WAGNER, RICHARD. (1813-1883). German composer; creator of several of the greatest operas of all time, including Götterdämmerung, Tristan und Isolde, and Der Ring des Nibelungen. ALS. (“Richard Wagner”). 1½pp. 8vo. Paris, September 26, 1858. To Mr. Schaeffer (ANTOINE EUGÈNE SCHAFFER, 1802-1873, director of Érard Pianos in Paris). In French with translation.

“I forgot to ask you yesterday to give me Madame Érard’s complete name to inscribe on my score of Tannhäuser. Could you kindly write it down on a piece of paper and give it to the bearer of this note?

I am planning to come to see you later today or tomorrow to ask you kindly to let me rent for one or two weeks (that is until my piano arrives) any one of your instruments that is available and that you could most easily entrust me with. I would be infinitely obliged to you if you would have one placed in my small temporary salon.

As for Mme Érard, I hope she will receive me tomorrow so that I can offer her my deepest gratitude. Please forgive my terrible French, and keep on thinking kindly of your truly devoted…”

Our letter’s recipient has written a response on the blank page following our letter:

“Sir, I only came by … today but I did get your letter and I am giving orders to have a piano made available to you until yours arrives. Last night I told Mme. Érard of the honor you want to bestow on her with your autograph of the Tannhäuser score… but out of respect for her husband’s opinions, he always refused the honor of a dedication, she has asked me to let you know that however flattered she may be by your kind offer, she will not be able to accept it. In everything, Mme. Érard has made it her duty to conform faithfully to her husband’s ideas. She has too much respect for her role to fail him, even in circumstances that would be very pleasing to her. Respectfully…”

From the beginning, despite his professional accomplishments, financial success eluded Wagner. Adding to his troubles, was his participation in Dresden’s May 1849 uprising, which led to a warrant for his arrest and precipitated his flight to Zurich, where he began work on Der Ring des Nibelungen and Tristan und Isolde. Wagner’s interest in the theme of adulterous love during that time may have been influenced by his passionate interest in his patron’s wife Mathilde Wesendonck. After Wagner’s wife discovered one of their love letters, Wagner left Zurich for Venice where he composed much of Tristan und Isolde’s second act, before relocating to Paris to supervise the production of Tannhäuser, discussed in our letter.

Camille (née Février) Erard (1813-1889) was the widow of piano and harp manufacturer Pierre Érard, successor of his uncle Sebastian Érard. After Pierre’s 1855 death, Camille inherited the renowned firm and placed Schaeffer, her brother-in-law, in charge of the Paris branch. (Incidentally, another brother-in-law was the composer Gaspare Spontini who married Pierre’s sister.) In 1883, she merged the firm with Blondel under the name Érard et Cie. Composers who played Érard pianos included Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Wagner.

Written on the first two pages of a folded sheet. Light aging, otherwise fine.