Autograph letter signed in full regarding conducting commitments for 1907
1 page. Quarto. Densely written in black ink. To an unknown male correspondent, presumably a concert manager interested in engaging Richter. On letterhead with "The Firs," Bowdon, Cheshire [England] printed at head, datestamped "19 Dec 1905." In German (with translation).
Richter discusses his commitments in England, including at Covent Garden, as well as a 1907 tour of Spain and Portugal with a possible extension to Paris, which prevent him from making any additional commitments for the year, as much as he might like to.
"You can imagine that I would gladly come with my orchestra and also, should the occasion arise, with the full choir. Should a favorable change occur, I will let you know immediately." He extends his greetings to Frau Gräfin Greffuhle, patron of the arts.
Very slightly worn; two very small pinholes to blank upper portion; lightly creased at vertical fold.
"From 1875 to 1900 [Richter] dominated the musical life of Vienna as music director of the Vienna PO ... His influence there was enormous, his interpretations of the Beethoven symphonies revered." He conducted many first performances of the works of Brahms, Bruckner, and Tchaikovsky there, and of Parry, Stanford, Mackenzie, Cowen and Elgar in England. "In a career lasting 44 years he gave 2263 opera performances (899 of these Wagner operas) and 2088 concerts. 19th-century conductors were generally also composers or performers, but Richter, with his prodigious memory, and his ability to play every musical instrument except the harp and to make his players give of their best, concentrated solely on conducting and, although he left no recordings, built for himself an enduring international reputation." Christopher Fifield in Grove Music Online.
Item #39031
Price: $225.00 other currencies