Diary Entry of May 13, 1876
More arrivals brought fresh reports, among them Lesimple’s story that Hiller had behaved theatrically after a Düsseldorf concert and tried to ingratiate himself with Wagner’s father. He also heard that Hiller was scheming to keep wealthy Cologne patrons away from Bayreuth. The entry is full of suspicion and political maneuvering around the festival.
Saturday, May 13:
Several new arrivals, among them Herr Lesimple, who tells us that Herr Hiller actually had the effrontery, after the concert in Düsseldorf at which my father played, to climb demonstratively onto the platform and to stage an embrace, which my father eluded with a formal greeting.
Also, Hiller’s plots to keep the rich citizens of Cologne away from Bayreuth.