Rossana Dalmonte, F. Liszt. New letters from Weimar

The value of the autograph letters conserved in the Archive of the Liszt Institute lies in the fact that they are almost all unedited, and the few that have previosuly come out contain dating errors or are incomplete. Furthermore, many of these letters were sent to people who do not appear elsewhere in the Liszt correspondence. In spite of the meagreness of the material (17 letters written from Weimar), it seemed appropriate to make these papers known on account of the additional knowledge they offer concerning Liszt’s activity. Thei principle concern is the theatrical life of the grand-ducal city: programs for exceptionally important occasions, relations with editors, composers, and performers, contacts with people who wish to take part in a given event. Behind the few phrase of each letter one feels the fervour of a zealous and diligent activity that even seems to supplant the composition of personal works, that is those in which the truest image of Liszt come down to us.

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