We all know that Wagner worshipped Arthur Schopenhauer; most people also know that Schopenhauer did not return the favor, jotting all manner of sardonic remarks in the margins of the Ring libretto that Wagner sent to him. (Next to the stage direction at the end of the scandalous first act of Die Walküre — "The curtain falls quickly" — Schopenhauer wrote, "And it's high time.") The philosopher once saw The Flying Dutchman and found it "overdone," according to David Cartwright's biography. He adored Mozart and Rossini above all; his attitude toward the latter bordered on the same bashful idolatry that he received from Wagner, who once said that Schopenhauer was the only man who ever intimidated him. Cartwright tells a poignant tale: in 1856, Rossini came to Frankfurt, Schopenhauer's home town, and was seen dining at the Englischer Hof, the philosopher's favorite spot. Alerted in advance, Schopenhauer arranged with the management to be seated near the composer. But he did not rise to say hello; instead, too shy or too proud, he lingered in Rossini's vicinity for the duration of the meal.
