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 26, 1861 | Franz Liszt | Richard Wagner | Weimar | 315 |
Liszt thanks Wagner warmly for his considerate reply about the proposed Tristan fragment, saying he fully understands why such a partial performance must seem absurd to Wagner and how painful it is for Liszt himself to be unable to do something truly worthy for him. He explains that repeated efforts at Weimar to secure proper support for Tristan and the Ring always failed over expense, says this failure was a chief reason for his withdrawal from the theater, rejoices instead in the promised Carlsruhe performance, and looks ahead to seeing Wagner soon in Paris.
|
| May 11, 1861 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Vienna | 89 |
No summary available.
|
| May 27, 1861 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Paris | 395 |
No summary available.
|
| June 1, 1861 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Paris | 564 |
No summary available.
|
| June 15, 1861 | Richard Wagner | Franz Liszt | Paris | 157 |
Wagner tells Liszt that inquiries have arrived from Leipzig seeking Tausig's address, but since he assumes the young man has already communicated for himself, he prefers not to answer and instead asks Liszt to pass along the facts and the enclosed letter. Apart from this practical errand, he says he has nothing new to report because no change whatever has occurred in his circumstances, plans, or hopes.
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| July 12, 1861 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Paris | 538 |
No summary available.
|
| July 22, 1861* | Franz Liszt | Richard Wagner | — | 332 |
Liszt says news from his daughter suggests Wagner may soon come to Weimar, and he begs him not to deny him that joy, promising quarters at Altenburg and expecting a pleasant personal relation between Wagner and the Grand Duke. He also asks after Wagner's possible settlement at Carlsruhe and his Paris finances, then explains that he himself has resolved to leave Weimar and that his future now turns largely on whether his marriage takes place soon or not at all.
|
| July 25, 1861 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Paris | 382 |
No summary available.
|
| August 19, 1861 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Vienna | 1,086 |
No summary available.
|
| September 13, 1861 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Vienna | 1,041 |
No summary available.
|
| September 28, 1861 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Vienna | 874 |
No summary available.
|
| December 21, 1861 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Quai Voltaire | 1,138 |
No summary available.
|
| December 28, 1861* | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Paris | 751 |
No summary available.
|
| December 31, 1861* | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Paris | 25 |
No summary available.
|
| January 7, 1862 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Paris | 56 |
No summary available.
|
| February 3, 1862 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Paris | 421 |
No summary available.
|
| February 13, 1862 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Biebrich | 138 |
No summary available.
|
| February 16, 1862 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Biebrich | 177 |
No summary available.
|
| March 12, 1862 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Biebrich | 908 |
No summary available.
|
| May 22, 1862 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Biebrich | 308 |
No summary available.
|
| June 9, 1862 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Biebrich | 729 |
No summary available.
|
| December 21, 1862 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Vienna | 135 |
No summary available.
|
| June 5, 1863 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Penzing | 798 |
No summary available.
|
| June 6, 1863 | Richard Wagner | Otto Wesendonck | Penzing | 797 |
No summary available.
|
| June 28, 1863 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Penzing | 924 |
No summary available.
|
| August 3, 1863 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Penzing | 2,352 |
No summary available.
|
| August 9, 1863 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Penzing | 60 |
No summary available.
|
| September 10, 1863* | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Penzing | 717 |
No summary available.
|
| September 20, 1863 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Penzing | 136 |
No summary available.
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| October 17, 1863 | Richard Wagner | Otto Wesendonck | Penzing | 61 |
No summary available.
|
| November 10, 1863 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Penzing | 561 |
No summary available.
|
| December 1, 1863 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Penzing | 283 |
No summary available.
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| December 21, 1863 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | — | 281 |
No summary available.
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| September 9, 1864 | Richard Wagner | Otto Wesendonck | Munich | 428 |
No summary available.
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| January 15, 1865* | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Munich | 461 |
No summary available.
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| August 14, 1871 | Richard Wagner | Mathilde Wesendonck | Tribschen | 167 |
No summary available.
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| No letters found. | |||||