In 1955, the city of Lucerne was presented with an oil painting depicting the pianist Carl Tausig. The generous donor was the artist Walther Müller-Roth, who was living in Bern at the time. It is unclear who painted the picture. Perhaps it is the work of the donor himself, created from a photograph? What is certain, however, is why he gave it to Lucerne: Tausig and Wagner share a common history. In 1858, the then 16-year-old Tausig knocked on the composer’s door. He carried with him a letter of recommendation from Franz Liszt, which read: “Here I send you a wonder boy, dearest Richard. Welcome him warmly.”

That is exactly what Wagner did, and he soon developed fatherly feelings for the boy. After a year, Tausig set out into the world. However, his close connection to Wagner remained. Around 1863, Tausig organized concerts in Vienna that helped the then-impoverished Wagner. He also produced transcriptions and piano scores of Wagner’s operas, thereby contributing to the spread of his music throughout Europe. Even after the second publication of Wagner’s  antisemtic pamphlet “Judaism in Music” (1869), he remained on friendly terms with him. You can learn more about Tausig’s relationship with Wagner in the current special exhibition “Wagner Taboo? Jewish Perspectives.”