Letter 624 - Revision history

Tony at 12:05, 12 April 2024

2024-04-12T12:05:41Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:05, 12 April 2024
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	Let us talk about business matters. Firstly, I kindly ask you to tell old ''Kolreif'' <ref name="note3"/> that I shall pay the interest I owe him in early December, using the money that my brother will receive on my behalf in [[Petersburg]] for ''[[Vakula]]''. If it turns out to be possible, I shall also pay him back part of the capital. Please ask him to forgive me for my involuntary unpunctuality. Secondly, out of the money which [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]], as promised, is going to send me, I ask you to deduct a part of that sum each month for my scholarship-holder ''Litvinov'' <ref name="note4"/>. Thirdly, I would ask you to send me the promised subsidies not in Russian banknotes, but as a ''promissory note'', if this does not present you with too many difficulties.		Let us talk about business matters. Firstly, I kindly ask you to tell old ''Kolreif'' <ref name="note3"/> that I shall pay the interest I owe him in early December, using the money that my brother will receive on my behalf in [[Petersburg]] for ''[[Vakula]]''. If it turns out to be possible, I shall also pay him back part of the capital. Please ask him to forgive me for my involuntary unpunctuality. Secondly, out of the money which [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]], as promised, is going to send me, I ask you to deduct a part of that sum each month for my scholarship-holder ''Litvinov'' <ref name="note4"/>. Thirdly, I would ask you to send me the promised subsidies not in Russian banknotes, but as a ''promissory note'', if this does not present you with too many difficulties.

	Fourthly, golubchik, please do write to me, when you have a minute to spare, about how you are faring, how dear Anna Leontyevna and my dear godson are doing, how [[Karlusha]] is living, whether the little milksop is recovering — all this is very interesting for me. I love you very, very, very much, and I am very attached to your whole family. Here, far away from you, I feel all this twice as strongly. Write to me also about how you have organized my classes; I am much tormented by the thought that I have put the Conservatory in such an awkward situation as a result of my departure. But what else could I do! In any case, it is better to be absent for a year than to disappear forever. Had I stayed but one more day in [[Moscow]] I should have lost my mind or drowned myself in the foul-smelling waves of the nonetheless dear Moskva River.		Fourthly, golubchik, please do write to me, when you have a minute to spare, about how you are faring, how dear Anna Leontyevna and my dear godson are doing, how [[Karlusha]] is living, whether the little milksop is recovering — all this is very interesting for me. I love you very, very, very much, and I am very attached to your whole family. Here, far away from you, I feel all this twice as strongly. Write to me also about how you have organized my classes; I am much tormented by the thought that I have put the Conservatory in such an awkward situation as a result of my departure. But what else could I do! In any case, it is better to be absent for a year than to disappear forever. Had I stayed but one more day in [[Moscow]], I should have lost my mind or drowned myself in the foul-smelling waves of the nonetheless dear Moskva River.

	I am leading a very quiet and modest life here with my brother [[Tolya]]. I don't see anyone at all. We have put up at a splendid boarding house. Apart from the two of us no one else has dinner at the table d'hôte. The quiet and peace here are imperturbable. I have started to work quite assiduously and have completed the instrumentation of the first act of my [[Yevgeny Onegin\|opera]], which I sent to [[Moscow]] yesterday, addressed to [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]]. Now I want to take a break for a while and have as many long walks as I wish while the weather is fine. In fact, the weather is wonderful! Today my brother and I walked very far into the mountains and enjoyed ourselves with all our heart. Then I shall sit down to my opera again, as well as to my [[Symphony No. 4\|symphony]], which I wrote in sketch form last winter		I am leading a very quiet and modest life here with my brother [[Tolya]]. I don't see anyone at all. We have put up at a splendid boarding house. Apart from the two of us, no one else has dinner at the table d'hôte. The quiet and peace here are imperturbable. I have started to work quite assiduously and have completed the instrumentation of the first act of my [[Yevgeny Onegin\|opera]], which I sent to [[Moscow]] yesterday, addressed to [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]]. Now I want to take a break for a while and have as many long walks as I wish while the weather is fine. In fact, the weather is wonderful! Today my brother and I walked very far into the mountains and enjoyed ourselves with all our heart. Then I shall sit down to my opera again, as well as to my [[Symphony No. 4\|symphony]], which I wrote in sketch form last winter

	In a week's time I intend to make my way to Italy, to where I now feel myself irresistibly drawn. The mountains are very beautiful, but for a Russian person it is very difficult to stand their overwhelming majesty for a long time. I so awfully want to see flat country, boundless distances, space, and wide horizons!		In a week's time I intend to make my way to Italy, to where I now feel myself irresistibly drawn. The mountains are very beautiful, but for a Russian person it is very difficult to stand their overwhelming majesty for a long time. I so awfully want to see flat country, boundless distances, space, and wide horizons!
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	==Notes and References==		==Notes and References==
	<references>		<references>
	<ref name="note1">Tchaikovsky is referring to his second and last brief period of conjugality with his wife [[Antonina]] in [[Moscow]], which lasted from 11/23 September to 24 September/6 October 1877. At the end of this period he left for [[Saint Petersburg]] on a fictitious errand and soon afterwards went abroad in the company of his brother [[Anatoly]].</ref>		<ref name="note1">Tchaikovsky is referring to his second and last brief period of conjugality with his wife [[Antonina]] in [[Moscow]], which lasted from 11/23 September to 24 September/6 October 1877. At the end of this period, he left for [[Saint Petersburg]] on a fictitious errand and soon afterwards went abroad in the company of his brother [[Anatoly]].</ref>
	<ref name="note2">Tchaikovsky refers here to his decision (sanctioned by [[Nikolay Rubinstein]]) to take a one-year sabbatical from the [[Moscow]] Conservatory, but to return to his teaching duties on 1/13 September 1878 (the start of the following academic year). Thanks to [[Nadezhda von Meck]]'s generosity, though, Tchaikovsky was freed from the burden of having to earn his living as a Conservatory professor and he did not return to his post.</ref>		<ref name="note2">Tchaikovsky refers here to his decision (sanctioned by [[Nikolay Rubinstein]]) to take a one-year sabbatical from the [[Moscow]] Conservatory, but to return to his teaching duties on 1/13 September 1878 (the start of the following academic year). Thanks to [[Nadezhda von Meck]]'s generosity, though, Tchaikovsky was freed from the burden of having to earn his living as a Conservatory professor and he did not return to his post.</ref>
	<ref name="note3">Lev Pavlovich Kolreif, an army officer and moneylender whose services Tchaikovsky and his brothers had used in the past.</ref>		<ref name="note3">Lev Pavlovich Kolreif, an army officer and moneylender whose services Tchaikovsky and his brothers had used in the past.</ref>
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	<ref name="note6">This may be a jesting reference to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], who may have recently been on holiday in [[Vienna]].</ref>		<ref name="note6">This may be a jesting reference to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], who may have recently been on holiday in [[Vienna]].</ref>
	<ref name="note7">The nickname with which Tchaikovsky had christened his colleague [[Karl Klindworth]], in allusion to the latter's fanatical devotion to [[Wagner]].</ref>		<ref name="note7">The nickname with which Tchaikovsky had christened his colleague [[Karl Klindworth]], in allusion to the latter's fanatical devotion to [[Wagner]].</ref>
	<ref name="note8">\|See [[Letter 630]] to [[Nikolay Rubinstein]], 27 October/8 November 1877.</ref>		<ref name="note8">See [[Letter 630]] to [[Nikolay Rubinstein]], 27 October/8 November 1877.</ref>
	</references>		</references>
	{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter 0624}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter 0624}}

Brett: Text replacement - "any event" to "any case"

2024-02-29T09:23:25Z

Text replacement - "any event" to "any case"

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:23, 29 February 2024
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	Let us talk about business matters. Firstly, I kindly ask you to tell old ''Kolreif'' <ref name="note3"/> that I shall pay the interest I owe him in early December, using the money that my brother will receive on my behalf in [[Petersburg]] for ''[[Vakula]]''. If it turns out to be possible, I shall also pay him back part of the capital. Please ask him to forgive me for my involuntary unpunctuality. Secondly, out of the money which [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]], as promised, is going to send me, I ask you to deduct a part of that sum each month for my scholarship-holder ''Litvinov'' <ref name="note4"/>. Thirdly, I would ask you to send me the promised subsidies not in Russian banknotes, but as a ''promissory note'', if this does not present you with too many difficulties.		Let us talk about business matters. Firstly, I kindly ask you to tell old ''Kolreif'' <ref name="note3"/> that I shall pay the interest I owe him in early December, using the money that my brother will receive on my behalf in [[Petersburg]] for ''[[Vakula]]''. If it turns out to be possible, I shall also pay him back part of the capital. Please ask him to forgive me for my involuntary unpunctuality. Secondly, out of the money which [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]], as promised, is going to send me, I ask you to deduct a part of that sum each month for my scholarship-holder ''Litvinov'' <ref name="note4"/>. Thirdly, I would ask you to send me the promised subsidies not in Russian banknotes, but as a ''promissory note'', if this does not present you with too many difficulties.

	Fourthly, golubchik, please do write to me, when you have a minute to spare, about how you are faring, how dear Anna Leontyevna and my dear godson are doing, how [[Karlusha]] is living, whether the little milksop is recovering — all this is very interesting for me. I love you very, very, very much, and I am very attached to your whole family. Here, far away from you, I feel all this twice as strongly. Write to me also about how you have organized my classes; I am much tormented by the thought that I have put the Conservatory in such an awkward situation as a result of my departure. But what else could I do! In any ~~event~~, it is better to be absent for a year than to disappear forever. Had I stayed but one more day in [[Moscow]] I should have lost my mind or drowned myself in the foul-smelling waves of the nonetheless dear Moskva River.		Fourthly, golubchik, please do write to me, when you have a minute to spare, about how you are faring, how dear Anna Leontyevna and my dear godson are doing, how [[Karlusha]] is living, whether the little milksop is recovering — all this is very interesting for me. I love you very, very, very much, and I am very attached to your whole family. Here, far away from you, I feel all this twice as strongly. Write to me also about how you have organized my classes; I am much tormented by the thought that I have put the Conservatory in such an awkward situation as a result of my departure. But what else could I do! In any case, it is better to be absent for a year than to disappear forever. Had I stayed but one more day in [[Moscow]] I should have lost my mind or drowned myself in the foul-smelling waves of the nonetheless dear Moskva River.

	I am leading a very quiet and modest life here with my brother [[Tolya]]. I don't see anyone at all. We have put up at a splendid boarding house. Apart from the two of us no one else has dinner at the table d'hôte. The quiet and peace here are imperturbable. I have started to work quite assiduously and have completed the instrumentation of the first act of my [[Yevgeny Onegin\|opera]], which I sent to [[Moscow]] yesterday, addressed to [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]]. Now I want to take a break for a while and have as many long walks as I wish while the weather is fine. In fact, the weather is wonderful! Today my brother and I walked very far into the mountains and enjoyed ourselves with all our heart. Then I shall sit down to my opera again, as well as to my [[Symphony No. 4\|symphony]], which I wrote in sketch form last winter		I am leading a very quiet and modest life here with my brother [[Tolya]]. I don't see anyone at all. We have put up at a splendid boarding house. Apart from the two of us no one else has dinner at the table d'hôte. The quiet and peace here are imperturbable. I have started to work quite assiduously and have completed the instrumentation of the first act of my [[Yevgeny Onegin\|opera]], which I sent to [[Moscow]] yesterday, addressed to [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]]. Now I want to take a break for a while and have as many long walks as I wish while the weather is fine. In fact, the weather is wonderful! Today my brother and I walked very far into the mountains and enjoyed ourselves with all our heart. Then I shall sit down to my opera again, as well as to my [[Symphony No. 4\|symphony]], which I wrote in sketch form last winter

Brett: 1 revision imported

2022-07-12T12:47:41Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 14:47, 12 July 2022
(No difference)

Brett at 14:59, 9 November 2019

2019-11-09T14:59:14Z

New page

{{letterhead
|Date=25 October/6 November 1877
|To=[[Karl Albrecht]]
|Place=[[Clarens]]
|Language=Russian
|Autograph={{locunknown}}
|Publication={{bibx|1940/228|Чайковский на Московской сцене}} (1940), p. 261–262 <br/>{{bib|1961/38|П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений ; том VI}} (1961), p. 194–195
|Notes=Manuscript copy in [[Klin]] (Russia): {{RUS-KLč}}
}}

==Text and Translation==
{{Lettertext
|Language=Russian
|Translator=Luis Sundkvist
|Original text={{right|{{datestyle|''Clarens'',|25 окт[ября]|6 ноября|1877}} }}
{{centre|Милый Карлуша!}}
Мне очень трудно говорить о всём случившемся, и позволь мне обойти этот грустный предмет разговора. Прости меня за то, что я не мог исполнить твоего совета ''вытерпеть год''. Помнишь? Я и двух недель не вытерпел. Никто не знает всё, что я выстрадал в эти две недели! Но, повторяю, мне тяжело говорить обо всём этом

Итак, весь этот год я проживу за границей и возвращусь домой 1-го Сентября будущего года. Только в разлуке познаёшь всю силу любви к друзьям. Карлуша! Я теперь живу среди чудной природы в Швейцарии, через неделю я уеду в ещё более чудную страну—в Италию; но сердце моё безраздельно принадлежит милой родине. Конечно, прожить в Швейцарии и Италии 10 месяцев—приятнее, чем терпеть то, что я вытерпел в Москве с 11-го по 24[-го] Сентября, но мысль, что я так долго ''должен'' пробыть в необычной среде, среди чужих людей, вдали от друзей, — очень пугает меня. Ну, будь, что будет!

Поговорим о делах. Во 1-х, покорно прошу тебя передать старику ''Кольрейфу'', что проценты, должные ему, я выплачу в начале декабря из денег, которые брат получит за меня в Петербурге за «''Вакулу''». Если будет возможно, то я заплачу ему также и часть капитала. Попроси его простить мне невольную неаккуратность. Во 2-х, — из денег, которые мне будет посылать, по обещанию, Н[иколай] Гр[игорьевич], я прошу тебя вычитать ежемесячно часть суммы на моего стипендиата, ''Литвинова''. В 3-х, прошу тебя высылать мне обещанные субсидии не русскими бумажками, а ''векселем'', если это не особенно затруднит тебя

В 4-х, голубчик, напиши мне, когда окажется свободная минутка, о том, как ты поживаешь, что милая Анна Леонтьевна, что мой милый крестник, как живёт Карлуша, поправляется ли мухортик, — всё это очень мне интересно. Я очень, очень, очень люблю тебя; я очень привязан ко всему твоему семейству, и здесь, вдали от тебя, я чувствую всё это с удвоенною силою. Напиши мне также, как Вы устроили мои классы; меня очень терзает, что я поставил Консерваторию в столь затруднительное положение своим отъездом. Но что ж мне было делать! Всё-таки лучше отсутствовать год, чем исчезнуть навеки. Если б я остался хоть ещё один день в Москве, то сошёл бы с ума или утопился бы в вонючих волнах, всё-таки, милой Москвы-реки

Я живу здесь с братом Толей очень тихо и скромно. Не вижу решительно никого. Мы попали в отличный пансион; кроме нас двоих, за table d'hôte никто не обедает. Тишина и мир—невозмутимые. Я начал довольно усердно работать и окончил инструментовку первого действия оперы, которую я выслал вчера в Москву на имя Н[иколая] Григ[орьевича]. Теперь несколько времени хочу отдохнуть и нагуляться досыта, пока погода хороша. А погода чудная! Сегодня мы ходили с братом далеко, далеко в горы и наслаждались от всей души. Потом опять засяду за оперу и за симфонию, которая написана начерно ещё прошлой зимой.

Через неделю я собираюсь пробраться в Италию, куда мне теперь неудержимо тянет. Горы очень хороши, но русскому человеку долго переносить их подавляющее величие очень трудно. До смерти хочется равнины, безбрежной дали, простора и широких горизонтов!

Я надеюсь, что Н[иколай] Гр[игорьевич] получил моё письмо, в котором я благодарю его за то, что меня не забыли и поддержали. Я очень тронут всем этим и никогда не забуду дружеского внимания

Теперь я начну писать тебе, подражая эпистолярному стилю солдата Петра, который с берегов Дуная выслал тебе поручение разослать поклоны всей его родне и знакомым

Итак, прежде всего кланяйся жене и передай нежные поцелуи детям, причём Жене нежнее других. Засим передай очень тёплые приветствия ''Кашкину'', которому я тоже собираюсь скоро написать, а также Губерту и его симпатичной невесте. Если ''Вотан'' вспомнит обо мне, то и ему низко кланяюсь. Остальных поименно не называю

Прощай, мой милый, дорогой Карлуша! Если напишешь мне, буду тебе глубоко благодарен. Ник[олаю] Григ[орьевичу] особого поклона не посылаю, ибо буду писать ему завтра об «''Онегине''».

Потрудись адресовать мне теперь так: ''Italia, Roma, poste restante''. Я еду отсюда прямо туда, но где окончательно поселюсь, ещё не знаю.

Нежно тебя обнимаю.
{{right|Твой П. Чайковский}}

|Translated text={{right|{{datestyle|''Clarens'',|25 Оctober|6 November|1877}} }}
{{centre|Dear [[Karlusha]]!}}
It's very difficult for me to speak of everything that has happened, so allow me to avoid this sad topic of conversation. Forgive me for not having been able to follow your advice to ''endure for a year''. Remember? I could not even endure for two weeks. No one knows all that I suffered during those two weeks. But, I repeat, it is hard for me to speak of all this <ref name="note1"/>.

And so, this whole year I shall spend abroad, returning home on 1st September next year <ref name="note2"/>. One only comes to realize the full strength of one's love for one's friends when one is separated from them. [[Karlusha]]! I am now living amidst the wondrous nature of Switzerland, within a week I shall depart for yet another wondrous country — Italy — but my heart belongs wholly to my dear native land. Of course, living for ten months in Switzerland and Italy is more pleasant than having to endure what I endured in [[Moscow]] from 11th to 24[th] September, but the thought that I ''must'' spend such a long time in an unfamiliar environment, among strangers, far away from my friends, frightens me very much. Well, come what may!

Let us talk about business matters. Firstly, I kindly ask you to tell old ''Kolreif'' <ref name="note3"/> that I shall pay the interest I owe him in early December, using the money that my brother will receive on my behalf in [[Petersburg]] for ''[[Vakula]]''. If it turns out to be possible, I shall also pay him back part of the capital. Please ask him to forgive me for my involuntary unpunctuality. Secondly, out of the money which [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]], as promised, is going to send me, I ask you to deduct a part of that sum each month for my scholarship-holder ''Litvinov'' <ref name="note4"/>. Thirdly, I would ask you to send me the promised subsidies not in Russian banknotes, but as a ''promissory note'', if this does not present you with too many difficulties.

Fourthly, golubchik, please do write to me, when you have a minute to spare, about how you are faring, how dear Anna Leontyevna and my dear godson are doing, how [[Karlusha]] is living, whether the little milksop is recovering — all this is very interesting for me. I love you very, very, very much, and I am very attached to your whole family. Here, far away from you, I feel all this twice as strongly. Write to me also about how you have organized my classes; I am much tormented by the thought that I have put the Conservatory in such an awkward situation as a result of my departure. But what else could I do! In any event, it is better to be absent for a year than to disappear forever. Had I stayed but one more day in [[Moscow]] I should have lost my mind or drowned myself in the foul-smelling waves of the nonetheless dear Moskva River.

I am leading a very quiet and modest life here with my brother [[Tolya]]. I don't see anyone at all. We have put up at a splendid boarding house. Apart from the two of us no one else has dinner at the table d'hôte. The quiet and peace here are imperturbable. I have started to work quite assiduously and have completed the instrumentation of the first act of my [[Yevgeny Onegin|opera]], which I sent to [[Moscow]] yesterday, addressed to [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]]. Now I want to take a break for a while and have as many long walks as I wish while the weather is fine. In fact, the weather is wonderful! Today my brother and I walked very far into the mountains and enjoyed ourselves with all our heart. Then I shall sit down to my opera again, as well as to my [[Symphony No. 4|symphony]], which I wrote in sketch form last winter

In a week's time I intend to make my way to Italy, to where I now feel myself irresistibly drawn. The mountains are very beautiful, but for a Russian person it is very difficult to stand their overwhelming majesty for a long time. I so awfully want to see flat country, boundless distances, space, and wide horizons!

I hope that [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]] has received my letter, in which I thank him for telling me that I have not been forgotten and that I can count on people's support <ref name="note5"/>. I am very moved by all this and shall never forget my friends' solicitude over me.

Now I shall begin writing to you in imitation of the epistolary style of Pyotr the soldier, who from the shores of the Danube ordered you to distribute greetings to all his relatives and acquaintances <ref name="note6"/>.

And so, first of all convey my greetings to your wife and pass on my affectionate kisses to your children, with those to your Wife being more affectionate than the rest. Then send my very warm greetings to ''[[Kashkin]]'', to whom I also intend to write soon, as well as to [[Hubert]] and his [[Aleksandra Hubert|appealing bride]]. If ''Wotan'' <ref name="note7"/> should happen to remember me, convey my regards to him, too. I shall not mention the others by name

Goodbye, my dear, cherished [[Karlusha]]! If you write to me, I shall be deeply grateful. I'm not sending any special regards for [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]], because tomorrow I'm going to write to him about ''[[Onegin]]'' <ref name="note8"/>.

Kindly now address your letters to me as follows: ''Italy, [[Rome]], poste restante''. When I leave here I shall head straight for ''[[Rome]]'', but I don't know yet where I'm going to reside permanently.

I embrace you affectionately.
{{right|Yours P. Tchaikovsky}}
}}

==Notes and References==
<references>
<ref name="note1">Tchaikovsky is referring to his second and last brief period of conjugality with his wife [[Antonina]] in [[Moscow]], which lasted from 11/23 September to 24 September/6 October 1877. At the end of this period he left for [[Saint Petersburg]] on a fictitious errand and soon afterwards went abroad in the company of his brother [[Anatoly]].</ref>
<ref name="note2">Tchaikovsky refers here to his decision (sanctioned by [[Nikolay Rubinstein]]) to take a one-year sabbatical from the [[Moscow]] Conservatory, but to return to his teaching duties on 1/13 September 1878 (the start of the following academic year). Thanks to [[Nadezhda von Meck]]'s generosity, though, Tchaikovsky was freed from the burden of having to earn his living as a Conservatory professor and he did not return to his post.</ref>
<ref name="note3">Lev Pavlovich Kolreif, an army officer and moneylender whose services Tchaikovsky and his brothers had used in the past.</ref>
<ref name="note4">Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Litvinov (real name: Samuil; 1861–1933), a young Russian-Jewish violinist whose studies at the [[Moscow]] Conservatory were funded by Tchaikovsky.</ref>
<ref name="note5">See [[Letter 623]] to [[Nikolay Rubinstein]], 20 October/1 November 1877.</ref>
<ref name="note6">This may be a jesting reference to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], who may have recently been on holiday in [[Vienna]].</ref>
<ref name="note7">The nickname with which Tchaikovsky had christened his colleague [[Karl Klindworth]], in allusion to the latter's fanatical devotion to [[Wagner]].</ref>
<ref name="note8">|See [[Letter 630]] to [[Nikolay Rubinstein]], 27 October/8 November 1877.</ref>
</references>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter 0624}}