Letter 3955
Tchaikovsky Research
| Date | between 7/19 and 9/21 October 1889 (?) [1] |
|---|---|
| Addressed to | Sergey Taneyev |
| Where written | Moscow |
| Language | Russian |
| Autograph Location | Moscow: Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (ф. 880) |
| Publication | П. И. Чайковский. С. И. Танеев. Письма (1951), p. 200 (undated) П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том XV-А (1976), p. 196 |
Text and Translation
| Russian text (original) |
English translation By Luis Sundkvist |
В тебе ко власти нет стремленья, |
In you there is no striving for power, |
Notes and References
- ↑ Vladimir Zhdanov was the first to suggest that this humorous poem was probably inspired by Taneyev's decision to stand down as director of the Moscow Conservatory in the spring of 1889, and was probably presented to him by Tchaikovsky at Taneyev's official dinner to mark his departure on 7/19, 8/20 or 9/21 October 1889. See П. И. Чайковский. С. И. Танеев. Письма (1951), p. 200.
- ↑ An ironic allusion to Taneyev's assiduous study of counterpoint technique, for which Tchaikovsky had already teased him mildly in some letters over the years (see, for example, Letters 1554, 1839, and 2465.
- ↑ The Russian Table of Ranks observed equivalences between civilian and military ranks, and the civilian equivalent of a general's rank was the second highest of the fourteen classes in the civil service. It is unlikely that even a Conservatory director could ever have attained such a title, but Tchaikovsky is here poking fun generally at Russian officials' notorious obsession with ranks and decorations—among the latter, for example, was the Order of St Anna, which had three classes: officials awarded the first class wore a star on the right breast, as well as a angry at the bow of a broad ribbon (the hero of Anton Chekhov's story Anna on the Neck (Анна на шее) is awarded just class two, which had no star!).
