Meiningen

Today the saucy little score seems more alive than certain other early efforts which were rather closer to their composer's heart.

Meiningen had been a sort of stepping-stone.

Strongly against the advice of Hans von Bulow, who detested Munich from the depths of his being, Strauss nevertheless accepted a conductor's post in his native city, where he had the advantage of continuing his stimulating contact with Alexander Ritter, who had followed him to the Bavarian capital.

Yet he did not look forward to a Munich position with particular joy.

We followed the performance with the score.

In the evening, Brahms brought Herr Mülfeld to supper, the artist having just come from Meiningen.

For the first time, we heard the newly composed clarinet sonata.

Brahms was at the piano, grandmother at his right turning over the leaves.

Today, on my 20th birthday, Brahms arrived here at 5 o'clock.

At tea, I saw him.

After congratulating me, he spoke of the musical festival at Meiningen.

It was very fine.

He also advised me, after it had been decided that I was to travel home next day, not to make my wife uneasy by dispatching a telegram.

Whilst he was sitting beside me, every now and again telegrams congratulating him on his birthday arrived, from the Duke of Meiningen for instance, and other friends who, with this object, had written to one or the other of us for information as to our probable whereabouts on that day.

Brahms was delighted to receive them, and I noticed how the receipt of these messages intensified his desire to return to Vienna and to the circle of his friends.

But it was not until after he had seen me, accompanied by Dr. Hagar, safely into the train, which, in an unbroken journey of 36 hours, was to convey me to Bern, that Brahms entered the other train, which was to take him and Freund to Vienna via Ancona.

Other points of resemblance were the simplicity, the absolute straightforwardness and sincerity of these two men, as also the self-reliance which in their early days had enabled them to meet the coldness and indifference of the public.

It was delightful to see how these two men of genius seemed to understand one another and to watch their animated conversation, which was all the more remarkable as Keller was usually laconic and even disagreeable towards strangers.

In the next years, 1891 and 1893, I saw Brahms in quite different surroundings in the ducal palace at Meiningen.

I need not here dwell upon the circumstances that led me thither, important though they were for me.

I just love this image of J.S. in the middle of this family tree of fellow Kapellmeisters.

Like, imagine you're in this business and you can't be bothered to write another cantata for Sunday, so you call up your cousin in Meiningen, only 90 kilometers away from Mühlhausen, Oh, hey, Johan.

Yeah, it's Johan.

Have you got a cantata for this 22nd Sunday after Epiphany? Oh, great, great.