Scarcely had Spohr returned to Cassel than he was again upon the move, and this time to Bonn, where on the 11th. of August the inauguration of the monument to Beethoven was to be celebrated. To the invitation that had been sent to him many weeks before, to conduct a portion of the musical performance upon the occasion, he had at first, it is true, replied declining it, as a special leave of absence would have been necessary for him to proceed thither, and after having already applied for one the year before to direct the Brunswick musical festival, he did not like to make a similar application so soon. It was however shortly announced to him in a second letter, that the committee of the festival having been informed that the Prince was then staying at Cologne for a few days, they had despatched a deputation thither to invite him and the Countess Schaumburg to the approaching ceremony in her native town of Bonn, and to solicit at the same a leave of absence for Spohr, which had been graciously granted. As no further obstacle now intervened, Spohr lost no time in proceeding thither, to lend his personal assistance at the grand festival, which had drawn together from far and near the musical youth of Germany, to do honour to the great master whose memorial was to be inaugurated.
Of the festivities preceding and subsequent to the uncovering of the statue—the launching of the steam-boat “Ludwig van Beethoven,” the excursion to Nonnenwerth, the grand procession, the pyrotechnic display, illumination, banquet and ball—all these things have been so frequently described verbally and in writing by many who were present at the festival, that we will here only concisely advert to its musical features.
In the first grand concert Beethoven’s mass in D major and the ninth symphony were performed under Spohr’s direction, and as the published accounts of the festival express it, “both these works, which present very great difficulties, were performed with the most finished execution, so that this concert alone, combined with the sight of the hall in which it took place, was well worth the journey to Bonn.” On the following day, Beethoven’s grand mass in C major was performed at the celebration of divine service in the minster church, and upon the uncovering of the statue a festive cantata by Breitenstein was performed under his direction. At the second grand concert in the hall Spohr, by the desire of Lisst, again directed a part, while the services of the latter, as an active member of the committee, being continually required in various departments, with the exception of his performance of Beethoven’s pianoforte concerto in E major, he confined himself to the direction of the C minor symphony and some “numbers” of the Fidelio. The third, so-called musicians’ concert, was subjected of a necessity to many changes of the fourteen pieces of which its programme consisted, as, besides the Princes who were already arrived, the King and Queen of Prussia, the Queen of England with her consort, and other exalted personages were expected at the solemnities of the inauguration of the statue, and Lisst did not like to begin his festive cantata before their arrival. But it became at length necessary to make a beginning, and scarcely was the first “number” of Lisst’s cantata concluded, than the royal personages made their appearance, and the assembled company saluted them with the national-hymn: “Heil Dir im Siegerkranz;” after which Lisst had the whole cantata repeated; upon the conclusion of which it was left to the two Queens to make the selection of the next musical-pieces which were to be performed in their presence. It was thus, that not only the pieces of the programme were changed from their announced order of succession, but several of the pieces were necessarily wholly omitted on account of the delay that had thus occurred; and the musical part of the festival was brought to a termination in a somewhat unsatisfactory manner, and without a real and proper conclusion in the opinion of a majority of the auditory. A chosen few, however, among whom was Spohr, received an invitation to the grand court concert, given by the King of Prussia in honour of his exalted guests at his palace of the Brühl, in the neighbourhood. Meyerbeer directed, and the programme consisted, with the exception of some pianoforte-pieces performed by Lisst, of song-pieces only, sung by the most eminent vocalists, Messrs. Mantius, Pischeck and Staudigl, with Mdmes. Lind, Garcia and Tuczek.
After a summer so busily occupied, and in which Spohr was deprived of all leisure for composing, the impulse to write something new was awakened but the more strongly upon his return to Cassel, and several instrumental compositions followed each other in quick succession, to which style of art, since the termination of his opera, his whole mind again more especially addressed itself. About this period he wrote his 15th. violin-concerto (E minor, Op. 128, published by Schuberth), which he first played at the subscription-concerts in Cassel, and in July 1845 at the previously mentioned musical festival at Oldenburg, and then in commemoration of that event dedicated it to Poll the music director of that place. This was followed by the sixth quintet for stringed instruments (E minor Op. 129, published by Breitkopf & Härtel); and in the course of the winter by a quintet for pianoforte, two violins, viola and violincello, in D minor (Op. 130, published by Schuberth); the 30th. quartet for stringed instruments (Op. 132, published by Breitkopf); and a quartet concerto for two violins, viola and violincello, with orchestra—the latter of which was played at the next subscription concerts, and by the addition of the rich instrumental accompaniment proved especially adapted as a simple quartet for performance at a concert in a spacious building. Before it had appeared in print (Op. 130, at Schuberth’s), it was sent for from London and Vienna, and especially asked for at Leipzic, at which place the directors of the Gewandhaus concerts were always extremely desirous of being able to announce in their programme a new composition in manuscript by Spohr. Such upon this occasion was also the sentiment of M. Hauptmann in a letter to Spohr: “Everything coming from you, old or new, always finds the most favourable reception here: one can easily judge from the applause whether a thing merely pleases, or whether it makes a deep pleasurable impression, and that is always the case with your things. Either song or instrumental music of yours is always listened to with real predilection, the concert-loving public finds itself then in an atmosphere that suits it; and in this manner also the quartet concerto (with the execution of which I was not altogether satisfied) met with a very warm approval. To my mind it is perfectly Spohrisch, i. e. as masterly, as it is replete with feeling: the great difficulties attending such an undertaking are not in the least perceptible when listening to it, and as in your double quartets, the greatest clearness is always apparent in the most scientific combinations, which cannot always be said of other compositions that overstep the limits of the ordinary; that is, what the initiated understand and consider as high art, but which the mere hearer of feeling finds pleasing and which put him in good humour,” &c. The correspondence upon these subjects was chiefly conducted by Mendelssohn, who also made the proposition to introduce the third act of the Crusaders as a whole, in one of the concerts there, and afterwards announced to Spohr, who was of opinion that this opera in particular was not very suited to the purpose, his entire satisfaction: “The first time I saw your work in Berlin, the third act appeared to me the most spirited, and finest in the whole opera, and I was convinced that it would be very effective in a concert. You seemed to doubt it, and therefore I am the more pleased that yesterday’s performance of it made so great an impression, which, to judge from the attention of the auditory, the applause and their observations, appears to me very evident... The chorus was about two hundred strong, and the hymn in H major, the chorus for male voices in C major, and then the scene in the convent, sounded wonderfully fine. A thousand hearty thanks for this enjoyment, and for all the many beautiful things for which we are indebted to you.... Unfortunately I was not able so to manage that the direction of this concert would fall to me; but it went so well under Gade, and he had made himself so well acquainted with the whole work, that even you would scarcely have desired more,” &c.
In striking contrast with these friendly words of acknowledgement from so competent a judge, a circumstance occurred about the same time, which from being considered by Spohr himself as the only one of the kind throughout his long musical career, may not be undeserving of special mention here. Though the opera of the Crusaders had been sent by special request to Dresden for performance there, upwards of a twelvemonth, it had never yet been put upon the stage; and during that time the directors Reissiger and Wagner, as also the celebrated tenor Tichatscheck, for whose splendid voice the part of Balduin seemed almost purposely written, had repeatedly expressed by letter their pleasure with the work, and their regret at the constantly recurring delays, which deprived them of all hope of Spohr’s proceeding there to direct it—when suddenly, to his great astonishment, the score, not a little worn and defaced, was sent back from Dresden, without honorarium, and even without the libretto, to which Spohr had with much trouble appended many remarks and directions in writing; accompanied only with a letter from the manager, Mr. von Lüttichau, the very unsatisfactory contents of which may be inferred from the following accidentally preserved copy of Spohr’s reply:
“Your Excellency’s letter of the 15th. inst. has very much surprised me. I never could have believed, after my long, and I think I may say honourable, career as a musician, that I should have lived to experience the indignity to have the score of one of my works—not sent in as the first essay of a beginner for examination and trial, but ordered by previous application—sent back to me in such a manner. What you are pleased to assign by way of explanation or excuse for so strange a proceeding, I cannot possibly accept; for it was no fault of mine that the opera was not brought out at the appointed time, and both soon enough and frequently enough had I drawn attention to the circumstance that I could obtain no leave of absence out of my vacation time. How the opera, which is known by nobody in Dresden, should now have lost the charm of novelty I can as little understand, as that the contents of the opera, which were already known to you when you ordered it, should now all at once be found objectionable, while here and in Berlin, it has not met with the least objection in its present form, nor formerly, when performed in the shape of a play throughout Germany. Had your excellency felt any anxiety lest the opera would not remunerate for the time given to its study, and the expenses it might entail, you could assuredly have found some relief for your doubts in the many numerously attended performances which have already taken place here, in Berlin, Brunswick, &c. It is difficult for me also to conceive how the work of an old experienced composer should be rejected by a theatre which does not disdain the rapid works of beginners and dilettanti such as .... and .... The insult that has been offered to me is therefore wholly inexplicable, and I must console myself with the reflexion, that it is the only one of the kind offered to me during my long career as a composer, and I congratulate myself that I am not under a theatrical directorship which so little understands how to respect the feelings of a veteran artist,” &c. To this a reply was received from the vice-manager, K. Winkler, who at the request of Mr. von Lüttichau, expressed his regret that the return of his score, which had become necessary, should have so much offended Spohr, assuring him furthermore, that the chief reason for it was the words and subject of the opera, during the ecclesiastical excitement.
But that Spohr’s view of the matter was not much changed by this attempt at exculpation is evident from a letter he wrote to Richard Wagner, in which he opens his whole mind to him, and having first expressed his disappointment that Wagner’s opera “Tannhäuser,” which he had proposed to the Prince to have performed in celebration of his birth day, had not received the official sanction, he avails himself of the opportunity to detail fully to him the incomprehensible conduct of the Dresden theatrical directorship. Wagner, who then first was made acquainted with all the particulars, gave expression to his anger thereat, in so plainspoken a manner, that the publication of his letter, highly interesting as it is, would perhaps be unadvisable. After the prospect of a meeting with Wagner in Dresden had been dispelled in so vexatious a manner, Spohr proposed to him a rendez-vous at Leipzic, where he intended making a stay of a few days on his contemplated journey with his wife to Carlsbad. As Wagner seized the idea with much pleasure, the long desired personal acquaintance was at length made with the greatest mutual satisfaction, and letters addressed to the family at home speak among other things of this meeting, and other interesting circumstances that occurred during their stay there:
“We are passing our time here most delightfully, and enjoying a very feast of the finest music. On the very first evening we had a music party at Hauptmann’s, where trios by Mendelssohn and Spohr, in which each master took part, were played; and the company, consisting chiefly of connoisseurs in art, were highly delighted indeed. On the following day a very charming dinner-party was given at Wagner’s suggestion, who has himself no means of entertaining friends at Leipzic, by his brother-in-law, Professor Brockhaus, in honour of Spohr. We there made the acquaintance of his sister and several others of his relatives, all of them most intellectual creatures, and enjoyed ourselves greatly. Besides the members of the family, Heinrich Laube, the author, and his very learned wife, were present, who gave a yet more lively impress to the conversation. We were most pleased with Wagner, who seems every time more and more amiable, and whose intellectual culture on every variety of subject is really wonderful. Among other things he gave expression to his sentiments on political matters with a warmth and depth of interest that quite surprised us, and pleased us of course the more from the great liberality of feeling he displayed. We passed the evening most delightfully at Mendelssohn’s, who did his utmost to entertain and please Spohr. This family has for me something very idealistic about them, they present a combination of inward and external features, and withal so much beautiful domestic happiness, that one seldom sees the like of in actual life. In their establishment and whole manner of living there is so much unassuming modesty amid all the obvious luxury and wealth around them, that one cannot but feel at one’s ease. And to me most gratifying is his unmistakable attachment to and esteem for Spohr. He himself played a most extremely difficult and highly characteristic composition of his own, called ‘Siebenzehn ernste Variationen’ (seventeen serious variations), with immense effect; then followed two of Spohr’s quartets—among them the newest (the 30th.)—on which occasion Mendelssohn and Wagner read from the score with countenances expressive of their delight. Besides these, the wife of doctor Frege sang some of Spohr’s songs, which Mendelssohn accompanied beautifully; and in this manner the hours passed rapidly and delightfully with alternate music and lively conversation, till midnight drew on unobserved, and at length gave impressive warning to break up. Wagner, who was obliged to return to Dresden the following day, came to take leave of us, which both to us and to him was a sad moment. But after he had left, he was frequently the subject of our conversation, for he left us the words of a new opera which he had written (Lohengrin) to read, and which is exceedingly original and interesting.... Yesterday at the dinner-table we made another agreeable acquaintance, that of the poet Robert Prutz, who being seated exactly opposite to us, introduced himself, sustained a very lively conversation, and appeared quite charmed at meeting with Spohr. After dinner a performance was arranged in the church by the pupils of the Thomas School, where, without any accompaniment Spohr’s psalm with double choir, ‘Aus der Tiefe’ (out of the deep) and his favorite motet by Bach: ‘Ich lasse Dich nicht’ (I will not leave thee) were sung.... Last evening an extra concert was given for Spohr in the well-known Gewandhaus, which, under Mendelssohn’s direction, was in every respect a brilliant entertainment. The programme consisted wholly of Spohr’s compositions, of which we had not been apprized before hand, and which was on purpose to take us by surprise. It comprised: 1stly. The overture to Faust; 2dly. An air from Jessonda sung by the prima donna, Mrs. Meyer; 3dly. Grand violin concerto played to Spohr’s complete satisfaction by the wonderful boy Joachim; 4thly. Songs with clarinet accompaniment, by the wife of doctor Frege, Mendelssohn, and a first-rate clarinetist, so wonderfully executed that it went to the very heart; 5thly. ‘Weihe der Töne,’ which for years has been a bright-shining star with the Leipzic orchestra. At the request of Mendelssohn, Spohr, although he would rather have remained a hearer only, took the direction of the two last subjects, on which occasion he was greeted by the orchestra and the auditory, which consisted of about two hundred select guests, with a storm of applause, as he had also been saluted with upon his entrance. The whole was a grand elevating festival, and for Spohr a deeply-felt gratification. Mendelssohn was extremely amiable, and the whole evening as though intensely happy, which proved how foreign to his mind is every feeling of jealousy. This evening the last music party will meet at Vogt’s, where Mendelssohn proposes to himself an especial pleasure, not only in taking part in Spohr’s first trio as pianist, but as viol in his splendid third double quartet.”
In this manner up to the last moment was Mendelssohn’s thoughtful and kind attention evinced to Spohr, and upon his departure on the following morning, when the numerous friends who had accompanied us to the railway-station had taken leave of him, he was, as the further accounts of the journey express it, “the last of all, who, as the train at first proceeded slowly, ran for a considerable distance by the side of the carriage, until he could no longer keep up with it, and his kindly beaming eyes were the last that left their expression on the minds of the travellers from Leipzic,” little anticipating indeed that it was to be their last meeting on this side of the grave!