Anna Maslova

Tchaikovsky Research
Anna Maslova (b. 1844) is seated at the table in the centre of this photograph, which shows her together with (from left to right) sister Varvara, brother Fyodor, the composer Sergey Taneyev, and brother Nikolay Maslov

Sister of Tchaikovsky's schoolfriend Fyodor Maslov (b. 1844; d. after 1925), born Anna Ivanovna Maslova (Анна Ивановна Маслова).

Anna was the liveliest member of the Maslov family. She loved Nature passionately and was a keen gardener, especially on the family estate at Selishche, in Oryol province, where the composer Sergey Taneyev was often a guest in the summer months and highly appreciated the raspberries and apples grown by her. She never married, but for her godson Pyotr, the son of Taneyev's elder brother Vladimir, she created a valuable herbarium which has survived to this day. In later years she became interested in photography and took many pictures of her family and their numerous guests, which included Lev Tolstoy's wife, the countess Sofya Andreyevna, and the painter Vladimir Makovsky, who painted some of his best paintings while at Selishche. Anna had some knowledge of medicine and she was always willing to attend to sick peasants in the villages surrounding their family estate.

Dedications

In 1893, Tchaikovsky dedicated his piano piece Un poco di Schumann — No. 9 of the Eighteen Pieces, Op. 72 — "à Mlle. Anna Massloff".

Correspondence with Tchaikovsky

3 letters from Tchaikovsky to Anna Maslova have survived, dating from 1880 to 1891, of which those highlighted in bold have been translated into English on this website:

2 letters from Anna Maslova to Tchaikovsky, both dating from 1883, are preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin (a4, Nos. 2389–2390).

Bibliography

  • Tamara Slutskaya, "«Очень хочется в Селище...» (Танеев и семья Масловых)" in E. V. Fetisova (ed.), Новое о Танееве (Moscow, 2007), p. 57–69