The sun., 1918-12-25
RICHARD WAGNER'S
WIDOW DIES AT 76
Endured War Privations in
Germany Amid Memories of
Great Composer.
HAD NO FUEL IN WINTER
Wife Of Musician When She
Met Famous Artist Who
Won Her.

News has been received here OF the
death Of Nine. Cosima Wagner. widow
Of Richard wagner, at Bayreuth, Ger
many. at the age OF 76 years.
The Anal chapter Of Mime. wagner's
long and intensely Romantic history
was darkened by the war. For
woman OF her years and her presun-
ably great wealth she seems to have
suffered physical war time privations
to an astonishing degree. Christmas
Day was her birthday. and a year ago
on the eve of It she advertised in the
Frdnhtsche Ee;tunD her request to her
friends and acQuaintances not to pay
her their usual visits OF respect, al she
had no coal nor any other means of
heating the villa Wahnfried and was
obliged for warmth to keep to her bed.
Reckoning from the best authentl-
Gated birth date she would have been
~ on the Christmas OF 1918. Exactly
two months before Germany ran
amuck in 1914 her son, Siegfried
Wagner. announced that his mother
and he were TO present the entire
Wagner heritage to the German ma
uon. II includes the villa and the
famous opera house and grounds. all
at Bayreuth, together with the Wag-
ner manuscripts and relics. With the
sift was to go an endowment fund for
It's maintenance a. a permanent ma
| tional memorial.
Family Feud Barred.
At about the same time Mime. wag-
ner and siegfried Wagner wero before
the German courts suing to prevent
| Siegfried's sister, or half-sister, Frau
Isolde Biedler, whose husband was the
conductor of the Royal Opera at
Munich. from appending nee Wagner"
to her name Their case turned on the
question whether Isolde's father had
been Wagner or Nine. WRgner's first
husband. the pianist Hans con Buolow.
Nine, Wagner was ready to swear that
this one OF her daughters WIS Buelow s
child, but the Judges wanted indie
| pendent evidence and the trial was
| postponed. So far as the world knows
the case has never been called. Frau
Biedler contended that the real object
OF her mother and brother was to de-
prive her Of her interest in Wagner s
fortune. They countered by accusing
her OF having attempted extortion.
Cosima Wagner was one Of the
three children OF the temporary union
OF Franz List. the celebrated pianist
and the Countess d'Agoult. a French
woman Of more than common literary
talent She was we'll known By her
nom de guerre, Daniel Stern. Her in
umacy with List began in 1884 and
continued ten years. There were q
son and two daughters. The first and
the second (who became the wife of the
French statesman Emile Ollivier) arr
dead. The youngest, Cosima, was
born in ls41.
She spent her childhood with hel
parents, and when they separated she
remained with her father, whose &C.
tivities settled chiefly in Weimar
Meanwhile n gifted Young musician
Hans Won Buelow by name. was q
moved by the performance OF 'Lohen
grin" at Weimar under List that HI
abandoned the legal career planned by
his parents and went 10 Zurich e
throw himself at the feet OF his mu
steal deity, Richard Wagner, who wa!
then residing in the Swiss city an,
writing innumerable reams Of matte
TO demonstrate the value Of his ar
tisuc theories. Wagner procured hin
the post OF assistant conductor at tn,
opera, but after he had had 81!
months experience the great com
l it,1 ri lac 80
duction 10 Liszt.
"Amnity" IL Found.
Won Buelow became a student OF III,
piano under Liszt and soon afterwar,
fell in love with the daughter, Cosima
They were married in 1857. Mime. Vol
Buelow travelled with l,~- husband OF
his concert tours and engagements a
conductor. But their union was no
happy one. They might, however
have continued 1t much longer ha
not Nine, Won Buelow found her "affin
ity." The formidable task OF prepar
ing the first performance of Tristan
und Isolde" at Munich had been con
: flded to Wagners friend and forme
pupil Won Buelow. Nine. Won Buelow
with her two daughters, arrived in tn
Bavarian capital in June, 1864. an,
Won Buelow followed the next month
Wagner had been separated from hi
, first wife. Mlnna Planer, an actress
and in Cosima Won Buelow he foun,
"A spirit capable Of meeting and un
: Outstanding his own. a friendship wa
soon formed between them.
; Court intrigues drove Wagner GU
OF Munich, where It was believed tina
lie had too much influence with tn
King. Nine. Won Buelow and her chill
dren went with him 10 the Will
r Triobschen At Lucerne, while Vol
Buelow had to 10 to Basle to teach
/, Although Wagner returned to Munic
= diminished and Won Buelow wit
/; Richter as chorus master conducte
the rehearsals and first performance
= OF "Dic Meistersinger" in 1868, tn
, departure Of Nine Won Buelow 10
Lucerne in 1866 was really the en-
=, Of relations between her and her hus
band. Henceforth she became tn
companion of Wagner and In 1856
: their son Siegflied was born.
Unable TO Get Revenge.
4 The divorce OF his wife by Vo
S Buelow followed in the autumn of tn
n same year and on August 90, 1874
r Richard and Cosima were married /
n the little Protestant church OF Lu
e cerne. The attitude OF Won Buelo'
throughout this painful part of hi
life was characterized best by h