Goethe's Letters to Zelter

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Excerpt from Goethe's Letters to Zelter: With Extracts From Those of Zelter to Goethe, Selected, Translated, and Annotated Any new light thrown upon Groethe's genius and character should be welcome to the student of German literature. The recent production of the Jahrbuch, and the affiliation of the English Goethe Society to the Weimar Goethe-Gesellschaft, have so stimulated the interest of readers in the publication of new matter affecting Goethe, that it is hoped the present volume may be opportune rather than otherwise. Many years ago, I studied the Goethe-Zelter Correspondence, with the wish to learn all I could about the tutor of Mendelssohn, the friend of Goethe, and "the restorer of Bach to the Germans." Such was the compliment paid to Zelter's memory by Abraham, the father of Felix Mendelssohn. How strenuously the son endorsed his father's opinion is a matter of common knowledge to the readers of many works which illustrate the history of the composer's life. But with us Englishmen the pupil's fame has so completely eclipsed that of the teacher, that Zelter is little more than a name. He was no ordinary man. A stonemason by trade, he became a musician by choice, and was so successful in his art-career as ultimately to conduct the Singakademie at Berlin. He also achieved the still higher distinction of becoming Goethe's most intimate correspondent. Beginning with mere reports of Berlin gossip, and casual interchange of criticisms on men and things, he ended by drawing out, as few did, the inmost sympathies and chosen confidences of the Weimar sage. Goethe's respect for Zelter's force of character was apparently never neutralized by his dogmatism, or the rash and mistaken opinions traceable here and there throughout the correspondence. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.