16 - BRAHMS, Johannes (1833–1897).

BRAHMS, Johannes (1833–1897). Autograph letter signed “JBr,” [Vienna, December 28, 1889], to his publisher and friend Fritz SIMROCK; 3 pages, in-12 format; in German. With a touch of humor, Brahms thanks his friend for the gift of an autograph by Carl Maria von WEBER: “You’re showering me with sweets, and I do eat candy. – I’m not exactly a serious autograph collector, but a letter from Weber to Spohr—in which Jessonda and Euryanthe are even mentioned—really strikes a chord with me! That’s right up my alley—I’m a sucker for that! Thank you most sincerely” (Why are you showering me with such treats? I’m the one who loves candy! To tell the truth, I’m not exactly an avid autograph collector, but a letter from Weber to Spohr—which also mentions *Jessonda* and *Euryanthe*—well, that really touches my heart! That’s exactly my kind of thing; I’m a sucker for it! Thank you so very much). He learns that his *Sprüche* (a suite of three motets, *Fest- und Gedenksprüche*, Op. 109) have been performed in Leipzig, and urges Simrock to have the score engraved and to send him the proofs: “I received a letter from Frankfurt stating that the Sprüche had already been performed in Leipzig, and that people therefore felt they were entitled to claim them. Have I been left out in the cold? Well, now that you have the score, please have it engraved and send me a proof”... He concludes by mentioning a concert by his friend, the singer Julius Stockhausen, whom he thinks of with melancholy: “I think of Stockhausen with great melancholy!”... Johannes Brahms, Correspondence, XII, No. 696.