In the early part of April you shall hear when I am coming to
Lowenberg.
192. To Alexander Seroff
My dear Sir,
By what I said in the Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik, [1858, No. 1, in the article "Oulibicheff and Seroff.">[ on New Year's Day, of your remarkable articles on Oulibicheff, you will have seen to what point I take your ideas into consideration, and how closely we meet in our musical convictions. To the sincere eulogies which I have had much pleasure in addressing to you in public, it remains to me to add those which I owe you for the conscientious work that you have had the kindness to communicate to me by sending me the pianoforte score of Beethoven's Quartet in C sharp minor. Without the least exaggeration, I don't think anything of its kind could have been better done, as much on account of the intelligent division of the parts between the two pianos, as by the skill with which you have appropriated to the piano the style of this Quartet, without forcing or disfiguring anything.
In this latter task there are without doubt some impossibilities which one cannot fail to recognize, and, whatever effort we may make, we shall never succeed in rendering on our instrument either the intensity or the delicacy of the violin bow. In the same manner the coloring, and the fine nuances of the violin, viola, and violoncello will always escape us—but in spite of this it is due to you in justice to recognize that your work identifies itself as far as possible with the sentiment and thought of the original, and that you have frequently succeeded in supplementing the poverty and defects inherent in such an arrangement.
About six weeks ago I sent your manuscript to Mr. Schott, the editor, at Mainz, recommending him to publish your arrangement. Up to the present time I have received no reply, which, however, seems to me a good sign. As soon as ever I hear his determination I will let you know. Possibly in the course of the summer you will find a few weeks' leisure to make a journey into these parts and to bring us the complete collection of your arrangements of Beethoven's latter instrumental works. In that case let me beg of you, my dear sir, not to forget me, and to rest assured beforehand of the lively interest that I shall take in your work, which it would be doubly interesting to me to go through with you. Bearing in mind the original, we should probably find, between us, some details to modify previous to a definite publication.
For today allow me to thank you once more, my dear sir, very cordially for having associated me in thought with your beautiful work, and pray accept the expression of very sincere and affectionate regard of
Yours very truly,
F. Liszt
Weymar, January 8th, 1858