Henze, Hans Werner: Brief an Auden, Wystan Hugh. Castel Gandolfo (Roma), Montag, 26. Oktober 1964
author: Henze, Hans Werner
language: en
availability: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Hans Werner Henze-Stiftung (Dr. Michael Kerstan). (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Hans Werner Henze

Castel Gandolfo (Rom)
Via dei Laghi 18

October 26, 1964
Dearest Wystan,

Welcome to Berlin.[^1] I hope you will be happy there and meet nice people and work well.

[^1: Auden left for Berlin on Thursday, 22 October 1964, as he wrote in his letter to Henze. He lived there thanks to the Ford Foundation fellowship during the winter semester of 1964-1965, except for a trip to New York City over Christmas.]

I have just written Curtis Brown, which should make everything clear for you without further explanations. [Henze wrote to Auden's agent Curtis Brown about their disapproval of the Helmut Reinold translation of the libretto of The Bassarids.]

My darling whippet Dafne who once came with me to see you in Kirchstetten gave birth to two puppies a few days ago. [Henze always loved whippets and greyhounds. Notably, he owned greyhounds until his death.] That is very exciting and much nicer than business and die L eu te and die Welt der Kunst . I've almost finished changing furniture and redecorating,[^2] and there are almost no excuses left for not starting to compose Bassy-dear. Every letter you write me is pleasant and helpful. The lady who did not like Bassy's title must have failed, like me, to look into the German dictionary: it is there. And that's it. [Henze alludes here to the fact that the title of The Bassarids had raised many doubts because it was not clear enough. See the Introduction to the correspondence.] And now I love the title which teaches you that in life one must always be taught to love. For instance, il sottoscritto once didn't like caviar, and once abhorred gangbangs. Meanwhile he has learned. But he has always loved and trusted Mother who now he tenderly embraces. [In Auden's previous letter, the librettist had written to Henze not to ask around for too much advice about the title of the work and to trust his mother, namely Auden himself.]

[^2: Most likely Henze is referring here to the furnishing and redecorating of his apartment in Castel Gandolfo. At the time of this letter, however, Henze had already purchased the Villa La Leprara in Marino, near Rome. Work on the villa had been in progress since early 1963, but he did not live there until 1966. See Henze's Autobiography, pp. 210-211.]

P.S. The piano isn't tuned yet and it takes the tuner presumably three days before he comes out here.

P. P. S. Regarding your book The Enchafèd Flood, where do I find the definition of enchafèd?