Bayreuth
Bayreuth is a city in north of the state of Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river.
In Tchaikovsky's lifetime the city was part of the independent Kingdom of Bavaria until 1871, when it was incorporated into the German Empire.
Tchaikovsky in Bayreuth
Tchaikovsky stayed in Bayreuth from 31 July/12 August to 6/18 August 1876 in order to attend the town's first music festival, which would see the premiere of Richard Wagner's "Ring cycle" (Der Ring des Nibelungen). As well as meeting Wagner (who lived in Bayreuth), Tchaikovsky also encountered Franz Liszt, and various assorted dignitaries who had come to witness the event. Tchaikovsky wrote a detailed account of the occasion—The Bayreuth Music Festival (TH 314)—for the newspaper Russian Register (Русские ведомости).
