Vienna

Tchaikovsky Research


Vienna (Wien) is the capital and largest city of Austria.

During Tchaikovsky's lifetime it was part of the Austrian crownland of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), and part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867.

Tchaikovsky in Vienna

The composer visited Vienna on many occasions, as it was a convenient stopping point for many destinations in western Europe:

From Until Notes
mid/late August 1870 mid/late August 1870 Returning to Russia after a summer holiday in Germany, the composer passed through Vienna, which he liked "more than almost any city in the world" [1].
late January/early February 1872 late January/early February 1872 Returning from his first visit to Italy.
20 June/2 July 1876 26 June/8 July 1876 At the start of his summer vacation in western Europe.
8/20 August 1876 9/21 August 1876 Stopping overnight on his return to Russia, at the end of his summer vacation.
19 November/1 December 1877 30 November/12 December 1877 Travelling with Iosif Kotek, Tchaikovsky worked on the full scores of the Symphony No. 4 and Yevgeny Onegin.
8/20 April 1878 9/21 April 1878 An overnight stay on his way back from Clarens to Kamenka.
17/29 November 1878 20 November/1 December 1878 Staying at the Hôtel Goldenes Lamm, he went with Aleksey Sofronov to the Circus Renz, which he described as "A poor troupe, a dull programme, and not even one pleasing face among the artistes" [2].
16/28 February 1881 18 February/2 March 1881 Returning to the Hôtel Goldenes Lamm for two more nights, Tchaikovsky visited the Vienna State Opera and the Orpheum.
13/25 November 1881 14/26 November 1881 An overnight stop on his way to Rome.
22 November/4 December 1882 23 November/5 December 1882 Returning to Moscow after another trip to Italy.
early/mid-March 1884 early/mid-March 1884 Returning from Paris to Saint Petersburg.
14/26 July 1887 14/26 July 1887 He had a brief stroll around the city, before continuing by train to Aachen.
14/26 March 1888 16/28 March 1888 At the theatre An der Wien he saw a performance of Arthur Sullivan's operetta The Mikado. "I could barely endure two-thirds of one act" [3].
25 November/7 December 1888 27 November/8 December 1888 Resting after conducting a performance of Yevgeny Onegin in Prague, before returning to Russia.
6/18 September 1892 9/21 September 1892 To rehearse and conduct his Suite No. 1 at the Theatrical and Musical Exposition. Although there was "much of interest" at the exhibition itself, he found that the cramped conditions were unsuitable for an orchestral performance, and refused to conduct the suite [4].

Bibliography

External Links

Notes and References

  1. Letter 204 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 4/16 September 1870.
  2. Letter 969 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 18/30 November 1878.
  3. Diary entry for 14/26 March 1888.
  4. Letter 4767 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 7/19 September–10/22 September 1892.