“Two overtures, some excerpts from an opera and the Death of Orpheus.”
“Zat competition cantata? I vill not ’ave zat! She is bad—bad; she is impossible to play.”
“You say so, monsieur; I judge differently. That a bad pianist could not play it is no reason that a good orchestra should not.”
“Zen it is for insult of ze Académie zat you play zis?”
“No, monsieur; it is simply as an experiment. If, as is possible, the Academy was right in saying my score could not be played, then certainly the orchestra will not play it. If the Academy was wrong, people will only say that I made good use of its judgment and have corrected my score.”
“You can only ’ave your conchert on ze Sunday.”
“Very well, I will take Sunday.”
“But zose poor employés—ze doorkeepers—zey ’ave but ze Sunday for repose zem. Vould you take zeir only rest-day? Zey vill die—zose poor folks—zey vill die of fatigue.”
“On the contrary, monsieur. These poor folks are delighted at the chance of earning a few extra francs, and they will not thank you for depriving them of it.”
“I vill not ’ave it; I vill not! And I write to ze Director zat he vizdraw permission.”