„…als Sie in mir den Tonsetzer der Musikwelt vorgeführt…‟: Ein unbekannter Autographer Brief von Wenzel Johann Tomaschek an Hans Georg Nageli in Zurich.

Together with the hitherto unpublished letter of 6 September 1831, Tomášek sent the score of his Requiem op. 70 to the Zurich publisher, music writer and composer Hans Georg Nageli. The author of the letter expressed his firm belief that due to the "prosperity of music practice in Switzerland" and the influence of the reputable Nägeli, it should not be a problem to find opportunity and funding to put on the enclosed work in that country. With gratitude, Tomášek puts Nägeli in mind of the fact that he had published some of his piano works between 1803 and 1805, calling him "the one to determine the spirit in the music world". He briefly mentions several of his earlier compositions and, with a great deal of sarcasm, criticizes the contemporary "swamp of bad taste", in which the audience has recently fallen, misguided by the "mendacious" Rossini and his followers. Tomášek draws Nägeli's attention to an enclosed article of his called "On Criticism in Relation to Music", in which he appealed to "all respectable priests of art" to cultivate sensible criticism. He encourages Nägeli not to let his "whip" (meaning his feared sharp pen) "rest until things have changed". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]