Dear Friend,
Although as a general rule I consider that it is not the business of the Neue Zeitschrift to go in for polemics, yet it seems to me that the little notice that Hanslick has put in No. 49 of the Vienna Presse, Saturday, the 18th February, is of such a kind that one must not ignore it.
The Presse is a paper with a tremendous circulation in the monarchy, and Hanslick counts among the leaders of our opponents; it would therefore be worth while to make an exception by coming forward on this occasion, unless (which I cannot as yet believe) your Vienna correspondent has been guilty of the mischievous conduct which Hanslick so severely reports. This point must first be made clear—whether in the third (or possibly an earlier) concert of Herr Boskowitz an exchange of a Schumann for a Liszt piece occurred. [Instead of the Liszt piece "Au bord d'une source," which stood on the programme, Boskowitz had played the "Jagdlied" from Schumann's "Waldscenen," which did not prevent a correspondent (namely, the correspondent of the Deutsche Musikzeitung, as the Neue Zeitschrift of 24th February, 1860, gave out) from loudly carping at the supposed Liszt composition.] Possibly also your correspondent made use of the expression "The Vienna Press" in general, and did not refer specially to the paper Die Presse, [This was actually the case] or was referring to other remarks of Hanslick's…
This is only the second time for many years past, dear friend, that I have drawn your attention to notices in the paper. On the first occasion, when the Augsburger Allgemeine gave that infamous correspondence about the venality of the Neue Zeitschrift, your striking answer gave the most convincing proof of what part the opponents were studying to play!—I hope it will be possible to despatch Hanslick's notice (which I enclose) in a similar fashion. But it is necessary to get at the exact truth before inveighing against them—for Hanslick is no easy opponent, and if one once attacks him it must be with suitable weapons and without giving quarter. The words "denunciation proceedings," "Gessler caps of the party of the future," and especially the concluding sentence, "As long as Herr Brendel," etc., are a challenge, which deserves more than a faint-hearted reproof! I would also advise you to send a duplicate of your reply to the Presse in Vienna, at the same time as it is published in the Zeitschrift. The editors of the Presse will be certain to reject it, according to the usual method of the clique impartiality of those gentlemen. But the scandalous examples of the latter will be thus increased by one more.
It is easy also to see beforehand that Hanslick will not let the matter rest at this first notice, and will continue the discussion.
Hearty greetings.
F.L.P.S.—In case your Vienna correspondent should be quite in the wrong, it would be better simply to be silent and wait for a better opportunity.
235. To Dr. Franz Brendel
[March or April 1860]
Dear Friend,