	No summary available.
May 23, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	1,111	No summary available.
May 29, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	2,532	No summary available.
June 3, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	124	No summary available.
June 5, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	282	No summary available.
June 17, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	141	No summary available.
June 21, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	979	No summary available.
June 23, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	911	No summary available.
July 1, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	301	No summary available.
July 9, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	1,591	No summary available.
July 15, 1859*	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	72	No summary available.
July 19, 1859	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	66	Liszt commends his friend Felix Draeseke to Wagner as one of their own circle and asks that he be kindly received. He also encourages Wagner to show him the Nibelungen treasure and says he hopes to visit Wagner himself at the end of August, asking where he will then be found.
July 24, 1859*	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	490	No summary available.
August 4, 1859	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Lucerne	358	No summary available.
No letters found.

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