[180] By Mr. Philip Hale.
WAGNER
(Richard Wagner: born in Leipsic, May 22, 1813; died in Venice, February 13, 1883)
"A 'FAUST' OVERTURE" [181]
Wagner, during his sojourn in Paris in 1840, wrote an orchestral piece which, as he relates, he called an "overture to Goethe's 'Faust,' but which was in reality intended for the first section of a grand 'Faust' symphony." The curious and interesting history of this work may best be told in excerpts from Wagner's correspondence with his devoted friend and benefactor, Franz Liszt. Liszt, to whom Wagner had sent the manuscript of the overture in 1848, wrote in 1852 (October 7th), some months after he had produced the overture at Weimar:[182]
"The work is quite worthy of you; but, if you will allow me to make a remark, I must confess that I should like either a second middle part or else a quieter and more agreeably colored treatment of the present middle part. The brass is a little too massive there, and—forgive my opinion—the motive in F is not satisfactory: it wants grace in a certain sense, and is a kind of hybrid thing, neither fish nor flesh, which stands in no proper relation of contrast to what has gone before and what follows, and in consequence impedes the interest. If instead of this you introduced a soft, tender, melodious part, modulated à la Gretchen, I think I can assure you that your work would gain very much. Think this over, and do not be angry in case I have said something stupid."
To this Wagner responded (November 9, 1852): "You beautifully spotted the lie when I tried to make myself believe that I had written an overture to 'Faust.' You have felt quite justly what is wanting: the woman is wanting. Perhaps you would at once understand my tone-poem if I called it 'Faust in Solitude.' At that time I intended to write an entire 'Faust' symphony. The first movement, that which is ready, was this 'Solitary Faust,' longing, despairing, cursing. The 'feminine' floats around him as an object of his longing, but not in its divine reality; and it is just this insufficient image of his longing which he destroys in his despair. The second movement was to introduce Gretchen, the woman. I had a theme for her, but it was only a theme. The whole remains unfinished. I wrote my 'Flying Dutchman' instead. This is the whole explanation. If now, from a last remnant of weakness and vanity, I hesitate to abandon this 'Faust' work altogether, I shall certainly have to remodel it, but only as regards instrumental modulation. The theme which you desire I cannot introduce. This would naturally involve an entirely new composition, for which I have no inclination. If I publish it, I shall give it its proper title, 'Faust in Solitude,' or 'The Solitary Faust: a Tone-Poem for Orchestra.'"
He did not "abandon" it. Writing to Liszt from Zurich in January, 1855, he congratulated him on the completion of his "Faust" symphony, and added: "It is an absurd coincidence that just at this time I have been taken with a desire to remodel my old 'Faust' overture. I have made an entirely new score, have rewritten the instrumentation throughout, have made many changes, and have given more expansion and importance to the middle portion (second motive). I shall give it in a few days at a concert here, under the title of 'A "Faust" Overture.' The motto will be:
"'Der Gott, der mir im Busen wohnt,