Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of May 14, 1873

Overview

R. is too unwell to work, so the speaker takes over correspondence and quietly manages obligations on his behalf. Much of the day is shaped by secrecy, as she rearranges meetings to slip away to a rehearsal and tries to preserve a small surprise for him. The evening confirms that the plan will succeed, even as a broader financial crisis and talk of bankruptcy underscore how unstable the wider world feels.

Content

Wednesday, May 14:

R. is still not well and cannot even work today; I write on his behalf to Marquise Pepoli-Hohenzollern, who is looking for unpublished compositions for an Italian charity concert.

I am having many difficulties with my secrecy and have to call the Thursday gathering for today so that I can secretly go to the rehearsal. R. suspects nothing so far—how dearly I wish to give him a little pleasure! Sascha Ritter arrived today—he is also here in secret.

In the evening, while the meeting was going on, I went to the rehearsal—it will be all right! The discussion at the meeting chiefly concerned the financial crisis, which seems to be very substantial; Vienna is said to be bankrupt, and nobody can make do. This is the result of copying Paris.