Your Excellency was yesterday kind enough to accept my undertaking to make it my primary concern diligently to order my relations with the royal orchestra so that there should be no further occasion for complaints, whether well- or ill-grounded on that score, and, further, particularly during Your Excellency's absence, to alter nothing in the hitherto accepted interpretation of tempo, etc., when conducting older operas, even when it goes against my artistic judgment, leaving myself nevertheless free, when studying newer operas, to exercise my best judgment with the object of getting as perfect a presentation as possible. After quiet consideration of this my undertaking, the honourable fulfilment of which should, by all reasonable conjecture, be able to allay recent misunderstandings, I feel it necessary to add a few words of explanation, both to acquaint Your Excellency more exactly with the nature of most of the accusations brought against me and at the same time to justify myself in my character as an artist more fully than I was able to do yesterday, when not only was I roused to the point of forgetfulness of the demeanour proper in Your Excellency's presence by several of Herr Lipinski's insinuations, but also found it impossible, on account of the latter's constant and pointless interruptions, to give the quiet and considered explanations necessary for this justification of myself. What has principally embittered Herr Lipinski, in common with many other members of the Royal Chapel, against me since our thoroughly successful and indeed unusually harmonious and enthusiastic co-operation at the rehearsals and performances of the opera Armide, was made perfectly plain to Your Excellency by himself, being in fact merely envy of the praises lavished on me in all quarters. After the performances of Armide I had no important occasion to work with the orchestra until the rehearsal for Don Juan. Up till then no fault could be found with the results of my efforts, but the production of this opera, which for many reasons with which I had no concern may be called a failure, was seized upon as an opportunity for attacking my method of conducting it, and the pretext was found in certain alterations which I am said to have introduced in far greater numbers than was actually the case. Herr Lipinski disputes my right and my artistic authority for introducing these changes, taking up his stand chiefly on the infallibility of the traditional and customary interpretations of older operas in vogue here. I have but one convincing answer to this assertion. When Your Excellency set me the task of conducting Euryanthe, the widow of its immortal creator bade me to an interview, in the course of which she protested that at last the public had once more been able to hear this music as Weber intended it to be, for violations of tempo, etc., had gradually crept in which for her often completely distorted whole passages of the work. She directed me for exact information of the tempi as Weber intended them to be to Madame Schroder-Devrient, who, as you know, holds in faithful memory the spirit of the first performance under Weber. Madame Schroder-Devrient fully confirmed Frau von Weber's assertions. Your Excellency can see from this how an opera originally studied in a certain place, by a certain orchestra, under the composer, can within twenty years vary greatly from the first and true interpretation, and I ask now who would stand surety for the preservation of a valid tradition in the case of an opera first given here fifty years ago, and never under the conductorship of the composer? Herr Lipinski, in Your Excellency's presence, advanced against me the unimpeachability of the performances of the Royal Orchestra. I think there can be no doubt that this was merely a form of speech on his part by the use of which he hoped the more easily to score off me under Your Excellency's eyes, for I am well acquainted with Herr Lipinski's views on the condition of the Royal Orchestra from his own repeated remarks on the subject. He is, on the contrary, in agreement with me on the point that in certain sections of our orchestra the performance is not always all that it should be. In fact, although Herr Lipinski made a show of speaking only in the interests of righteousness, I cannot avoid believing that he really came forward out of injured vanity and personal interest, cleverly as he mingled this with generalisations. On this account I accuse Herr Lipinski of dishonesty.
Richard Wagner
Source: Letters of Richard Wagner, Volume 1, ed. Altmann/Hull (London: Dent, 1927), No. 86