Being strongly aware of the necessity of the task, I have again undertaken to set forth the experiences and opinions of my three years of office in the form of a clear and evidential statement. I have devoted the past three months to the task of submitting those matters which it seemed necessary to me to bring forward to a strict and most exact examination. I have weighed every point, and on that account have revised and recast certain items twice, thrice or even four times. I have now at length reached the end of my work herein enclosed [Of the Royal Orchestra], touching which I beg Your Excellency to rest assured that I have been moved to undertake it by no outside instigation whatever; that it is, as it lies before you, entirely my secret; and that none of the points therein contained is the result of discussion or agreement with any of the individuals concerned. I felt it a duty imposed upon me by my conscience in accordance with my oath of allegiance to His Majesty the King. What may be the fate of my work, whether it will earn a complete or only a partial success, I cannot exactly foresee, but in any case I cherish the hope that it will, despite its length, be thought worthy of careful consideration, since it treats of the particular interests of an institution which is handsomely endowed from His Majesty's Civil List and hence must necessarily be expected to constitute a sound and perfect whole.
Richard Wagner
Source: Letters of Richard Wagner, Volume 1, ed. Altmann/Hull (London: Dent, 1927), No. 120