F. Liszt
Weimar, October 18th, 1884
351. To the Composer Mili Balakireff, Conductor of the Imperial Court Choir in St. Petersburg
Very honored, dear Confrere,
My admiring sympathy for your works is well known. When my young disciples want to please me they play me your compositions and those of your valiant friends. In this intrepid Russian musical phalanx I welcome from my heart masters endowed with a rare vital energy; they suffer in no wise from poverty of ideas—a malady which is widespread in many countries. More and more will their merits be recognised, and their names renowned. I accept with gratitude the honor of the dedication [to me] of your Symphonic Poem "Thamar," which I hope to hear next summer with a large orchestra. When the 4-hand edition comes out you will greatly oblige me by sending me a copy. From the middle of January until Easter I shall be at Budapest.
Please accept, dear confrere, the expression of my high esteem and cordial attachment.
F. Liszt
Weimar, October 2lst, 1884
352. To Countess Louise de Mercy-Argenteau
[Known through her zealous propaganda, in Belgium and France, of the music of the New Russian School. After the death of her husband (1888), Chamberlain of Napoleon III., she left her native land of Belgium and removed to St. Petersburg, where she died in November 1890.]