Dear friend,
On reading through Schemann’s “Cherubini”, I was struck by the following superficial thoughts, which I am not really disposed to encourage you to elaborate. They are:
1. Tragedy of Rossini, who could write only melodies but not develop them along academic lines.
2. Tragedy of Schumann, who failed to produce a single melody.
3. Tragedy of Brahms, who - in spite of his wealth of ideas - always remains tedious.
The tragedy of Mendelssohn, who was unable to find a truly German libretto - but this has already been dealt with by E. Devrient. -
There are various other tragedies. -
I find it tragic that, for all his eloquence, Schemann feels drawn towards cliquishness and abstruseness for which a lack of determinative impressions may well be to blame. His latest piece contains the most curious things, e.g. the first 10 lines of p. 28 &c. &c. One could, and can, take him to task for a number of odd remarks, such as Cherubini’s withdrawal into the Belgian countryside where he ended up because - being a great miser - he found life in Paris too expensive, and because he was never obliged to look out of the window of his Belgian castle. Even though it is not easy to hear Cherubini’s church music in Göttingen, I know from experience that the larger Catholic cathedrals in Cologne & Munich for example live off the stuff. - But all this is ultimately beside the point! - It is just that I find the article really belongs elsewhere, rather than in our journal, which ought to have scarcely enough space for what is correct and important; instead of which you poor devil seem obliged to accept what is incorrect and unimportant! -
Read your own introductory essay with the same deeply satisfied interest that I, for ex., felt on reading it, and then ask yourself what sort of a figure this extremely odd and forgivable - but not entirely understandable - Cherubini cuts immediately after it! - I intend writing you a proper letter some time, but am afraid of making a start on it! For today, only this light relief for my heart! Keep well!
Yours,
R.W.
P.S. I was very glad that Jäger had good weather for his journey back to Hanover!
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 491