I hope you have
received the pianoforte arrangement of "Rheingold" which Schott
has published. If not I will send it you. You might render a
great service by a discussion of this wonderful work. Allow me to
stir you up to do this. The summer days allow you now more
working hours; realize some of these with "Rheingold." The task
for you is neither a. difficult nor a thankless one; as soon as
you have seized upon the principal subjects representing the
various personages, and their application and restatement, the
greater part of the work is done. Let us then sing with Peter
Cornelius, -
"O Lust am Rheine, Am heimischen Strande! In sonnigem Scheine
Ergluhen die Lande; Es lachen die Haine, Die Felsengesteine Im
Strahlengewande Am heimischen Strande, Am wogenden Rheine!"
[Free translation, -
"O joy of the Rhine And its homelike shore! Where the bright
sunshine Gilds the landscape o'er; Where the woods are greenest,
The skies serenest, In that home of mine By the friendly shore Of
the billowy Rhine!"]
On the 30th of this month I am going to Paris for a couple of
weeks - and towards the end of May I shall meet my daughter Cosima
in Reichenhall, where she has to go through the whey-cure. Thank
God, she is again on the road to recovery! You can imagine what
grief took possession of me when I saw Cosima last winter
suffering from a similar complaint to Daniel! -
I have satisfactory tidings from the Princess from Rome. The
climate is having a very beneficial effect on her nerves, and she
feels herself, in that respect, far more at home than in
Germany...
She writes wonders to me about the last cartoons of Cornelius,
[The celebrated painter was the uncle of the addressee.] and her
personal relations with the great master have proved most
friendly.
What will become of me in the latter part of the summer does not
yet appear. But let us hold fast to our meeting again here at the
beginning of August.
Yours from my heart,
F. Liszt
April l8th, 1861
A thousand hearty greetings to Tausig.
255. To Hoffmann von Fallersleben
Dear, excellent friend,
I have received the enclosed note for you from the Princess. It
comes to you with my most heartfelt greetings. Please forgive me
for not having this time sent you my good wishes on the 2nd
April; [Hoffmann's birthday, and at the same time Liszt's name-
day] but as long as the Princess's absence lasts I recognize only
sorrowful anniversaries and no festivals of rejoicing. Meanwhile
rest assured that I think of you always with faithful friendship,
and remain ever truly devoted to you.
F. Liszt
April 18th, 1861
P.S. - I send you herewith the "Vereins-Lied" - and three other of
your songs.
