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 all years in October (59 total)

Date	From	To	Place	Words	Subject
October 6, 1830	Richard Wagner	B. Schott and Sons	Leipzig	315	Wagner writes to a publisher about his close study of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and his concern that the work remains inaccessible to much of the musical public. He proposes his own two-hand piano arrangement, reports progress on the first movement, and asks whether the firm would take up the project before he completes it.
October 27, 1834	Richard Wagner	Theodore Apel	Magdeburg	748	Wagner complains from Magdeburg about delays over Die Feen in Leipzig and says he may take the score away and have it produced in Magdeburg if the matter is not settled. He recalls his recent Bohemian journey with Theodore Apel, outlines ambitious plans for Die Feen, Das Liebesverbot, Italy, France, and Paris, and notes Laube's imprisonment in Berlin.
October 2, 1835	Richard Wagner	Theodore Apel	Magdeburg	55	Wagner tells Apel that the Magdeburg opera has burdened him with exhausting practical responsibilities. He reports that the company has finally opened with Zampa, achieving a substantial result that gives him some relief.
October 11, 1835	Richard Wagner	Theodore Apel	Magdeburg	60	Wagner complains of present troubles, especially ingratitude, and describes the return of winter as deepening his physical and emotional misery. Even so, he is considering rehearsing Die Feen in Magdeburg and feels his strength returning despite the bleak circumstances.
October 26, 1835	Richard Wagner	Theodore Apel	Magdeburg	1,109	Wagner tells Apel that he has abandoned plans to seek Mendelssohn's notice through concert works and is committing himself wholly to opera and the stage. He describes intensive work on Das Liebesverbot, his growing authority over the Magdeburg opera, the promising debuts of Amalie Planer and the tenor Schreiber, and his continuing financial dependence on Apel.
October 14, 1841	Richard Wagner	Wilhelm Fischer	Meudon	250	Wagner advises Wilhelm Fischer on practical performance difficulties in Rienzi, especially the need to divide the male chorus into populace and nobles and to use the Kreuzschule choir for offstage effects. He also discusses staging the second-act tragic pantomime with actors from spoken drama and gives detailed cautions about maintaining pitch in the unaccompanied women's chorus of the heralds of peace.
October 8, 1842	Richard Wagner	Edward Avenarius	Dresden	267	Wagner tells Avenarius that the forthcoming Rienzi premiere on October 19 is being prepared with extraordinary enthusiasm and that he expects a major success. He praises the singers, orchestra, Devrient, Tichatschek, and even Reissiger for their commitment, noting that he has encountered no ill-will and that public anticipation is growing.
October 21, 1842	Richard Wagner	Edward Avenarius	Dresden	137	Wagner reports to Avenarius that Rienzi has triumphed in Dresden with unprecedented enthusiasm, repeated calls for the composer, and citywide excitement. Exhausted but exultant, he says the second performance is imminent, a third is already sold out, and the singing and staging reached a level he believes Dresden had not known before.
October 22, 1843	Richard Wagner	Cecilie Avenarius	Dresden	657	Wagner tells Cecilie that Berlin's opera-house fire has made him unwilling to allow his works there for now, and that illness and cramped lodgings have kept him from composing since the Dresden choral festival. He describes settling into a spacious Ostra Allee home as a lasting comfort for Minna, sends Cecilie affectionate encouragement before childbirth, and also presses for a reply about publishing The Love-Feast of the Apostles so he can adjust the harp part in time.
October 29, 1843	Richard Wagner	Breitkopf and Härtel	Dresden	101	Wagner asks Breitkopf and Härtel for a prompt reply to his inquiry about publishing the full score of The Love-Feast of the Apostles. He needs to know soon because he must decide the title and, if they publish the work complete, make a small alteration to the harp part in good time.
October 9, 1846	Richard Wagner	Alwine Frommann	Dresden	139	Wagner tells Alwine Frommann that he is unwell, creatively stalled, and hungry for joyful news that might restore his health more than medical regimens. He describes a new warm friendship with Auerbach, who read him a tale and heard the story of Tannhäuser, and envies the apparent happiness of literary creation compared with opera composition.
October 6, 1847	Richard Wagner	Ferdinand Hiller	Berlin	639	Wagner assures Hiller that rumors of his seeking a Berlin kapellmeistership are false, saying he would rather bear the Dresden post than take one in Berlin unless he could live on a pension and study freely. He also mentions illness, malicious gossip after Mendelssohn's death, and gives detailed objections to changes in Die hohe Braut, especially the softened ending, while asking that his name not appear on the bills for Kittl's setting.
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.
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 5, 1850	Richard Wagner	Hans von Bülow	Zurich	522	Wagner tells Hans von Bülow that only decisive action can prove whether his love of art and aversion to law are strong enough, especially now that Liszt has praised his performing talent. He offers Hans an immediate Zurich theatre post at 100 francs per month, shared work with Karl Ritter, cheap lodging and meals, and urges him to come even penniless if he truly cannot do otherwise.
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 8, 1850	Richard Wagner	Princess Caroline	Zurich	290	Wagner tells Princess Caroline that Wieland comes from painful inspiration and contains discoveries he values, but it now belongs to a period he cannot bear to revisit and he lacks the strength or calm to finish it. He asks her to persuade Liszt to take over the musical composition as his own if the poem inspires him, since the plan is complete and only versification remains.
October 12, 1850	Richard Wagner	Eduard von Bülow	Zurich	861	Wagner tells Eduard von Bülow that if Hans is truly to become a musician, he must enter practical conducting at once, and Zurich offers an unusually concrete opportunity that Berlin cannot easily provide. He challenges the parents' sincerity because they blocked Hans from meeting him and fear Wagner's influence, yet insists his intervention serves Hans's artistic happiness and rests on his conviction that Hans is already an extraordinarily gifted, rapidly maturing artist.
October 13, 1850	Richard Wagner	Julie Ritter	Zurich	228	Wagner tells Julie Ritter that he hopes to withdraw from the Zurich theatre, which he now sees mainly as a conducting school because the institution itself is too exhausted to grow without money. He praises Liszt's sustaining strength, says he has given Wieland to him, and contrasts the naturalness of his Swiss friends with the oppressive inertia of German professors and capital cities.
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.
October 30, 1851	Richard Wagner	Hans von Bülow	Albisbrunn	230	Wagner tells Hans von Bülow that Uhlig will send the Tannhäuser score arranged for Weimar and hopes Liszt's earlier reasons for cuts no longer apply. He urges Weimar to stage The Flying Dutchman as the necessary beginning of the trilogy formed with Tannhäuser and Lohengrin, giving practical advice on moderating brass and omitting cadenzas.
October 3, 1852	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	514	Wagner is relieved to know he has not offended Liszt and anxiously asks whether anything he wrote about Berlioz or Raff was misunderstood, since he insists his intentions, especially toward Berlioz, were good. He adds that the Berlin Tannhauser plan is now settled for later rehearsal, that Paris possibilities are still being talked over by Belloni and others, that his Tannhauser instructions have frightened Leipzig away but revived Wiesbaden, and that his solitude and strained nerves make him think of going to Paris for the winter even as he pushes slowly on with the next poem.
October 3, 1852	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	144	Wagner tells Liszt that Belloni's visit and talk of Paris show Liszt still imagining world-conquering plans for him. He does not reject a French Tannhäuser translation, especially with Herwegh interested in a vivid prose version, but says he cannot yet take it seriously and notes that his production preface has deterred Leipzig while prompting Schindelmeisser to restudy the opera in Wiesbaden.
October 7, 1852	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	1,285	Liszt clarifies that Berlioz is not rewriting Cellini but only consenting to a major cut, thanks Wagner for the offer of Wieland, and assures him that nothing he wrote about other composers has shaken Liszt's love or understanding. He returns the Faust overture with some candid musical criticism, reports another successful Lohengrin in Weimar, urges Wagner to publish similar staging pamphlets for Lohengrin and The Flying Dutchman, and repeats that he will go to Berlin on Wagner's behalf only if Hulsen formally invites him and gives him real authority over the rehearsals and performance.
October 13, 1852	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	279	Wagner tells Liszt that he has accepted Liszt's offer and has now asked Hulsen plainly to invite Liszt to Berlin to represent him for the performance of Tannhauser. He says he has done everything he can to make the request a matter of personal feeling and friendship, and he hopes Liszt will consent willingly for his sake if Hulsen agrees.
October 13, 1852	Richard Wagner	Francisca Wagner	Zurich	477	Wagner reassures Francisca that Paris matters to him only as a possible good performance, not fame, but then bitterly attacks Johanna's dependence on Meyerbeer and the family idea of her “good” as money and reputation rather than service to a noble cause. He says Lohengrin in Berlin would matter deeply, especially because Elsa was written for Johanna, and confesses that disloyalty from loved ones wounds him more than anything.
October 28, 1852	Richard Wagner	Breitkopf and Härtel	Zurich	535	Wagner offers Breitkopf and Härtel his modernized arrangement of Gluck's Iphigenia in Aulis, explaining how he revised text, form, instrumentation, transitions, and the ending to restore the opera to living theatrical effectiveness rather than antiquarian interest. He also proposes publication of a revised Faust Overture, which Liszt has revived successfully and which Wagner now sees as one of his best purely instrumental works for reaching the German concert public.
October 2, 1853	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	75	Wagner asks Liszt to leave word at Karlsruhe that the concert score of the Lohengrin pieces is to be sent immediately after the last concert to Apt in Prague, while the parts are to be returned to Zurich. He adds that he is with Liszt in spirit at the general rehearsal and counts the days until their imminent meeting.
October 26, 1853	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Paris	137	Wagner writes from the immediate aftermath of parting, saying that he can only stand in silence after Liszt and that words would do violence to feeling. He adds only a few practical notes, namely that he will return home the next day, hopes still to see Liszt's children first, failed to find Madame Kalergy at home, and will write again from Zurich.
October 30, 1853*	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	409	Wagner assumes Liszt has little to write, then recounts how on Liszt's birthday he played Tannhauser and Lohengrin in Paris for a tiny circle of old friends on a grand piano lent by Erard, far more passionately than anyone around him could understand. He adds that a Paris policeman formally assured him he could stay a month, that he has now returned to Zurich where Peps welcomed him joyfully, and that even in dull, rainy Strasbourg he still clings to the sense of a guiding star above him.
October 31, 1853	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	514	Liszt says that with a new Flying Dutchman performance he has returned to the conductor's desk after months away, and he openly declares that his passion for Wagner's tone- and word-poems is the chief reason he continues this work at all. He reports a planned Wagner week in Weimar, renewed care for The Flying Dutchman, Tannhauser, and Lohengrin, hopes for a specially cast court performance of Lohengrin with Tichatschek and Johanna, briefly alludes to the Princess's burdens, and urges Wagner to press on with the Ring because work remains the only earthly salvation.
October 6, 1854	Richard Wagner	Minna Wagner	Zurich	355	Wagner tells Minna that he is not surprised she visited Röckel in Waldheim because her generous heart often rises above ordinary judgments, even when her understanding of certain characters remains limited. He praises the visit as fine and gallant, and says Röckel's iron firmness matches what he already knew of him.
October 15, 1854*	Richard Wagner	Otto Wesendonck	Zurich	69	No summary available.
October 26, 1854	Richard Wagner	Hans von Bülow	Zurich	871	Wagner gives Hans von Bülow a cautious critique of his compositions, saying he cannot judge fully without hearing them performed but finds strong invention, thematic breadth, and mastery of form, especially in the Orchestral Fantasy. His main concern is Bülow's apparent attraction to harmonic harshness for its own sake, though he frames this as secondary to real talent, and he closes by urging Bülow to read Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Idea and Parerga and Paralipomena.
October 3, 1855	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	1,053	Wagner sends Liszt the finished first two acts of Die Walkure and explains why the second act, especially Wotan's great scene with Brynhild, is central to the whole tetralogy and must be judged by someone who truly understands his dramatic intentions. He looks forward with solemn anticipation to Liszt's visit, mentions several friends now around him in Zurich, says the Hanover issue has been resolved, and again recoils from the prospect of a lucrative but artistically ruinous American expedition.
October 3, 1855	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	999,999	Writing to Liszt from Zurich, Wagner sends the first two acts of Die Walküre and reflects anxiously on the immense dramatic demands of Act II, especially Wotan's revelation to Brünnhilde. He also reports Semper and Karl Ritter's presence in Zurich, asks to borrow or receive Berlioz scores for study, and dreads a possible American offer that could interrupt completion of The Nibelungs.
October 4, 1855	Richard Wagner	Karl Klindworth	Zurich	326	Writing to Klindworth, Wagner reports that he has sent Liszt the fair copy of the first two acts of Die Walküre and is beginning the third act. He asks Klindworth to turn the instrumentation drafts into a piano arrangement, promises ink copies for future work, mentions Bülow's inability to help, and offers only the prospect of a later publisher's honorarium.
October 5, 1855	Richard Wagner	Hans von Bülow	Zurich	648	Writing to Bülow, Wagner withdraws the request that he arrange Das Rheingold, arguing that Bülow should protect his creative energies as a composer while Klindworth can more readily handle pianist's work. He instead presses Bülow for an unpaid four-hand arrangement of the revised Faust Overture to prevent Härtel from publishing a bad version, urging a free, clear, playable treatment that serves the musical idea.
October 7, 1855*	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	18	In this brief note Wagner acknowledges that the score he sent has arrived safely and says he is anxious for Liszt's reaction. The whole letter is a suspended moment of expectation.
October 12, 1855	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	265	Liszt greets the arrival of Die Walkure with ecstatic praise, calling it sublime and saying he is reading it in great inner excitement. He promises fuller comments in person, mentions Berlioz scores and upcoming performances of Wagner's operas in Weimar, and urges Wagner to continue fearlessly in the direction of the sublime.
October 15, 1856*	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Zurich	51	No summary available.
October 27, 1856	Richard Wagner	Anton Pusinelli	Zurich	172	Writing to Anton Pusinelli, Wagner thanks him emotionally for self-sacrificing friendship and hopes future improvement in his fortunes will let him repay the kindness. He says Liszt wants to stage Rienzi at Weimar, and although he fears the early work may confuse perceptions of him, consideration for Pusinelli leads him to withdraw his objections as Dutchman and perhaps Rienzi gain wider favor.
October 1, 1857	Richard Wagner	Otto Wesendonck	Zurich	78	No summary available.
October 8, 1857	Richard Wagner	Julie Ritter	Zurich	412	Writing to Julie Ritter, Wagner sends the Tristan poem, reports that composition has begun, and explains that its practical prospects led him to set aside the Nibelungs for a year after reaching the end of Siegfried Act II. He also warmly describes Hans and Cosima von Bülow's three-week visit, during which he read new acts of Tristan, heard much music, and found Bülow's pianism and the young couple's vitality deeply restorative.
October 15, 1857*	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Zurich	37	No summary available.
October 9, 1858	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Salzburg	1,183	Liszt says confusing reports had made Wagner's movements hard to follow, but now that Venice seems possible he sincerely hopes Wagner will find peace there to settle and complete his work, while still admitting lingering doubts about the security of that refuge. He then defends his earlier caution about foreign-language performances and his inability to visit Zurich sooner, reaffirms their inseparable friendship, and closes with travel, performance, and publication news while asking when he may finally read Tristan and hoping it will end Wagner's exile.
October 19, 1858	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Venice	436	Wagner thanks Liszt for a letter whose friendship deeply moved him, says that patience, pity, and quiet work now guide him, and reports that Tristan is flowing forward again in the peaceful retirement of Venice. He notes that the first act is complete and in proof, hopes to finish the second and third acts on schedule for a possible Easter performance, and says that if the Grand Duke of Baden can secure permission, the premiere may take place at Carlsruhe.
No letters found.

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