Malevolent Creation - Remnants Of Withered Decay

At the same time, contrary to popular belief, Wagner was by no means a miser. Here is one very revealing case. Once, while in Sicily, an aging composer invited a street musician to his hotel, promising to pay 50 lire for the game — a truly scene from Pushkin's Mozart and Salieri! But in fact, Wagner paid 500 lire! He explained to his friends, shocked by an unprecedented squandering, that the poor musician was clearly hungry, but to whom, if not to him, who had once experienced extreme need and had firsthand knowledge of hunger, to sympathize and help his “colleague”.