F. Liszt
Budapest, March 8th, 1876
187. To Madame Jessie Laussot,
Dear excellent Friend,
The Commander Casamorata has written to me again about the fete of Bartolomeo Cristofori. I have replied to him that my answer had been already received by you in the month of January '75, and that I can only repeat the same excuses. I copy the last lines of my letter to Casamorata that you may have the exact particulars:- -
"Without reckoning that for more than thirty years I have not belonged to the active lists of pianists and only desire the honorable repose of an invalid, I permit myself to remark that the duty of celebrating the inventor of the pianoforte in Italy belongs by preference to Italian pianists of note, such as M. Buonamici (in Florence) and M. Sgambati (in Rome), etc."—
In conclusion, I scarcely could leave Germany all this summer (except for the visit to the Chateau de Loo), and I shall probably be obliged to return to Hungary after Bayreuth, where I hope still to find you.
Yours very devotedly,
F. Liszt
Budapest, March 18th, 1876