ewandhaus--and also at Prague, where Dionys Weber ran through
a Beethoven symphony as if it was a Haydn _allegro_--Richard got his
first lessons in the art of conducting, by a method for which much may
be said, that is, he first learnt here how the thing should not be
done. He knew the ninth symphony by heart, and was also entranced by
the blended loveliness and strength of Mozart's symphonies: played
here, all the effects and points he could plainly see in the score
disappeared. He knew better, even thus early, than to think the two
great composers capable of writing the kind of academic stuff which
looks like music on paper and when played sounds like anything you
like excepting music. He saw that when an orchestra carelessly romped
through a movement, paying no heed to expression, to nuances of
colour, to tempi, it did not really play, interpret, the music; and
soon his convictions bore very remarkable fruit.

At the theatre he learnt the final lesson needed to prepare him for
writing operas of his own. _Masaniello_ in its way opened his eyes as
much as Beethoven's symphonies had done. Not only the bustle, but the
clean sweep of the thing from beginning to finish of each act, with
brilliant climaxes in the finales, made him stare and gasp in
amazement. Weber he admired; but Weber's power lay in the beauty and
picturesqueness of his music: in _Masaniello_ the music made its
effect because of the theatrical skill with which it was used. The
same thing he felt in _William Tell_. These two men, Auber and
Rossini, were masters of the art of writing effectively for the
theatre. The drama of their operas was not particularly striking nor
lofty, the music did not come near Beethoven's, Mozart's, nor even
Weber's in beauty, but their mastery in writing theatre-music carried
them through triumphantly. The problem was, then, to acquire their
skill and use it for a high and noble purpose; and this Richard at
once attempted to do. He planned and wrote the words of _Die
Hochzeit_. He laid it aside because Rosalie disliked the plot; but
immediately he proceeded to another opera, _Die Feen_, which he
completed at Wuerzburg. The book of _Die Hochzeit_ is dated December 5,
1832, Leipzig. On January 10 of the following year his symphony was
given; on the 12th he replied to his brother Albert--now singer,
actor and stage-manager at the Wuerzburg theatre--accepting an
invitation to stay with him; a few days later he set out, reaching his