Usovo

Tchaikovsky Research


Usovo (Усово) is a village in the Bondari district (Бондарский район) of Tambov oblast (Тамбовская область) in the Russian Federation.

During Tchaikovsky's lifetime it was the part of the Kirsanovsk district (Кирсановский уезд) in the Tambov province (Тамбовская губерния) of the Russian Empire.


Tchaikovsky in Usovo

The composer's friend Vladimir Shilovsky had an estate at Usovo, which Tchaikovsky regularly visited during the early 1870s.

From Until Notes
early/mid-August 1871 late August/early September 1871 On his first visit the composer reported that he felt "surrounded by tender concerns, so that I remained very contented" [1].
late July/early August 1872 14/26 August 1872 Completing the draft of his Symphony No. 2.
early/mid-August 1873 late August/early September 1873 Working on the draft of the fantasia The Tempest (begun on 7/19 August). "I was in a blissfully peaceful frame of mind. wandering each day in the forest and in the evening through the immense steppes, and at night sitting by the open window and revelling in the quiet emptiness, broken occasionally by indefinable nocturnal sounds. In these two weeks, without any effort, as if under the influence of some supernatural force, I wrote the whole of The Tempest in rough" [2].
mid/late July 1874 late August/early September 1874 Orchestrating the opera Vakula the Smith, which was completed (except for the overture) on 21 August/2 September.
late May/early June 1875 20 June/2 July 1875 Completing the whole of the draft of the Symphony No. 3 (begun on 5/17 June), which would eventually be dedicated to Vladimir Shilovsky.
mid/late August 1875 mid/late August 1875 Spending the last days of his summer vacation at Usovo before returning to Moscow.
early/mid-September 1876 early/mid-September 1876 Visiting in order to borrow 2,000 rubles from Vladimir Shilovsky.

Bibliography

External Links

Notes and References

  1. Letter 237 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 3/15 September 1871.
  2. Letter 815 to Nadezhda von Meck, 22 April/4 May 1878.