. The days that are no more, some reminiscences . He was not merely out ofhumour, but downright angry, and said tome : Youre putting the bear through hispaces ! Fortunately Mile. Viardot-Garcia,the famous singer and incomparable artist—for grandeur and style in singing, there wasno one but Lilli Lehmann who reminded meof her—was present, and in her gracious wayshe came to my rescue, by asking Liszt toaccompany her for the Erlkonig. And soit was that I gained my point and heard the Erlkonig sung by the Viardot with accom-paniment by Liszt. It would be scarcelypossible to hear a finer, a more im
. The days that are no more, some reminiscences . He was not merely out ofhumour, but downright angry, and said tome : Youre putting the bear through hispaces ! Fortunately Mile. Viardot-Garcia,the famous singer and incomparable artist—for grandeur and style in singing, there wasno one but Lilli Lehmann who reminded meof her—was present, and in her gracious wayshe came to my rescue, by asking Liszt toaccompany her for the Erlkonig. And soit was that I gained my point and heard the Erlkonig sung by the Viardot with accom-paniment by Liszt. It would be scarcelypossible to hear a finer, a more impressive,combination. Liszt left Paris, and we did not meet himagain until years later in Venice, and that,too, in 1881. I was alone one evening, deepin a book. The door opened and Hen* Liszt was announced. He came from Weimar,where he had organised a musical and poeticmemorial celebration on behalf of the unfor-gettable Marie Mouchanow (nee Nesselrodeand a niece of the celebrated Chancellors).In a Grand-ducal summer-house, which he had160. MARIE KALERGIS Franz Liszt had decorated with flowers and plants, and inthe middle of which he had had a bust of thedear departed set up, he performed, for thebenefit of her friends and admirers, the pieceswhich she had been wont to play with suchrare skill, and ended with an Elegydedicated to her as a farewell greeting. Afterspeaking to me of Marie Kalergis, he added : I know that you loved her. You ought tohave taken place in our memorial went up to the piano, opened it, and onthat evening, which I spent alone with him,he played more beautifully than I had everheard him play before. He must have satthere for two hours, pouring forth the musicof the spheres. In some strange way he seemedto have assimilated all that was characteristicin the playing of our dearly beloved friend,for from time to time he would say, half tohimself : Thats how she used to play Chopin ;thats how she used to render that phrase. When he took his l
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