Item 161 - Letter from Donald Tovey to Elizabeth Trevelyan

Northlands, Englefield Green, Surrey. - Thanks Bessie for the letter and photographs, which have just reached him after going astray in Aachen. Miss Weisse has tried twice to get a 'recantation' from G.S. [Guilhermina Suggia] and given up; thought she 'quite understood' until she showed Tovey Suggia's letter, in which Suggia quoted 'some highly emotional remarks' of Tovey's without mentioning that they came from a letter to Casals when Tovey left Spain, which Suggia could not have known of until after her reconciliation with Casals. Thinks this changed Miss Weisse's view of the business greatly, and amused her. Suggia does not lie 'if she can possibly help it... [s]he merely selects her truths'. [Murray Coutts ?] Trotter's insistence that Tovey should not admit to acting at any point 'with other than Ideal Wisdom' is justified. Regretted last autumn the 'drastic note' to Casals which Trotter and [Hugh] Godley compelled him to write, but now sees it was necessary; even hopes Casals may someday see so too. Thinks Miss Weisse is right that Suggia is 'in many ways fully as much sinned against as sinning'; Casals should not 'have taken her back while vilifying her to all Paris'. Hopes she will 'make a great career as a musician' and that Casals will soon recover from his attempt 'to educate a person who is twenty times cleverer than himself'. Is also sorry for 'that poor little Common House-fly' Horzowski, who is 'rather a genius as a player'. Sends love to Mrs Röntgen, and says Bessie must bring her to Northlands: they have the 9th Symphony for two pianos [Beethoven arr. Liszt?]. A postscript on the back of the envelope says that the cello solo sonata is out and [Willi?] Strecker 'is going to use it as a life-buoy'.