Kallman, Chester/Auden, Wystan Hugh: Brief an Henze, Hans Werner. Kirchstetten (Westbahn), Donnerstag, 10. September 1964
author: Kallman, Chester; Auden, Wystan Hugh
language: en
availability: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Copyright by the Estate of W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman. By courtesy of the Estate of W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

10 Sept 64 answered 15 September[^1]
Cara Gregoria Peckersnapper,[^2]

[^1: This note was probably added by a secretary of Henze later.]

[^2: Kallman refers to Henze in the feminine, calling him “Gregoria”, the feminine name of the main character Gregor in their opera Elegy for Young Lovers . Kallman’s neologism “Peckersnapper” has sexual references.]

Oh it's another grey day in Austria. I'm depressed. I had planned so long to be back in the arms of my Adored on the fifteenth, and then him to be free at last on the twentieth,[^3] but he's written and said that what with the King probably not pardoning the Evzones their extra service (because of punishments) on his wedding[^4], and him (the idiot) having gotten himself some more bad marks against him, he might not be getting out before the middle of November. And he argues that it's simply a waste of money for me to hang around Athens when he's s o burdened with duty that he'll only be able to see me rarely. And further, that he probably would start s neaking out if I were there, and then might get caught being absent (which earned him his last 15 days punishment); and then his release would be even further delayed……Oh dear. And what with me being a regular Senat for faithfulness these days, it's diffy. I begin to lose contact with myself. Wait, he writes, wait until the twenty-second before making any plans, because a very close friend of mine[^5] has planned a whole trip to Europe in order, among other things, to spend two weeks with me in Greece. I've written Kosta that, but only four days ago. I'm never sure what his reactions will be, but Greeks can't abide a disobedient wife; and strange notions sometimes have a way of lodging in the Byzantine mind behind those Byzantine eyes I love.

[^3: Kallman had been planning to see Kostantinos at the end of September 1964 since at least 27 July 1964, as revealed in his letter to Henze.]

[^4: The Greek King, Constantine II, married Anne-Marie of Denmark on 18 September 1964.]

[^5: Kallman revealed his friend’s name later in this letter.]

Otherwise his letters are so sweet I could cry. And do. He's been rather pensive I gather now that Yannis, his closest buddy in the Evzones and an angel from much above, confessed to him that he loved me and wanted to live with me forever(and also reproached him for his miserable treatment of Miss Me this Winter and “other such a woman,” when it was he, Yannis, who stuck by me and helped me get through the thing somehow), and Kosta wrote me about all this and said in his letter: “But you know how Yannis feels, I think, and you've known it a long time. But I told him, ‘Yannis, I'm sorry, but it won't go. Chester and I suit each other and love each other, and we want to help you. And I love you as a friend, and you can always have a home with us.’”[^6] Hansssssss. Such responsibilities!

[^6: Yannis Boras was to become one of Kallman's lovers for five years until Boras died in a car accident in Vienna on 13 December 1968 at the age of 26. For him, Kallman published in 1969 Address , which contains two poems entitled “Dedicated to Yannis Boras: Livadaki” and “In Memory of Yannis Boras” (no page numbers).]

I wrote to Enrico at Korfu, but my letter was forwarded to the Royal Palace in Athens and then returned to me, so heavens knows where she is now. Anyways I won't be in Athens for the wedding, and if I were to ask her to whisper a word in the King's ear, she'd be too shy to. And, in any case, I'd be too shy to ask her to ask. So.

And Renate's been, till this week, a very faithful c o rrespondent. She wanted some special “Don Giovanni” recording with Leontyne that wasn’t available in Germany, and I had it sent to her from here a week ago. Hope she got it.[^7]

[^7: Soprano Leontyne Price sometimes played the role of Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (at the Met in New York in 1961, for example) and sometimes that of Donna Elvira, for example in the 1959 recording for RCA/Decca (conducted by Erich Leinsdorf). The request Henze’s secretary made to Kallman may be referring to this recording.]

In any case, now you'll understand why it's impossible for me to date my visit with any sort of accuracy.[^8] As for Andreas (Kosta's fratellino), I don't know exca[^9]tly what his plans are or what plans Kostas has for him. So I can hardly “include him in” any “joint” honeymoon.[^10] Yet. And what about this vacation you mention, maybe to Greece. When would it be?[^11]

[^8: Henze had asked in a letter sent to Auden when Kallman planned to arrive in Italy.]

[^9: A line indicates that the letter “a” should be read before the “c”.]

[^10: Kallman would have liked to take a honeymoon trip with Kosta in late September 1964 to Italy, Austria and possibly Germany. Perhaps Kallman is alluding here to the possibility of spending the honeymoon together with Kosta's brother, who was apparently married in early August 1964. See Kallman's letter of 27 July 1964.]

[^11: A letter in which Henze writes about his vacation in Greece has yet to be located.]

I'm enclosing my little cantata. Even if you can't “do” it now, I'd like to know how you feel about it as some future project.[^12] And I will try to court the light elegant Muse. It might even lift me out of this sweet sadness. Wystan's off to Berlin for a week on the twenty-first, so you'll probably see him there. And I shall be here alone, alone, alone.

[^12: Here, Kallman refers to the cantata The Solitudes for the Swedish singers Elizabeth Söderström and Kerstin Meyer, that he wanted Henze to set to music, but that the composer did not have enough time to do, as he mentions in his Autobiography, pp. 171-172. The attached document is unfortunately not found with the letter, but it may be kept among the materials of the Henze Collection at the Paul Sacher Foundation. The title Solitudes is ascertained from one of Kallman's letter and from Henze's Autobiography, pp. 171-172.]

Please Turn Over

By the by, this friend of mine (the one who's going to meet me in Athens) will be in Rome, at some medical Congress, from the twentieth to the twenty-eig ht h. You'll adore each other. Do be a dear and drop him a note* * before you leave for Berlin, if possible
(Dr. William Vinson c/o
American Express, Roma)
telling him when you'll be back and giving him your phone number. You might, if your plans co-incide, even come to Athens with him. But that's just what we call in English an idear.[^13]

[^13: “Idear” in Appalachian is an eye dialect spelling of “idea”.]

Glad you liked the car. Actually, its of Danilove in “Schwanz Like……”

Here are two other songs for you to set.[^14]

[^14: In addition to the “cantata” attached to this letter but yet to be located, Kallman added two more poems at the end of the letter either for the same unfinished project, The Solitudes, or for another project with Henze's music.]

Very|Exclusive Indeed

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
[^15]
Admit the blow that breaks it:
I sit upon the principle that finds
Its pleasure where it takes it.

[^15: The first verse of this poem, “Let me not to the marriage of true minds”, is taken from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116.]

The Sentimental Slut

I've got my nerve. I really ought to stop.
I've got nerves too, and you are why I've got 'em.
The corpus of my loves has you on top,
Though true at heart may not be true at bottom.

Best regards to K von C.

Αγάπη[^16]
τσέστερ

[^16: Kallman uses the Greek word “agápi” to mean “love” in signing off this letter.]

Many thanks for your letter. Hope something will bring you to Berlin this winter[^17] love
Wystan
.

[^17: Henze would actually be in Berlin during the winter of 1964-1965 as an artist-in-residence with a Ford Foundation scholarship together with Auden and Bachmann.]