SubmittedFriday, 03 May 2019
Wagner came to Vienna in 1875
But of all these influences, the strongest was that of Wagner. Wagner came to Vienna in 1875 to conduct Tannhäuser and Lohengrin. There was then among the younger people a fever of enthusiasm similar to that which Werther had caused a century before. Wolf saw Wagner. He tells us about it in his letters to his parents. I will quote his own words, and though they make one smile, one loves the impulsive devotion of his youth; and they make one feel, too, that a man who inspires such an affection, and who can do so much good by a little sympathy, is to blame when he does not befriend others–above all if he has suffered, like Wagner, from loneliness and the want of a helping hand. You must remember that this letter was written by a boy of fifteen.
«I have been to–guess whom?… to the master, Richard Wagner! Now I will tell you all about it, just as it happened. I will copy the words down exactly as I wrote them in my note-book.
«On Thursday, 9 December, at half-past ten, I saw Richard Wagner for the second time at the Hotel Imperial, where I stayed for half an hour on the staircase, awaiting his arrival (I knew that on that day he would conduct the last rehearsal of his Lohengrin). At last the master came down from the second floor, and I bowed to him very respectfully while he was yet some distance from me. He thanked me in a very friendly way. As he neared the door I sprang forward and opened it for him, upon which he looked fixedly at me for a few seconds, and then went on his way to the rehearsal at the Opera. I ran as fast as I could, and arrived at the Opera sooner than Richard Wagner did in his cab. I bowed to him again, and I wanted to open the door of his cab for him; but as I could not get it open, the coachman jumped down from his seat and did it for me. Wagner said something to the coachman–I think it was about me. I wanted to follow him into the theatre, but they would not let me pass.
«I often used to wait for him at the Hotel Imperial; and on this occasion I made the acquaintance of the manager of the hotel, who promised that he would interest himself on my behalf. Who was more delighted than I when he told me that on the following Saturday afternoon, 11 December, I was to come and find him, so that he could introduce me to Mme. Cosima’s maid and Richard Wagner’s valet! I arrived at the appointed hour. The visit to the lady’s maid was very short. I was advised to come the following day, Sunday, 12 December, at two o’clock. I arrived at the right hour, but found the maid and the valet and the manager still at table…. Then I went with the maid to the master’s rooms, where I waited for about a quarter of an hour until he came. At last Wagner appeared in company with Cosima and Goldmark. I bowed to Cosima very respectfully, but she evidently did not think it worth while to honour me with a single glance. Wagner was going into his room without paying any attention to me, when the maid said to him in a beseeching voice: ‘Ah, Herr Wagner, it is a young musician who wishes to speak to you; he has been waiting for you a long time.’
«He then came out of his room, looked at me, and said: ‘I have seen you before, I think. You are….’
«Probably he wanted to say, ‘You are a fool.’
«He went in front of me and opened the door of the reception-room, which was furnished in a truly royal style. In the middle of the room was a couch covered in velvet and silk. Wagner himself was wrapped in a long velvet mantle bordered with fur.
«When I was inside the room he asked me what I wanted.»
Here Hugo Wolf, to excite the curiosity of his parents, broke off his story and put «To be continued in my next.» In his next letter he continues:
«I said to him: ‘Highly honoured master, for a long time I have wanted to hear an opinion on my compositions, and it would be….’
«Here the master interrupted me and said: ‘My dear child, I cannot give you an opinion of your compositions; I have far too little time; I can’t even get my own letters written. I understand nothing at all about music (Ich verstehe gar nichts von der Musik).’
«I asked the master whether I should ever be able really to do anything, and he said to me: ‘When I was your age and composing music, no one could tell me then whether I should ever do anything great. You could at most play me your compositions on the piano; but I have no time to hear them. When you are older, and when you have composed bigger works, and if by chance I return to Vienna, you shall show me what you have done. But that is no use now; I cannot give you an opinion of them yet.’
«When I told the master that I took the classics as models, he said: ‘Good, good. One can’t be original at first.’ And he laughed, and then said, ‘I wish you, dear friend, much happiness in your career. Go on working steadily, and if I come back to Vienna, show me your compositions.’
«Upon that I left the master, profoundly moved and impressed.»
this was: Wagner Came To Vienna In 1875
go to next chapter: Wolf and Wagner
