Henry T. Finck 
Richard Strauss the Man and His Works [PDF ebook] 

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. When asked to write this introduction, it seemed to him as funny as if he had invited Doctor Schmidt to write an overture for Elektra but he consented. An extract from this document, relating to the value of hostile criticism, will be printed later in this volume. Pertinent to the present subject is the final paragraph.