Letters from the children, always sorrowful. R. cannot work, hindered on all sides. — Even the tenor Unger does not report; from where shall a Siegfried come? No one stands ready at R.’s side — Richter woefully lost to us. —
In the evening, a seminarist from Dresden, come expressly to see R., brings the most wretched material, having studied under Rietz![1] … R. grows angry and tells him to be ashamed of himself.
[1] Julius Rietz (1812–1877), German cellist, conductor, and composer. Active first in Düsseldorf, then from 1847 at the Leipzig City Theatre; in 1848, teacher at the Conservatory and conductor of the Gewandhaus concerts; from 1860 in Dresden, ultimately General Music Director.
Revised English translation by Jo Cousins.