Wagner, Richard.

about Tristan und Isolde, Lohengrin and Tannhäuser, being a long and detailed assessment of his recent career, describing his progress on Tristan, explaining that he had hoped to have completed the work by the end of the autumn, and that he had signed a contract with the publisher Breitkopf and Härtel to produce an edition of the work, but that ill-health has delayed work and he cannot envisage completion until the summer of 1859 at the earliest, explaining his hopes for a production of the opera in Vienna, after the successful performance of Lohengrin there, complaining about the reluctance of the Viennese authorities to honour his contract and pay him his fees, comparing the situation in Vienna unfavourably with Berlin and the payments he received there for the performances of Tannhäuser, discussing the possible justifications for the attitude of the Hofoper management, requesting the recipient to intercede with the Director, Herr Eckert, to right the wrongs done to him and expressing at length his feelings on the subject



...Hier in Venedig hoffte ich, obwohl unter grossen Opfern, wenigstens ungestört arbeiten zu können, um endlich bald den "Tristan" fertig zu haben, den ich Anfang dieses Jahres schon diesen Spätherbst vollendet zu haben dachte, auf welche Annahme hin ich wegen der Herausgabe der Partitur mit Härtels in Leipzig einen Contract macjte, der mir, eben bei Ablieferung des Manuscriptes so viel Einkünfte sicherte, um die starken Ausgaben, die mir gerade dieser Winter mit sich bringt, zum grossen Theil dadurch gedeckt zu wissen, nun bin ich seit 1^{e November wieder fast unausgesetzt krank und und zum Arbeiten unfähig gewesen; an die Beendigung des Tristan vor nächstem Sommer kann ich aber gar nicht denken...}



8 pages, 8vo, Venice, 23 December [18]58, creased at folds

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This letter dates from the middle of a period of great industry for the composer. He writes from the tranquility of the Palazzo Giustiniana in Venice, a city which fascinated the composer and where he would die in 1883. On the previous day he had completed the passage in Tristan beginning "Wen du umfangen, wem du gelacht".