Lidiya Genke

Cousin of the composer (b. 1838; d. 1901), born Lidiya Petrovna Chaykovskaya (Лидия Петровна Чайковская); known after her marriage as Lidiya Petrovna Genke (Лидия Петровна Генке).

Lidiya was the fifth child of the composer's uncle Pyotr Petrovich Tchaikovsky (1789–1871) and his wife Yevdokia (b. Berens). She married Emil Yakovlevich Genke (1828–1888), a mining engineer, and the couple had six children: Pyotr (1862–1908); Sergey (1866–1905); Vera (1871–1960); Vladimir (1875–1916); Anna (1879–1965); and Ivan (1880–1961).

Correspondence with Tchaikovsky

9 letters from Tchaikovsky to Lidiya Genke have survived, dating from 1876 to 1891, all of which have been translated into English on this website:

• Letter 516 – 2/14 December 1876, from Moscow
• Letter 529 – 31 December 1876/12 January 1877, from Moscow
• Letter 547 – 20 March/1 April 1877, from Moscow
• Letter 2624 – between 18/30 December 1884 and 25 December 1884/6 January 1885 (?), from Moscow
• Letter 2627 – 26 December 1884/7 January 1885, from Moscow
• Letter 3128 – 22 December 1886/3 January 1887, from Moscow
• Letter 3629 – late July/early August 1888, from Frolovskoye
• Letter 3965 – 27 October/8 November 1889, from Moscow
• Letter 4536 – 5/17 November 1891, from Moscow

6 letters from Lidiya Genke to the composer, dating from around 1888 to 1890, are preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin.