dated 1838, in correspondence with Liszt's publisher in Paris, Maurice Schlesinger (1798-1871), writing continues verso, 29cm high x 36cm wide
| Estimate: | £1,000 - £2,000 |
| Hammer price: | £500 |
Translation provided by The Liszt Society:
"Do me the favour, my dear Maurice, of including the following lines in your next issue. You cannot imagine the general outcry from the cafés of Milan (that is to say, from the lowest-order of gossip columnists and a score of half-witted idlers) about the letter from the Bachelor on the Scala.
Nothing is more amusing than the responses of these fellows. All the newspapers this week are filled with them. It’s the height of banality. Unfortunately for these gentlemen, the Bachelor had gathered his information well, and all the statements in his letter are of the most exact truth. But it is only the truth that hurts, especially in this country where no one dares to say anything, far less to print it.
If by chance this affair has reverberated as far as Paris, write to me about it. I am more than capable of establishing, there as well as here, my position as it must be everywhere and always.
It would have been nice if you had responded with 2 lines to my letter from Genoa. You are certainly the only one of my correspondents who gives himself such latitude. It is true that by now you are at least Minister of the Interior, and that deep down you are a veritable devil too. So no need to think about it too much.
Nevertheless, I want you to write to me soon. There are a number of things that only you can tell me, and that I would certainly like to know.
Good evening, my dear Maurice.
Yours truly, F Liszt
P.S. I beg you kindly to send to the Glissons newspaper issues 3 and 4 (of 1838) of the Gazette Musicale, which my servant has misplaced."
Note: "Bachelier ès Musique" or translated, "the bachelor" was Liszt's pen name in the Gazette Musicale.
