Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of August 1, 1881

Overview

The day begins with a festive breakfast in the garden turret, brightened by a letter from Count Gobineau, and Cosima plays piano duet excerpts from Götterdämmerung with their daughter while Wagner expresses pleasure at the work but irritation at the analyst's programmatic labels in the edition. After a peaceful evening walk and Wagner reading aloud his old essay "Art and Climate," he reflects that the essay was really an expression of his desire to have nothing to do with the world's art institutions, though in the Ring he remained true to himself. The night ends with Wagner pointing out the cloud formations in the sky and, recalled slightly later, a discussion of the structural limitations of Cherubini's Masses.

Content

Monday, August 1:

With “Now Get Up” and yodeling I am called downstairs. We have our breakfast in the summer turret. A letter from Count Gobineau about the French gives R. pleasure; he says it is so genuine.

I play excerpts from Götterdämmerung, arranged for piano duet, with Loldi. R. says he is pleased with the work. Unfortunately, in this edition there are a lot of markings such as “wanderlust motive,” “disaster motive,” etc. R. says, “And perhaps people will think all this nonsense is done at my request!” Sultry day, R. works. At 6 o’clock we set out on the path which goes past the mental institution, in spite of an overcast sky. We enjoy the nice scenery, rest in the woods, and return home toward 8 o’clock.

During the evening R. reads to us his article “Art and Climate”; while we are discussing it, he says, “It was supposed to say something like ‘Stop talking about art,’ but in fact I myself did not believe in a future, all I wanted was to have nothing to do with this world and its art institutes; I planned the Ring, and in it I have remained true to myself: there may have been some deviations, but no concessions.” R. shows us the night sky. Wain and Coffee Way, that is to say, long, striped, thin black clouds.

Added three pages later but referred back to this point: “In the evening we talked about Cherubini’s Masses, and R. observed that the design of the Mass is not artistic, the need, for example, to set the whole of the Credo to music, and then the isolated pieces.”