The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-09-10

| COmnOtot
him in this piece weInlie permitted him t
write something to suit his own taste. and tn
result was a fantasia in + sharp minor TO
piano which has never been printed but which
Is said to be interesting and individual An
| other piece OF the same period. com
| posed after n model Of Beethoven. was
produced at a Gewandhaus concert In Leip
| sic with encouraging success. but OF more Inn
| portance than these shorter compositions was
asymphony In c minor which had q striking
history. After ompleting this Wagner placed
II In his trunk and made trip to Vienna. for no
other purpose as he relates. then to get a
glimpse OF that famed musical centre. What
he heard and saw there was not to his edinca
ton: wherever no went he heard Zampa or
strsuss's potpourris on Tampa, two things
that we're an sbomination to him. especially
at that time On his return. he remained some
time In Prague where he made the acauaint-
ance OF Dionys Weber. who had his symphony
played at the Conservatory A year later 1t
was played again at Lepsic. The score was
then submitted to Mendelssobn. and that
was the last that was heard OF It for more than
forty years Luckily. the separate orchestral
parts had not been given to Mendslssohn:
they might still be In existence. but where2
SO thought Wagner about the time OF the frst
Bayreuth festival. and. as he had founded
sort Of Wagner museum for his son siegfried.
he was anxious to add the manuscript Of his
symphony to this collection. SO he asked Will
helm Tappert to use his detective genius for
its discovery. and theroupon persistent In
quiries were made In every direction. At last
in November. 1877. Prof Furstenan. Royal
Librarian in Dresden. succeeded in finding In
a box which Wagner had left in the house OF
the tenor Tichatschek. when he fed from
Dresden. tho manuscripts OF three Of his ear
lier overtures and tho violin part OF some
other composition. These were sent to Tap
pert, who. from some signs. discovered that
the violin part must belong to the symphony
sought for. Further search revealed the
other parts. excepting the two trombones.
Tappert forthwith sent the discovered treasure
to Bayreuth. where Frau Cosima surprised
and delighted her husband BY playing to him
the motif Of one Of the movements. He jumped
up excitedly and exclaimed. my old SYM
phony-that is itl' Having recovered the
parts Of the score he asked his secretary
Anton Seidl. to put them together into a new
score. and tho missing trombone parts were
added. Then for six years the symphony
rested In the "Siegfried Archiv." His wife's
birthday on Christmas. 1882. was selected as
he date OF the performance, to which only o
lew friends Of the family were to DO invited.
The performance took place at Venice. and
he well-known italian critic. Filippo
Filippi. who happened to be there at
he time. observed that the style Of it
vas an imitation OF Beethoven. although |
t remained essentially individual. There |
s no doubt that Besthoven's influence was |
hown In tho structure. and In not a few allu- |
lions OF tho symphony. for Beethoven was at
hat time. as during the remainder OF his life. |
ho special idol Of Wagner. Many years later
n hic fNr
Beethoven by the monument OF artistic enthu-
iasm. the essay on the earlier composers.
which takes UP seventy-four pages in his col
scted works. and was written at the age OF 81.
lot to speak OF tho countless references to
Beethoven and his works scattered through va
ious papers. 1t was one Of Heine's Jokes that
Wagner in Paris always had the words ami
e Beethoren printed on his visiting cards.
".
Mr. Finck has dwelt somewhat longer on
that may be called the concert period Of Wag-
ers life than other bographers have done.
ecause the facts thus brought together show
nat. as he had already mastered tho tech
ique OF symphonic composition before his
Wentieth year. he might have lived to equal,
not surpass. his greatest predecessors
this fold. had not his theatrical in
tlncts urged him into the domain of the mu-
10 drama or Wagner's earliest music dra-
las. two had a curious fate. The first, THE
had medieval subject. An in
me lover climbs through the window into
IL bedroom OF his friends betrothed. who is
waiting her bridegroom. The bride strug-
les with the mailman. and throws him
OWN into tho courtyard. whore he gives up
10 ghost. At the funeral rites. the bride ut
RS a cry and falls dead on the corpse. or
10 opera. only three numbers were set to |
usic. whereupon the libretto was destroyed
the composer himself The second OF his
'eras. The Fairies. although com pleted was {
'vor performed during his lifetime. This
ork was composed at Wnrzburg. whittier
agner had gone at the age OF twenty to visit
8 brother Albert. who was engaged in the c
eatre there as singer. actor. and stage |
anager. Nobody would produce Tho Fair '
J" at that time. and its first performance v
ok place In 1883. at Munich. fity-hys !
ars after its completion. The truth is V
at Wagner was not proud of this opera a
later years. yet It had an unexpected sue
BE-. 1t had run almost like an operetta
ring the first season. and is still played
lite frequently. especially during the tourist
ason. when many Of the Bayreuth pilgrims -
1t Munich. Musically. the cost obvious !.
lit OF this opera is its imitation of Beethoven "
eber. and Mozart. There are in it, also. a q
Y germs Of the ideas which were afterward \
veloped In "Rienzi" and THE Flying n
lehman" The management OF the orchcs- =,
already showed much OF the Ingenuity n
Itch subsequently, enabled the composer to >,
ite the magnificent ensembles In "Lohen- "
In" and the "Meistersinger" 1t should Il
'ther be noted that in his first two operas. I,
throughout his whole career. Wagner adj r
red to the plan of writing his own dramatic +.
ems. He was convinced that dramatic mu- NJ
to be perfect. must not be mere lining to d
poetic costume. but both the poem ana the t.
Isle must be conceived at the same time and fc
billy interviewer. When Wagner was but "
leteen years old his friend Laube offered q
n a lbretto entitled Kosclusko. and In the l.
I two decades OF his life any literary man al
Germany would have been only too glad to d,
Y himself with such successful composer al
from the beginning to the end Wagner d
uld onter into no such partnership. In 1882 re
wrote to a young author in Vienna dsclin- &C
an opera libretto which the latter had for. III