William von Sachs and Yakov Polonsky: Difference between pages

Tchaikovsky Research
(Difference between pages)
m (1 revision imported)
 
 
Line 1: Line 1:
American music critic and journalist of Austrian descent <ref name="note1"/>, also known as '''''Willy von Sachs''''' (b. 30 May 1856 in [[New York]]).
{{picture|file=Yakov Polonsky.jpg|caption='''Yakov Polonsky''' (1819-1898)}}
Russian poet (b. 6/18 December 1819 in Ryazan; d. 18/30 October 1898 in [[Saint Petersburg]]), born '''''Yakov Petrovich Polonsky''''' (Яков Петрович Полонский).


Sachs was the music critic of the ''Commercial Advertiser'' in [[New York]], and he hosted a musical soiree for Tchaikovsky during his visit to the city in 1891. The composer described him as "a very likeable and refined gentleman" <ref name="note2"/>, noting also that "This refined little gentleman, who speaks French fluently, has excellent knowledge of music, and is very considerate to me, is perhaps the only person in ''[[New York]]'' whose company I do not find onerous, and even pleasant" <ref name="note3"/>.
After graduating from [[Moscow]] University in 1844, he published his first collection of poems in the same year. In 1851 he moved to [[Saint Petersburg]], where he edited the literary journal ''Russian Word ''(Русское слово). In later life he worked in the department of the state censor, while maintaining a steady output of poetry.
 
==Tchaikovsky's Settings of Works by Polonsky==
Polonsky provided the libretto for Tchaikovsky's opera ''[[Vakula the Smith]]'' (1874, revised in 1885 as ''[[Cherevichki]]''), based on the story ''Christmas Eve'' (Ночь перед Рождеством) by [[Nikolay Gogol]] (1809-1852).
 
The texts of Tchaikovsky's [[Cantata for the Opening of the Polytechnic Exhibition]] (1872) and the chorus ''[[A Greeting to Anton Rubinstein]]'' (1889) were both specially written by Polonsky.
 
Tchaikovsky set three of Polonsky's poems in his [[Twelve Romances, Op. 60]] (1886):
* No. 7, ''Song of a Gypsy Girl'' (Песнь цыганки), from the poem of the same name (1853).
* No. 9, ''Night: Monologue for Baritone'' (Ночь: Монолог для баритона), from the poem of the same name (1850).
* No. 10, Beyond the Window, in the Shadows (За окном в тени мелькает), from Polonskys' poem ''The Summons'' (Вызов) (1844).


==Correspondence with Tchaikovsky==
==Correspondence with Tchaikovsky==
5 letters from Tchaikovsky to William von Sachs have survived, dating from 1891 to 1893, all of which have been translated into English on this website:
4 letters from the composer to Yakov Polonsky have survived, dating from 1872 to 1889, all of which have been translated into English on this website:
* '''[[Letter 4385]]''' – 29 May/10 June 1891, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 265]]''' – 2/14 June 1872, from [[Kiev]]
* '''[[Letter 4603]]''' – 17/29 January 1892, from [[Paris]]
* '''[[Letter 346]]''' – 11/23 April or 12/24 April 1874 (?), from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 4807]]''' – 15/27 November 1892, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 463]]''' – 4/16 May 1876, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 4824]]''' – 11/23 December 1892, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 3950]]''' – 4/16 October 1889, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 5044]]''' – 25 September/7 October 1893, from [[Klin]]
 
One letter from Polonsky to the composer, dating from 1889, is preserved in the [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive.


8 letters from William von Sachs to Tchaikovsky, dating from 1891 to 1893, are preserved in the [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive.
==External Links==
* [[wikipedia:Yakov_Polonsky|Wikipedia]]


==Notes and References==
[[Category:People|Polonsky, Yakov]]
<references>
[[Category:Correspondents|Polonsky, Yakov]]
<ref name="note1">On his five passport applications between 1890 and 1916 he asserts that he is born in [[New York]] city, and that his father was a naturalized American citizen. On two of these applications his date of birth was mistakenly recorded as 3 May and 13 May. See: ''U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925'', Nos. 344/12300 (1890), 42/278 (1900), 98/17674 (1909), 303/22130 (1914), 229/46002 (1916) —  http://www.ancestry.com  (accessed 25 April 2015).</ref>
[[Category:Writers|Polonsky, Yakov]]
<ref name="note2">Diary entry for [[Diaries_(April_1891)#Wednesday_17.2F29_April_1891|17/29 April 1891]].</ref>
<ref name="note3">|Diary entry for [[Diaries_(April_1891)#Sunday_21_April.2F3_May_1891|21 April/3 May 1891]]. Sachs's passport applications all concur that his height was 5 feet and 7½ inches (1.7 metres).</ref>
</references>
[[Category:People|Sachs, William von]]
[[Category:Correspondents|Sachs, William von]]
[[Category:Writers|Sachs, William von]]

Revision as of 17:38, 23 February 2020

Yakov Polonsky (1819-1898)

Russian poet (b. 6/18 December 1819 in Ryazan; d. 18/30 October 1898 in Saint Petersburg), born Yakov Petrovich Polonsky (Яков Петрович Полонский).

After graduating from Moscow University in 1844, he published his first collection of poems in the same year. In 1851 he moved to Saint Petersburg, where he edited the literary journal Russian Word (Русское слово). In later life he worked in the department of the state censor, while maintaining a steady output of poetry.

Tchaikovsky's Settings of Works by Polonsky

Polonsky provided the libretto for Tchaikovsky's opera Vakula the Smith (1874, revised in 1885 as Cherevichki), based on the story Christmas Eve (Ночь перед Рождеством) by Nikolay Gogol (1809-1852).

The texts of Tchaikovsky's Cantata for the Opening of the Polytechnic Exhibition (1872) and the chorus A Greeting to Anton Rubinstein (1889) were both specially written by Polonsky.

Tchaikovsky set three of Polonsky's poems in his Twelve Romances, Op. 60 (1886):

  • No. 7, Song of a Gypsy Girl (Песнь цыганки), from the poem of the same name (1853).
  • No. 9, Night: Monologue for Baritone (Ночь: Монолог для баритона), from the poem of the same name (1850).
  • No. 10, Beyond the Window, in the Shadows (За окном в тени мелькает), from Polonskys' poem The Summons (Вызов) (1844).

Correspondence with Tchaikovsky

4 letters from the composer to Yakov Polonsky have survived, dating from 1872 to 1889, all of which have been translated into English on this website:

One letter from Polonsky to the composer, dating from 1889, is preserved in the Klin House-Museum Archive.

External Links