Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of April 26, 1881

Overview

After a miserable night, Wagner remains in low spirits throughout the day, and news that Lusch's grandfather has appeared on the scene does nothing to lift his mood. He returns to his "Introduction" to add a passage, ruefully acknowledging that he first overestimated the significance of the Gobineau article, a pattern he recognizes from past misjudgments. The doctor visits and gently reassures Cosima, though he expresses concern that Wagner relies too heavily on medication.

Content

Tuesday, April 26:

R. had a very bad night and is in a state of great depression all day. The news Lusch sends us of the presence of her grandfather is also not calculated to raise his spirits. He adds something to his Introduction, having noticed that the same thing has happened to him in connection with the Gobineau article as with many other things, the Scherzo in the Beethoven quartet, etc., that is, that he first took it to be more significant than it is. The doctor calms my worries.

When R. says he wishes his whole character could be changed, the doctor says jokingly, “If I could do that, I still wouldn’t, or at any rate, I should think carefully about it beforehand.” But he regrets that R. takes so much medicine. Whist, but no cheerful spirits.

Herr Neumann’s telegram yesterday asking about the horse (Grane) has greatly annoyed R.