gh his or her part until he is
satisfied. Although he is invariably civil, his men obey him as they
would the sternest general, and admiration of his superior knowledge
makes them more attentive to their duty than fear ever would. I do not
believe German opera would have won its present popularity under any
other conductor excepting Hans Richter. One of the traits to which he
owes his great success as a Wagner conductor is his instinctive
perception of what parts can be omitted with the minimum of injury to
the work he is interpreting. Except at Bayreuth, Wagner's later works
did not especially prosper at first, because they were either too long
or injudiciously cut. Herr Seidl, however, succeeded with them
everywhere. One time Wagner wrote to him complaining that he made so
many cuts in his operas. But Herr Seidl wrote back, giving his
reasons, and explaining the situation; whereupon he received the
laconic telegram from Wagner, "_Schiessen Sie los!_" (Fire away!).

Eduard von Hartmann, in his recent work, "Die Philosophie des
Schoenen," has some just remarks on Wagner's mistake in making his
operas so long that conductors are _obliged_ to use the red pencil,
which is not always done intelligently; whereas if he himself had
undertaken the task of condensing his works their organic unity might
have been preserved. True, Wagner did not intend his later works to be
incorporated in the regular operatic repertory, but desired them to be
sung only on certain festal occasions, as at Bayreuth, where people
went with the sole object of hearing music, and with no other business
oppressing them for the moment. But at a time when the struggle for
existence is so severe as now it was chimerical on Wagner's part to
hope that such a plan could be permanently realized. Few musical
people can afford to journey to Bayreuth merely to gratify their taste
for opera. Hence the Bayreuth festivals, although most delightful from
an artistic point of view, would have never been financially
successful, had not the vocalists given their services _gratis_; and
it is doubtful if they will be continued after the death of Wagner's
widow. Moreover, it would have been a musical calamity to have the
treasures of melody and harmony that are stored away in the Nibelung
scores reserved for the lucky few who are able to go to Bayreuth.
Wagner himself must have felt this when, contrary to his original
intention, he gave Neumann permission to perform the Tetr