Vasily Kandaurov

Russian naval officer, civil servant, and journalist (b. 1830; d. 1888), born as Vasily Alekseyevich Kandaurov (Василий Алексеевич Кандауров).

A graduate of the Saint Petersburg naval school, Kandaurov worked from 1857 until 1879 as an official in various civil service posts, which included managing of theatres in Yekaterinoslavl, Oryol and Kursk. Between 1872 and 1875 he was the editor-in-chief of the periodical The Week (Неделя). In 1882, he was placed in charge of the decor and scenery departments of the Moscow Imperial Theatres.

Tchaikovsky's Settings of Works by Kandaurov

Tchaikovsky was introduced to Kandaurov early in 1884 during preparations for the premiere of the opera Mazepa at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. Shortly afterwards Kandaurov provided the libretto for an additional aria (Act II, No. 10a), which was required urgently during rehearsals for the opera. However, Tchaikovsky did not take up Kandaurov's offer later that year to supply an opera libretto on the subject of Pushkin's The Gypsies.

Correspondence with Tchaikovsky

5 letters from Tchaikovsky to Vasily Kandaurov have survived, dating from 1884 and 1885, of which those highlighted in bold have been translated into English on this website:

• Letter 2626 – 25 December 1884/6 January 1885, from Moscow
• Letter 2628 – 26 December 1884/7 January 1885, from Moscow
• Letter 2631 – 31 December 1884/12 January 1885, from Moscow
• Letter 2642 – 8/20 or 9/21 January 1885, from Moscow
• Letter 2648a – 21 January/2 February 1885, from Moscow

4 letters from Kandaurov to Tchaikovsky, dating from around 1884, are preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin.

Bibliography

• [Письмо П. И. Чайковского к В. А. Кандаурову за 1884 г. ] (1949)
• Неизвестные страницы эпистолярия Чайковского (1990)