Italian Capriccio and Nikolay Kuznetsov: Difference between pages

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Tchaikovsky's '''''Italian Capriccio''''' (Итальяанское каприччио) on themes from folksongs, in A major, [[Op.]] 45 ([[TH]] 47 ; [[ČW]] 44), was composed in [[Rome]] in January and February 1880, and orchestrated in [[Kamenka]] in May 1880.
{{picture|file=Nikolay Kuznetsov.jpg|caption='''Nikolay Kuznetsov''' (1850-1929)}}
Russian artist (b. 2/14 December 1850 at Stepanovka, [[Odessa]] province; d. February 1929 at Sarajevo), born '''''Nikolay Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov''''' (Николай Дмитриевич Кузнецов).


==Instrumentation==
The son of a landowner from Kherson province, Kuznetsov was a student at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, where he was awarded three silver medals. In 1881, he began to tour widely exhibiting his works, frequently travelling abroad.
The ''Capriccio'' is scored for an orchestra of 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (in A), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in F), 2 cornets (in A), 2 trumpets (in E), 3 trombones, tuba + 3 timpani, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, bass drum, glockenspiel + harp, violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses.


==Duration==
==Tchaikovsky and Kuznetsov==
There is one movement: Andante un poco rubato—Pochissimo più mosso—Allegro moderato (A major, 633 bars), lasting around 15 to 20 minutes in performance.
In [[Odessa]] in January 1893 he painted the only contemporary portrait of Tchaikovsky, which now hangs in the Tretyakov Gallery in [[Moscow]].


==Composition==
A few days after leaving [[Odessa]], Tchaikovsky wrote to [[Vladimir Makovsky]]:
The earliest reference to the composer's intended new work occurs in a letter of 4/16 January 1880 to [[Sergey Taneyev]]: "I want to write an Italian suite on folk melodies" <ref name="note1"/>. By 16/28 January, he had already begun to compose the ''fantasia'' (as it was then styled), as the composer wrote to [[Nadezhda von Meck]]: "I have begun to make sketches for an Italian Fantasia on folk themes. I want to write something in the manner of [[Glinka]]'s ''Spanish Fantasia''" <ref name="note2"/>.
{{quote|I made the acquaintance of the painter ''N. D. Kuznetsov'', who wished to paint my portrait, and this he carried out with exceptional success, as others have said and as I, too, think. Those citizens of [[Odessa]] who came to look at this portrait during the sittings expressed their extraordinary delight, amazement, and joy over the fact that such a splendid work of art was being painted in their city. The portrait was painted rather hurriedly, and that is why it may possibly not have the desired finish in the details, but in terms of its expression, lifelikeness, and authenticity it really is remarkable" <ref name="note1"/>.}}


On 24 January/5 February 1880, Tchaikovsky told [[Nadezhda von Meck]]: "All the same, I have been working successfully over the recent days, and I have already prepared in rough an ''Italian Fantasia on folk themes'', which it seems to me, might be predicted to have a good future. It will be effective, thanks to its delightful tunes, some of which I chose from collections, and some of which I heard myself on the streets" <ref name="note3"/>. In this same letter Tchaikovsky provided a detailed account of a Roman carnival, at the height of which he created the ''Italian Fantasia'' on folk tunes. According to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], the theme of the opening fanfare was a signal used at a cavalry barracks, which the composer heard through his window every day while staying at the ''Hôtel Constanzi'' <ref name="note4"/>.
{{picture|file=Kuznetsov Portrait 1893.jpg|caption=[[Nikolay Kuznetsov]]'s portrait of the composer, 1893}}
Tchaikovsky also praised this portrait in a letter to his brother [[Modest]]: "In [[Odessa]] the painter '' Kuznetsov'' painted a really ''astonishing'' portrait of me. I hope that he still has enough time to send it to the ''peredvizhniki'' exhibition" <ref name="note2"/>. In his biography of the composer, [[Modest]] said the following about Kuznetsov's portrait:


The composer was very pleased with his new work, as is evident from his letters to his family and friends. For example, he wrote to [[Anatoly Tchaikovsky]] on 31 January/12 February 1880: "I've composed such a sweet little ''Italian Fantasia'' for orchestra — delightful!" <ref name="note5"/>.
{{quote|This portrait is now in the Tretyakov Gallery. The artist, who was not familiar with Pyotr Ilyich's inner life, thanks to the flair of inspiration was able to discern the tragic element in his mood at that time and with profound truth conveyed what I can only try to describe faintly here. Knowing my brother as I did, I can safely assert that there is no better, more truthful and staggering likeness of him as he was in life than this portrait. Yes, there are small deviations from reality in a few details of the face, but they do not obscure the main content, and I would not wish to see them corrected. It is not within the reach of man to produce something that is entirely perfect, and, God knows, perhaps the perfection of spirituality in this portrait is achieved at the expense of various insignificant inaccuracies in the individual traits of the face.}}


Returning to Russia, Tchaikovsky set about the instrumentation of the ''Italian Fantasia'' at [[Kamenka]]. In a letter of 3/15 May, he asked [[Pyotr Jurgenson]] to send him a metronome: "The ''Italian Fantasia'' (which I'm scoring) will be impossible to bring out without metronome markings" <ref name="note6"/>.
{{quote|Kuznetsov gave this portrait as a present to Pyotr Ilyich, but the latter refused to accept it because, firstly, he did not want to have a likeness of himself at home; secondly, he did not feel entitled to give it to someone else; and, thirdly and most importantly, he did not want to deprive the artist of what he would otherwise be able to earn for this work. So instead of the portrait Pyotr Ilyich gratefully accepted as a present a delightful study of a spring landscape, which even to this day constitutes the finest adornment of the composer's rooms at the house in [[Klin]]" <ref name="note3"/>.}}


From time to time the composer reported on the orchestration of the work to [[Anatoly Tchaikovsky]] <ref name="note7"/>. On completing it, Tchaikovsky wrote to [[Nadezhda von Meck]] on 12/24 May: "I have only just finished scoring the Italian Fantasia. I am not sure what actual musical value this work shall have, but I am sure in advance that it will sound well, i.e. that the orchestration will be effective and brilliant. Now I shall start arranging it for four hands, and endeavour to make this as simple as possible" <ref name="note8"/>. The composer wanted the fantasia to be played in the next concert season <ref name="note9"/>. Evidently, after completing the full score, the composer reviewed it and inserted the metronome marks, since the date at the end of the manuscript is "([[Rome]]—[[Kamenka]]) 15 May 1880" {{OS}}.  
The painter's daughter Mariya Kuznetsova (1880–1966) trained originally as a dancer, but went on to become a famous soprano, singing at the Mariinsky Theatre in [[Saint Petersburg]] from 1905 to 1913, after which there followed several engagements in Western Europe and North and South America. Her father painted her in the role of Mariya in Tchaikovsky's opera ''[[Mazepa]]''.


The title ''Capriccio'' (instead of ''Fantasia'') appears for the first time in a letter from Tchaikovsky to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]] of 16/28 May 1880, in which he reports that he has completed its arrangement for piano duet <ref name="note10"/>.
==Correspondence with Tchaikovsky==
One letter from Tchaikovsky to Nikolay Kuznetsov has survived, dating from 1893, and has been translated into English on this website:
* '''[[Letter 4871]]''' – 20 February/4 March 1893, from [[Moscow]]


==Arrangements==
One letter from Nikolay Kuznetsov to the composer, also dating from 1893, is preserved in the {{RUS-KLč}} at [[Klin]].
Tchaikovsky decided to make his own arrangement for piano duet (4 hands), for fear that it would be held up if this task were entrusted to [[Sergey Taneyev]], and this work was carried out between 12/24 May and 16/28 May 1880 <ref name="note13"/>.  


==Performances==
==Bibliography==
In reply to a letter from [[Eduard Nápravník]] (now lost), apparently written in early/mid-September, in which [[Nápravník]] wrote that he would like to perform the ''Italian Capriccio'' in [[Saint Petersburg]], Tchaikovsky reported: "The "''Italian Capriccio''" is now ready in an arrangement for 4 hands, while the score and parts will be ready for printing by 1st November; at least, that's what [[Jurgenson]] promises me, although I'll write to him that you want to perform the thing and want accurate news about when it will be ready" <ref name="note14"/>.
* {{bib|1903/28}} (1903)
 
* {{bib|1940/128}} (1940)
However, the first performance of the ''Italian Capriccio'' took place in [[Moscow]] on 6/18 December 1880, conducted by [[Nikolay Rubinstein]], in the seventh concert of the Russian Musical Society. Its [[Saint Petersburg]] premiere took place on 26 December 1880/7 January 1881, in a concert given by artists of the [[Saint Petersburg]] Russian Opera in the Mariinsky Theatre, conducted by [[Eduard Nápravník]].
* {{bib|1946/48}} (1946)
 
* {{bib|1956/12}} (1956)
Other notable early performances included:
* {{bib|1969/15}} (1969)
* [[Saint Petersburg]], 7th RMS symphony concert, 3/15 January 1881, conducted by [[Eduard Nápravník]]
* {{bib|1991/48}} (1991)
* Riga, Matinée concert, 11/23 April 1882, conducted by Julius Ruthardt
* {{bib|2007/20}} (2007)
* [[London]], Crystal Palace, 23 November/5 December 1885, conducted by August Manns
* [[New York]], Metropolitan Opera House (Symphony Society concert), 24 October/5 November 1886, conducted by [[Walter Damrosch]]
* [[Hamburg]], Ludwigsgarten, 8/20 January 1888
* [[Warsaw]], 2/14 January 1892, conducted by Tchaikovsky.
 
==Publication==
On 22 May/3 June 1880, Tchaikovsky sent [[Jurgenson]] the full score and arrangement to be published <ref name="note11"/>. In mid/late August the first proofs were ready <ref name="note12"/>.
 
In September 1880, the piano duet arrangement of the ''Italian Capriccio'' appeared in print, and in November the same year—the full score and orchestral parts. [[Pyotr Jurgenson]] also published two arrangements of the ''Capriccio'' made by [[Eduard Langer]], for piano duet (March 1884), and for two pianos and eight hands (April 1898), as well as an arrangement by [[Henryk Pachulski]] for piano, two hands (October 1899).
 
The full score of the ''Capriccio'' was published in volume 25 of Tchaikovsky's ''[[Complete Collected Works]]'' (1961), edited by Aleksandr Nikolayev, and Tchaikovsky's arrangement for piano duet in volume 50А (1965), edited by Irina Iordan.
 
==Autographs==
Tchaikovsky's manuscript score {{TOW2|italyanskoe-kaprichchio-na-temy-narodnyh-pesen-2017-08-17|(ф. 88, No. 80)}} and arrangement for piano duet {{TOW2|italyanskoe-kaprichchio-na-temy-narodnyh-pesen|(ф. 88, No. 81)}} are both preserved in the {{RUS-Mcm}} in [[Moscow]].
 
==Recordings==
{{reclink}}
 
==Dedication==
The ''Italian Capriccio'' is dedicated to [[Karl Davydov]] <ref name="note15"/>, cellist, composer, conductor, and director of the [[Saint Petersburg]] Conservatory.
 
==Related Works==
The tarantella (from bar 291) is based on the Italian folk tune "Ciccuzza".


==External Links==
==External Links==
* {{imslpscore|Italian_Capriccio,_Op.45_(Tchaikovsky,_Pyotr)|Italian Capriccio}}
* [[wikipedia:Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov (painter)|Wikipedia]]
* [http://odessaart.narod.ru/ Odessa Art website]


==Notes and References==
==Notes and References==
<references>
<references>
<ref name="note1">[[Letter 1396]] to [[Sergey Taneyev]], 4/16 January 1880.</ref>  
<ref name="note1">[[Letter 4851]] to [[Vladimir Makovsky]], 27 January/8 February 1893.</ref>  
<ref name="note2">[[Letter 1408]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 16/28 January 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note2">[[Letter 4852]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 28 January/9 February 1893. The ''peredvizhniki'' (literally 'itinerants') were an important association of painters in the second half of the nineteenth century who rejected academicism in favour of travelling around Russia and seeking to capture on their canvasses scenes from the real life of the people. However, such leading painters associated with the movement as Ivan Kramskoy (1837–1887) or Ilya Repin (1844–1930) also created many fine portraits of famous contemporaries.</ref>  
<ref name="note3">[[Letter 1412]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 24 January/5 February 1880.</ref>  
<ref name="note3">{{bib|1997/96|Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского ; том 3}} (1997), p. 531.</ref>
<ref name="note4">{{bib|1901/24|Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского ; том 2}} (1901), p. 418.</ref>
<ref name="note5">[[Letter 1418]] to [[Anatoly Tchaikovsky]], 31 January/12 February 1880. See also [[Letter 1422]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 5/17 February 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note6">[[Letter 1488]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 3/15 May 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note7">See Letters [[Letter 1490|1490]] and [[Letter 1491|1491]] to [[Anatoly Tchaikovsky]], 5/17 May and 8/20–9/21 May 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note8">[[Letter 1493]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 12/24–14/26 May 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note9">See [[Letter 1492]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 10/22 May 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note10">[[Letter 1498]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 16/28 May 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note11">See [[Letter 1502]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 22 May/3 June 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note12">See [[Letter 1562]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 12/24 August 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note13">See [[Letter 1493]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 12/24–14/26 May 1880 and [[Letter 1498]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 16/28 May 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note14">[[Letter 1586]] to [[Eduard Nápravník]], 12/24 September 1880.</ref>
<ref name="note15">See [[Letter 1414]] to [[Karl Davydov]], 25 January/6 February 1880.</ref>
</references>
</references>
[[Category:Orchestral Music]]
[[Category:People|Kuznetsov, Nikolay]]
[[Category:Correspondents|Kuznetsov, Nikolay]]
[[Category:Painters|Kuznetsov, Nikolay]]

Revision as of 09:57, 8 August 2023

Nikolay Kuznetsov (1850-1929)

Russian artist (b. 2/14 December 1850 at Stepanovka, Odessa province; d. February 1929 at Sarajevo), born Nikolay Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov (Николай Дмитриевич Кузнецов).

The son of a landowner from Kherson province, Kuznetsov was a student at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, where he was awarded three silver medals. In 1881, he began to tour widely exhibiting his works, frequently travelling abroad.

Tchaikovsky and Kuznetsov

In Odessa in January 1893 he painted the only contemporary portrait of Tchaikovsky, which now hangs in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

A few days after leaving Odessa, Tchaikovsky wrote to Vladimir Makovsky:

I made the acquaintance of the painter N. D. Kuznetsov, who wished to paint my portrait, and this he carried out with exceptional success, as others have said and as I, too, think. Those citizens of Odessa who came to look at this portrait during the sittings expressed their extraordinary delight, amazement, and joy over the fact that such a splendid work of art was being painted in their city. The portrait was painted rather hurriedly, and that is why it may possibly not have the desired finish in the details, but in terms of its expression, lifelikeness, and authenticity it really is remarkable" [1].

Nikolay Kuznetsov's portrait of the composer, 1893

Tchaikovsky also praised this portrait in a letter to his brother Modest: "In Odessa the painter Kuznetsov painted a really astonishing portrait of me. I hope that he still has enough time to send it to the peredvizhniki exhibition" [2]. In his biography of the composer, Modest said the following about Kuznetsov's portrait:

This portrait is now in the Tretyakov Gallery. The artist, who was not familiar with Pyotr Ilyich's inner life, thanks to the flair of inspiration was able to discern the tragic element in his mood at that time and with profound truth conveyed what I can only try to describe faintly here. Knowing my brother as I did, I can safely assert that there is no better, more truthful and staggering likeness of him as he was in life than this portrait. Yes, there are small deviations from reality in a few details of the face, but they do not obscure the main content, and I would not wish to see them corrected. It is not within the reach of man to produce something that is entirely perfect, and, God knows, perhaps the perfection of spirituality in this portrait is achieved at the expense of various insignificant inaccuracies in the individual traits of the face.

Kuznetsov gave this portrait as a present to Pyotr Ilyich, but the latter refused to accept it because, firstly, he did not want to have a likeness of himself at home; secondly, he did not feel entitled to give it to someone else; and, thirdly and most importantly, he did not want to deprive the artist of what he would otherwise be able to earn for this work. So instead of the portrait Pyotr Ilyich gratefully accepted as a present a delightful study of a spring landscape, which even to this day constitutes the finest adornment of the composer's rooms at the house in Klin" [3].

The painter's daughter Mariya Kuznetsova (1880–1966) trained originally as a dancer, but went on to become a famous soprano, singing at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg from 1905 to 1913, after which there followed several engagements in Western Europe and North and South America. Her father painted her in the role of Mariya in Tchaikovsky's opera Mazepa.

Correspondence with Tchaikovsky

One letter from Tchaikovsky to Nikolay Kuznetsov has survived, dating from 1893, and has been translated into English on this website:

One letter from Nikolay Kuznetsov to the composer, also dating from 1893, is preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin.

Bibliography

External Links

Notes and References

  1. ↑ Letter 4851 to Vladimir Makovsky, 27 January/8 February 1893.
  2. ↑ Letter 4852 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 28 January/9 February 1893. The peredvizhniki (literally 'itinerants') were an important association of painters in the second half of the nineteenth century who rejected academicism in favour of travelling around Russia and seeking to capture on their canvasses scenes from the real life of the people. However, such leading painters associated with the movement as Ivan Kramskoy (1837–1887) or Ilya Repin (1844–1930) also created many fine portraits of famous contemporaries.
  3. ↑ Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского, том 3 (1997), p. 531.
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