While speaking of Holland, I may add that Herr Vermeulen (General Secretary of the "Maatschappy" ["Maatschappy tot bevordering der toonkunst.">[) is coming to see me here early in August. This offers me a good opportunity of being of service to you in regard to your concert arrangements in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, etc., of which I will not fail to make use. More of this viva voce. Meanwhile, it would be better for you not to write there.
I enclose several notes of acknowledgment for E., Dr. F., B. and
K., to which I beg you will kindly attend.
And now one more commission, which you can easily fulfill through Rosavoegly, [Music publisher in Budapest] with my best greetings to him. In my reply to the official letter of H. R. von Fekete yesterday I forgot to repeat that, in order to avoid loss of time, it is easy to have the voice parts (solos and chorus) written out before my arrival, and as carefully as possible, clean and clearly. I will willingly discharge the copyist's fee, and the orchestral parts I will bring with me together with the score, so that the rehearsals may begin as soon as the performers taking part in it are assigned to me.
I confidently hope that we shall have a very fine performance, without trouble and worry, and one in which musicians as well as audience will find pleasure and edification. The length of the Mass will also fulfill the required dimensions, and yesterday I hunted out a couple of "cuts," which could be made, if necessary, without any essential harm to the work. You know, dear Singer, that I am a special virtuoso in the matter of making cuts, in which no one else can easily approach me!—
I am simply not disposed, in spite of much prudent advice, to cut my Mass and myself altogether, all the less so as my friends and countrymen have on this occasion shown themselves so kind and good to me. I therefore owe it to them to give them active proof that their confidence and sympathy in me are not wholly undeserved—and with God's help this shall be irrefragably proved!
For the rest I want to keep very quiet and private this time in Pest. Composers of my sort write, it is true, plenty of drum and trumpet parts, but by no means require the too common flourish of trumpets and drums, because they are striving after a higher aim, which is not to be attained by publicity.
"Auf baldiges Wiedersehen," ["To a speedy meeting">[ dear friend— I leave here by the 9th August at latest. Meanwhile best thanks for your letter,—and
Ever yours,
F. Liszt
July 28th, 1856.