Praskovya Tchaikovskaya

Praskovya Tchaikovskaya (1864-1956)

Sister-in-law of the composer (b. 1864; d. 1956), born Praskovya Vladimirovna Konshina (Прасковья Владимировна Коншина); known after her marriage as Praskovya Vladimirovna Chaykovskaya (Прасковья Владимировна Чайковская).

Praskovya's father was the industrialist Vladimir Dmitriyevich Konshin (1835-1915), and her mother Yelizaveta (1835–1870) was the sister of the Russian businessman and art collector Pavel Tretyakov (1832–1898); Pavel's daughter Vera was married to the pianist Aleksandr Ziloti (1863–1945), who worked closely with Tchaikovsky in his later years.

In 1882, Praskovya married the composer's brother Anatoly Tchaikovsky (1850–1915), and the couple had one daughter: Tatyana (1883–1970).

Tchaikovsky often stayed with Anatoly and Praskovya at Tiflis during the 1880s, and he corresponded regularly with his sister-in-law.

Dedications

In 1883, Tchaikovsky dedicated his Suite No. 2 in C major, Op. 53, "À Madame Pauline Tschaikowsky".

Correspondence with Tchaikovsky

108 letters from Tchaikovsky to his sister-in-law Praskovya Tchaikovskaya have survived, dating from 1883 to 1893, of which those highlighted in bold have been translated into English on this website:

• Letter 2203 – 19/31 January 1883, from Paris
• Letter 2345 – 11/23 September 1883, from Verbovka
• Letter 2353 – 26 September/8 October 1883, from Verbovka
• Letter 2369 – 17/29 October 1883, from Kiev
• Letter 2378 – 30 October/11 November 1883, from Kamenka
• Letter 2433 – 10/22 February 1884, from Paris
• Letter 2443 – 23 February/6 March 1884, from Paris
• Letter 2469 – 20 April/2 May 1884, from Kamenka
• Letter 2478 – 27 April/9 May 1884, from Kamenka
• Letter 2490 – 13/25 May 1884, from Kamenka
• Letter 2496 – 26 May/7 June 1884, from Kamenka
• Letter 2503 – 12/24 June 1884, from Grankino
• Letter 2510 – 27 June/9 July 1884, from Grankino
• Letter 2541 – 4/16 September 1884, from Pleshcheyevo
• Letter 2546 – 9/21 September 1884, from Pleshcheyevo
• Letter 2547 – 11/23 September 1884, from Pleshcheyevo
• Letter 2583 – 3/15 November 1884, from Berlin
• Letter 2591 – 12/24 November 1884, from Davos
• Letter 2608 – 26 November/8 December 1884, from Paris
• Letter 2656 – 14/26 February 1885, from Maydanovo (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 2663 – 26 February/10 March 1885, from Maydanovo (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 2770 – 20 September/2 October 1885, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2776 – 25 September/7 October 1885, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2783 – 6/18 October 1885, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2794 – 13/25 October 1885, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2801 – 27 October/8 November 1885, from Kharkov
• Letter 2805 – 4/16 November 1885, from Kamenka
• Letter 2807 – 9/21 November 1885, from Kamenka
• Letter 2810 – 18/30 November 1885, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2821 – 25 November/7 December 1885, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2826 – 4/16 December 1885, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2835 – 11/23 December 1885, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2840 – 22 December 1885/3 January 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2864 – 23 January/4 February 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2876 – 31 January/12 February 1886, from Moscow
• Letter 2881 – 6/18 February 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2897 – 25 February/9 March 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2914 – 13/25 March 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2916 – 20 March/1 April 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 2942 – 1/13 May–3/15 May 1886, from the Black Sea
• Letter 2952 – 16/28 May–18/30 May 1886, from Paris
• Letter 2956 – 25 May/6 June 1886, from Paris
• Letter 2961 – 1/13 June 1886, from Paris
• Letter 2968 – 7/19 June 1886, from Paris
• Letter 2974 – 17/29 June 1886, from Saint Petersburg
• Letter 2999 – 8/20 July 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3005 – 18/30 July 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3022 – 2/14 August 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3040 – 3/15 September 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3049 – 18/30 September 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3075 – 11/23 October 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3087 – 4/16 November 1886, from Saint Petersburg
• Letter 3092 – 10/22 November 1886, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3112 – 26 November/8 December 1886, from Moscow
• Letter 3121 – 15/27 December 1886, from Moscow
• Letter 3155 – 22 January/3 February 1887, from Moscow
• Letter 3167 – 29 January/10 February 1887, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3190 – 27 February/11 March 1887, from Saint Petersburg
• Letter 3199 – 12/24 March 1887, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3206 – 23 March/4 April 1887, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3217 – 4/16 April 1887, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3226 – 15/27 April 1887, from Maydanovo (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 3241 – 26 April/8 May 1887, from Maydanovo (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 3250 – 7/19 May 1887, from Maydanovo
• Letter 3258 – 14/26 May 1887, from Saint Petersburg
• Letter 3260 – 20 May/1 June 1887, from Moscow
• Letter 3284 – 6/18 July 1887, from Batum
• Letter 3289 – 19/31 July 1887, from Aachen
• Letter 3308 – 31 July/12 August 1887, from Aachen
• Letter 3311 – 5/17 August 1887, from Aachen
• Letter 3315 – 8/20 August 1887, from Aachen
• Letter 3316 – 9/21 August 1887, from Aachen (addressed jointly to Praskovya, Anatoly Tchaikovsky and Modest Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 3439 – 21 December 1887/2 January 1888, from Leipzig (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 3452 – 30 December 1887/11 January 1888–10/22 January 1888, from Lübeck and Hamburg (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 3488 – 30 January/11 February 1888, from Leipzig
• Letter 3495 – 10/22 February 1888, from Prague (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 3549 – 21 April/3 May 1888, from Moscow (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 3562 – 9/21 May 1888, from Frolovskoye
• Letter 3579 – 30 May/11 June 1888, from Frolovskoye
• Letter 3586 – 6/18 June 1888, from Frolovskoye
• Letter 3630 – 1/13 August 1888, from Frolovskoye
• Letter 3697 – 16/28 October 1888, from Frolovskoye
• Letter 3733 – 26 November/8 December 1888, from Vienna
• Letter 3737 – 1/13 December 1888, from Frolovskoye
• Letter 3806 – 20 February/4 March 1889, from Geneva (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 3871 – 6/18 June 1889, from Frolovskoye
• Letter 4099 – 17/29 April 1890, from Rome (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 4233 – 15/27 October 1890 (?), from Tiflis
• Letter 4243 – 27 October/8 November 1890, from Taganrog
• Letter 4247 – 2/14 November 1890, from Frolovskoye
• Letter 4260 – 21 November/3 December 1890, from Saint Petersburg
• Letter 4281 – 24 December 1890/5 January 1891, from Kamenka
• Letter 4318 – 30 January/11 February 1891, from Saint Petersburg
• Letter 4338 – 25 February/9 March 1891, from Frolovskoye
• Letter 4360 – 30 March/11 April 1891, from Rouen
• Letter 4368 – 15/27 April 1891, from New York (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 4393 – 2/14 June 1891, from Maydanovo
• Letter 4466 – 2/14 September 1891, from Maydanovo
• Letter 4573 – 14/26 December 1891, from Maydanovo (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 4595 – 8/20 January 1892, from Hamburg (addressed jointly to Praskovya and Anatoly Tchaikovsky)
• Letter 4652 – 27 March/8 April 1892, from Maydanovo
• Letter 4659 – early/mid–mid/late April 1892, from Moscow
• Letter 4667 – 19 April/1 May 1892, from Moscow
• Letter 4670 – 22 April/4 May 1892, from Moscow
• Letter 4672 – 23 April/5 May–25 April/7 May 1892, from Moscow
• Letter 4690 – 14/26 May 1892, from Klin
• Letter 4831 – 18/30 December 1892, from Basel
• Letter 4980 – 20 July/1 August or 21 July/2 August 1893, from Klin

69 letters from Praskovya Tchaikovskaya to the composer, dating from 1883 to 1891, are preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin (a⁴, Nos. 5662–5730) .

Bibliography

• Recollections of Tchaikovsky (1940)
• За рубежом. Воспоминания П. В. Чайковской (1940)
• П. И. Чайковский. Письма к родным (1940)
• Tchaikovsky (1951)
• Найдены письма П. И. Чайковского (1957)
• Неизвестные письма великого композитора. Найдены 140 писем П. И. Чайковского (1957)
• Неизвестные письма П. И. Чайковского (1957)
• Из писем П. И. Чайковского. Новые материалы (1958)
• Письма Чайковского (1958)