Wilhelm Fitzenhagen and Varvara Maslova: Difference between pages

Tchaikovsky Research
(Difference between pages)
No edit summary
 
m (Text replacement - "Klin House-Museum Archive" to "{{RUS-KLč}} at Klin")
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{picture|file=Wilhelm_Fitzenhagen.jpg|caption='''Wilhelm Fitzenhagen''' (1848-1890)}}
{{picture|file=Maslov Family.jpg|size=400px|caption='''Varvara Maslova''' (1839-1905), standing left in this photograph, which shows her together with (from left to right) sister [[Anna Maslova|Anna]], brother [[Fyodor Maslov|Fyodor]], the composer [[Sergey Taneyev]], and brother Nikolay Maslov}}
German cellist and composer (b. 15 September 1848 in Seesen; d. 2/14 February 1890 in [[Moscow]]), born '''''Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Fitzenhagen'''''; known in Russia as '''''Vilgelm Fyodorovich Fittsengagen''''' (Вильгельм Фёдорович Фитценгаген).
Sister of Tchaikovsky's schoolfriend [[Fyodor Maslov]] (b. 1839; d. 1905), born '''''Varvara Ivanovna Maslova''''' (Варвара Ивановна Маслова).


==Tchaikovsky and Fitzenhagen==
Varvara was the eldest of the five Maslov siblings. She read a lot and was proficient in German, English, and French. She was very keen on painting as well, and in her spare time she would decorate ceramics and do poker-work. At the age of 42, she decided to enrol in the [[ Moscow]] School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, where she studied under [[Vladimir Makovsky]] and was in the same class as [[Lev Tolstoy]]'s daughter, Tatyana, who, despite being twenty-five years younger, became a close friend.  
The son of a local music director, Fitzenhagen commenced piano lessons at the age of five, the cello at eight, and the violin at eleven; he was also proficient in several wind instruments. He studied under August Theodor Müller (1802–1875) and Friedrich Grützmacher (1832–1903), becoming a soloist at the [[Dresden]] Hofkapelle in 1868. Two years later he was invited to become cello professor at the [[Moscow]] Conservatory — a position he retained until the end of his days. Here he met Tchaikovsky, and Fitzenhagen performed many of the composer's concert pieces and chamber works. He performed at the premieres of all three of Tchaikovsky's numbered string quartets (1871–1876), and of the [[Piano Trio]], Op. 50 (1882).


Tchaikovsky's ''[[Variations on a Rococo Theme]]'' were written for Fitzenhagen in 1876, and the dedicatee took it upon himself to make drastic "'improvements" to the original score (which was not revived until the 1940s), even to the extent of excising an entire variation.
During the summer months from 1880 to 1885 Varvara helped the composer [[Sergey Taneyev]], a regular guest at the Maslovs' estate Selishche, in Oryol province, to translate Ludwig Bussler's famous textbook on counterpoint from German into Russian.


At the conservatory Fitzenhagen also taught [[Anatoly Brandukov]], who was to become another great exponent of Tchaikovsky's cello works.
==Dedications==
In 1893, Tchaikovsky dedicated his piano piece ''Impromptu'' — No. 1 of the [[Eighteen Pieces, Op. 72]] — to Varvara Maslova.
 
==Correspondence with Tchaikovsky==
2 letters from Tchaikovsky to Varvara Maslova have survived, dating from 1882 and 1891, and have both been translated into English on this website:
* '''[[Letter 2074]]''' – 10/22 August 1882, from [[Moscow]] (addressed jointly to Varvara and [[Fyodor Maslov]], [[Anna Maslova]] and [[Sofya Maslova]])
* '''[[Letter 4560]]''' – 19 November/1 December 1891, from [[Maydanovo]] (addressed jointly to Varvara and her sisters [[Anna Maslova]] and [[Sofya Maslova]])


==Dedications==
2 letters from Varvara Maslova to Tchaikovsky, dating from 1882 and 1887, are preserved in the {{RUS-KLč}} at [[Klin]].
As noted above, Tchaikovsky's ''[[Variations on a Rococo Theme]]'' for cello and orchestra, Op. 33 (1876), was dedicated to Fitzenhagen.


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
* {{bib|2004/4}} (2004)
* Tamara Slutskaya, "«Очень хочется в Селище...» (Танеев и семья Масловых)" in E. V. Fetisova (ed.), ''Новое о Танееве'' ([[Moscow]], 2007), p. 57–69
 
==External Links==
* [[wikipedia:Wilhelm_Fitzenhagen|Wikipedia]]
* {{IMSLP|Fitzenhagen,_Wilhelm}}


[[Category:People|Fitzenhagen, Wilhelm]]
[[Category:People|Maslova, Varvara]]
[[Category:Cellists|Fitzenhagen, Wilhelm]]
[[Category:Correspondents|Maslova, Varvara]]
[[Category:Composers|Fitzenhagen, Wilhelm]]
[[Category:Dedicatees|Fitzenhagen, Wilhelm]]

Revision as of 09:48, 8 August 2023

Varvara Maslova (1839-1905), standing left in this photograph, which shows her together with (from left to right) sister Anna, brother Fyodor, the composer Sergey Taneyev, and brother Nikolay Maslov

Sister of Tchaikovsky's schoolfriend Fyodor Maslov (b. 1839; d. 1905), born Varvara Ivanovna Maslova (Варвара Ивановна Маслова).

Varvara was the eldest of the five Maslov siblings. She read a lot and was proficient in German, English, and French. She was very keen on painting as well, and in her spare time she would decorate ceramics and do poker-work. At the age of 42, she decided to enrol in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, where she studied under Vladimir Makovsky and was in the same class as Lev Tolstoy's daughter, Tatyana, who, despite being twenty-five years younger, became a close friend.

During the summer months from 1880 to 1885 Varvara helped the composer Sergey Taneyev, a regular guest at the Maslovs' estate Selishche, in Oryol province, to translate Ludwig Bussler's famous textbook on counterpoint from German into Russian.

Dedications

In 1893, Tchaikovsky dedicated his piano piece Impromptu — No. 1 of the Eighteen Pieces, Op. 72 — to Varvara Maslova.

Correspondence with Tchaikovsky

2 letters from Tchaikovsky to Varvara Maslova have survived, dating from 1882 and 1891, and have both been translated into English on this website:

2 letters from Varvara Maslova to Tchaikovsky, dating from 1882 and 1887, are preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin.

Bibliography

  • Tamara Slutskaya, "«Очень хочется в Селище...» (Танеев и семья Масловых)" in E. V. Fetisova (ed.), Новое о Танееве (Moscow, 2007), p. 57–69
Retrieved from ‘https://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/index.php?title=Wilhelm_Fitzenhagen&oldid=60855’