Louis Spohr an Franz Joseph Keppner in München

Cassel, Feb. 6th, 1853.
 
The most pleasing item in your last letter was the news that Minister Marshall, at Carlsruhe, takes an interest in your studies, and will make an effort to procure you a further support from the Gouvernment. Try to preserve this interest, in order to obtain the means by which you can acquire the whole of the science of composition. If you have finished your studies in counterpoint, a thorough acquaintance with the forms of all the branches of composition will be necessary. The Usual forms invented and adopted by great masters and cautiously enlarged by others, must not only be known by a young composer, but he also must be able to practically use them with ease and fluency before he can write any thing good and substantial of his own. Your new overture shows me again that you can not acquire this without the aid of a master. And therefore your announcement of the protection of the minister, which will enable you to complete your studies, is so agreeable to me. There are two considerations which you have to bear well in mind. Profit by every oppotunity to hear good music. Try to sound well the form of every part of a composition, as well as the manner in which the composer links his ideas together and develops one from the other, and if you can not understand all, (which is likely in the beginning) try to obtain the score of the composition you have heard, and play it over repeatedly in order to get a key to that which was not at first intelligible to you. To be able to do this, it is not necessary to be a virtuoso on the piano-forte, but a good execution you must have. Be therefore as industrious as you can to acquire under a good master the necessary execution for playing scores. Such assiduos activity and industry are also likely to cure you of unhealthy spectulations which are very dangerous, because they may hinder you from profiting of the right time for your cultivation. Therefore practice much the piano-forte; hear good music, and study its scores at the instrument.
A criticism on your overture, before you have occupied yourself with the different forms of compositions, would be useless. As soon as you have done this, I may let it follow if it then should be still necessary. Your studies in reference to imitations I have found quite good; some of the harmonies of these are harsh, which might have been avoided, but the form and modulations are very good.
 
Louis Spohr.