Category: Cosima Wagner Diaries

R. had a very good night; in the morning, Rubinstein arrives from Pest and reports that the receipts were 5300 Gulden net, and the first concert here netted 9600 Gulden, so our Bayreuthers can be satisfied. Around noon, the loveliest Countess; after that, visits made with R. A letter from…

We left at 8 o'clock; Father accompanies us to the station. A sorrowful farewell! … In Neuhäusel, a gypsy band plays dances, and R. asks them for the Csárdás, which they play; it moves me deeply, so wild, fiery, and melancholically desolate, I must think of Father; the sky is…

In the morning, I visit the museum; unfortunately, the Esterhazy Gallery is closed. Overall, the impression of Hungary is one of deep sadness; it seems to be heading toward complete disintegration. Theft in the administration is a daily occurrence, alongside rampant megalomania—no German is allowed to be spoken. Life is…

Dress rehearsal; an ugly hall, poor acoustics, inadequate preliminary rehearsals; Father plays Beethoven's concerto, leaving us paralysed; an incredible impression! Incomparable magic, not playing, pure sounds. Richard says this makes everything cease to exist. We dine together at the Hotel Hungaria. In the evening, “The Flying Dutchman”, conducted by Richter;…

A dreadful night, ball at the hotel, we decide to briefly accept Richter’s hospitality. We are staying at Waiznerstrasse 1, in the apartment of his mother-in-law, who is away. In the afternoon, a rehearsal at the theater for “The Bells of Strasbourg”, very poor. In the evening, dinner at the…

Packing and farewell. "I am descended from such people in the best sense," says R., as we bid farewell to the Standhartners. Departed at 3 o'clock and 58 minutes; in Neuenkirchen, my father, with Frau von Meyendorff, came to meet us. My father was well, cheerful, and decidedly happy to…