F. Liszt
Rome, January 10th, 1886
376. To Walter Bache
My Very Dear Friend,
They seem determined in London to push me to the Piano.
I cannot consent to this in public, as my seventy-five-year-old fingers are no longer suited to it, and Bulow, Saint-Satins, Rubinstein, and you, dear Bache, play my compositions much better than what is left of my humble self.
Perhaps it would be opportune if friend Hueffer would have the kindness to let the public know, by a short announcement, that Liszt only ventures to appear as a grateful visitor, and neither in London nor anywhere else as a man with an interest in his fingers.
In all friendship yours,
F. Liszt
Budapest, February 11th, 1886