Tomorrow evening more by word of mouth.
Sincerely yours,
F. Liszt
Monday
139. To Countess Marie Dunhoff in Vienna
[Sketch of a letter in the possession of Herr O. A. Schulz, bookseller in Leipzig.—The addressee, the wife of the German ambassador Von Bulow, lives now in Bucharest.]
[Beginning of January, 1874]
Dear Countess,
You speak to me so eloquently of the merit, talent and superiority of Madame L.B. that I am quite ashamed of not fulfilling her wish subito. But in reality that would be more difficult than she imagines; a "petit morceau de piano" would only be a small part of the matter; the public is a very exacting master, even in its days of favor; the more it gives the more it expects…
Half a dozen such requests as that of Madame L.B. have been addressed to me at Vienna this week. How can one suffice for such a business, which, be it said in passing, is at once outside and far beyond my duties?—At my age one must try to behave reasonably, and to avoid excess; I shall therefore limit myself in Vienna to the one concert of the "Kaiser Franz Joseph Stiftung," [Emperor Francis Joseph Scholarship] which reasons of great propriety, easy to understand, have led me to accept with alacrity. I am told that it will take place on Sunday, 11th January; so be it: I shall willingly conform to the arrangements of the Committee and have no other wish in this matter than…not to inconvenience anybody. [The concert for the "Emperor Francis Joseph Scholarship" did not take place till April; and Liszt did actually play, in the Easter week, for the Countess's protegee, though not in the Concert Room, but in the Palais Auersperg.]