248. To Alexander Borodin, Caesar Cui, Anatolie Liadoff and Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakoff in St. Petersburg
Very Honored Gentlemen,
You have done a work of serious value under the form of a jest. Your "Paraphrases" charm me: nothing can be more ingenious than these 24 Variations and the 16 little pieces upon the favorite and obligato subject
[Here, Liszt writes a 4-bar musical score excerpt of the main theme of the 24 Variations]
In short, here we have an admirable compendium of the science of harmony, of counterpoint, of rhythms, of figuration, and of what in German is called "The Theory of Form" (Formenlehre)! I shall gladly suggest to the teachers of composition at all the Conservatoires in Europe and America to adopt your "Paraphrases" as a practical guide in their teaching. From the very first page, the Variations II. and III. are true gems; and not less the other numbers continuously, up to the grotesque Fugue and the "Cortege" which crown the whole work gloriously. Thanks for this dainty feast, gentlemen, and I beg that when any one of you brings out a new composition he will let me know it. My most lively, my highest and most sympathising esteem has for many years been assured to you; pray accept also the expression of my sincere devotion.
F. Liszt
Weimar, June 15th, 1879
249. To Capellmeister Professor Jos. Bohm in Vienna
Honored Herr Vereinsleiter [Conductor of a Verein (Society)], I follow your edifying endeavors in the Cacilien-Verein with sincere interest. It seems singular that they should stumble on obstacles. What is in question? Innovations?…By no means. The noblest Conservatism remains the essence and aim of the Cacilien- Verein; it merely demands a serious study and proper performances of the most dignified classical authors in Church music, Palestrina and Lassus at the head. Nothing can reasonably be objected to this, and you may confidently maintain, dear sir, that "recognition must take place and the good cause prove victorious."
I beg you will put down my name as a subscriber to your "Vienna journal for Catholic Church music," [Professor Bohm was at that time the editor of it, and had invited subscriptions for a monument to the musical historian Ambros.] and have the numbers which have already appeared addressed to me in Weimar.