Honored Friend!
Many thanks for the beautiful Christmas present with which you've made me very happy; I only regretted that none of the works carried the signature of the giver; for this I should have been especially grateful.
But now I have to justify myself against your reproach that I did not answer you in detail. I wrote to you on November 4 and on November 11. I can give the exact dates because since Berlin I've kept a record of all letters, those received and those sent. It seems that the second letter did not reach you. The arrangement of the Faust Overture is finished—I've followed your directions wherever possible. Liszt's presence necessitated such an endless amount of writing, running about, etc., that I had to stay in bed for eight days, sick from exhaustion and exertion. The Conservatory demanded that I make up for lost time, and so it is only now that I have the chance to make a neat copy. This could not be taken care of by a copyist because of the necessity of choosing between the variously arranged versions to which a great many individual passages gradually forced me. By New Year's you shall receive the fair copy which I promised.
The first performance of Tannhäuser definitely takes place on Friday, January 4. The King has personally attended to the scenery and costumes with special interest. All of us live in the greatest excitement because of it. I've given up my journalistic profession—mainly on your advice; actually nothing came of that but the most incredible exasperation and indignation of the entire Philistia. The reviewers have taken their revenge on Liszt; but the Liszt concert thus has beautifully paved the way for the success of the opera—just as the recent fiasco of the Heinrich Overture of Joachim had a most beneficial effect on your Lohengrin excerpts.
The Faust Overture is not scheduled to be performed until the first concert of the second cycle—fortunately, Stern has realized that he does not understand it and cannot conduct it, and therefore he has given it to me. I don't think I've told you yet about my success as conductor and expressed my thanks to you for your previous efforts which you so unselfishly made.
At the final concert of the first cycle the Coriolan Overture will be played in order to soothe somewhat the aroused tempers and maliciously to provoke them to renew their subscriptions for the new concerts. I presume that you will permit me to reprint your program notes on the overture? It seems to me that this will also have a useful influence upon the Faust Overture. In Cologne and Leipzig, orchestra, conductor, and public seem to have made fools of themselves; I hope things will turn out better here.
A few performances of Tannhäuser will help considerably. Kossak will probably switch to your side. Liszt personally has had a good influence on him. He'll be the more inclined to do it because, in view of my withdrawal, he has the chance to enter into lone opposition against all the remaining critics, something which he usually enjoys doing.
Rellstab has been somewhat intimidated by me through a personal provocation, which he has evaded. Altogether the matter is not as bad as it appears on the surface. I hope to report to you soon about other things which concern me and which will probably interest you too, since you unwittingly played the main part in them.
My address at present is: Wilhelmstrasse No. 49, since Liszt's daughters, who worship you, live with my mother, and there is no more room for me.
Give my best regards to Carl Ritter—I'll answer him at New Year's. His letter to Joachim was forwarded to Hanover, where J. is at present spending a few months, on the day and hour it was received. Liszt is coming here for the first performance in order to pay Hülsen a courtesy. That Dorn is conducting is relatively fortunate. Taubert is too big a rascal, although Johanna denies it.
Have you read Raff's pamphlet (The Wagner Question), and briefly what do you think of it?
Once more, a thousand thanks. Take care of yourself!
Always your
Hans v. Bülow
Source: Letters of Richard Wagner: The Burrell Collection, ed. John N. Burk (Macmillan, 1950), No. 162