The last time I was in Weimar was two years ago. Last year was dedicated to Beethoven, and I since published my last Beethoven article. I still had some unfinished Liszt projects so I planned a five-days trip to Weimar, in the Liszt archives. I flew to Berlin, rented a car, and drove to Weimar. I still love the view from the terrace of the Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv, on the heights of the city.
Every year there is a new exhibition. This year was dedicated to Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1824-1897) who lived with the royal family in the same building that hosts the archives today. The exhibition called “Sophie macht Literatur” (Sophie likes literature) shows a mix of digital information, photos, letters and books.
But I was there to work. My spot was booked for the whole week. It is strictly forbidden to take pictures, of course… hum… đ I made a few discoveries. The Volume 14 of the Music Selection of the Liszt Society Journal Society of 1989 contains a score that is not available publicly but someone from the Liszt Society was able to access the score owned by a private owner and transcribed it for the journal. This is a score that can be sung by a contralto voice ! I also found some archives coming from the Liszt-Haus that were kept by the Liszt Museum just after Liszt died and were finally given to the Liszt archives. This letter with a score excerpt was written by Hans von BĂŒlow who was one of Liszt’s most successful students, who became his son-in-law for a few years, and who was part of his life until his death. The third document below is a telegram sent by his one-handed student and friend, the pianist GĂ©za Zichy. Of course, this is a small sample. One week of study allowed me to see so many amazing documents, some of which will be useful for both my dissertation and future Liszt projects.
I could not come to Weimar and not visit the Liszt Memorial. I rolled in the park where it is located, to discover that there was some construction around the Liszt-Haus and the memorial. No access from the left, no access from the right… well, I rolled on the grass. If you zoom on the picture you can still see the marks my wheels left in the grass. Nothing will stop me from visiting my friend !
I also visited the Belvedere Castle, that was only a few minutes drive away from my hotel. Not really an accessible place. I need to go back with someone who could help me and share the adventure with me. Who wants to come next time?
I couldn’t resist to spend a few minutes in front of the Altenburg, the first building in which Liszt lived before moving to the HofgĂ€rtnerei. This house, located almost across the archives, was known to be a beautiful property overlooking the city from its heights. Today it looks abandoned, although there might be someone living in what looks like a small apartment on the right of the ground floor. There is a plaque above the door, but that’s it. Too bad…
I had to cheer to a successful week! I had to try the Poetenweg (translated by “path of the poets”), a local wine produced in Weimar, which is a MĂŒller-Thurgau white wine. Prost!
I am now back in Paris and will stay a few days with my family, before the next step of my trip. Stay tuned!