Spontini met Paganini on a tour of German cities, and worked together with Wagner in Dresden — Wagner being impressed by the conductor’s baton Spontini requested, black with white tips. Berlioz discovered his music as a student, later met and championed him, and later still wrote his obituary. Mendelssohn was met in Berlin – Spontini was apparently critical of the 17-year-old’s operatic composition. He corresponded with Cherubini, wrote to Salieri praising the metronome, and asked Hoffmann to translate a text for him: Hoffmann promoted him as an honourary German.