The Last Days of N. G. Rubinstein's Life and Letter 3714: Difference between pages

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'''''The Last Days of N. G. Rubinstein's Life''''' (Последние дни жизни Н. Г. Рубинштейна) <ref name="note1"/> ([[TH]] 313 ; [[ČW]] 579 ; [[Letter 1710]]) was an article submitted by Tchaikovsky as a letter to the editor of the newspaper ''Moscow Register'' (Московские ведомости), in which it was published on 24 March 1881 {{OS}}.
{{letterhead
|Date=28 October/9 November 1888
|To=[[Emil von Sauer]]
|Place=[[Frolovskoye]]
|Language=French
|Autograph=Emden (Germany): {{priv}}
|Publication={{bibx|1965/16|Советская музыка}} (1965), No. 9, p. 48 (Russian translation)<br/>{{bib|1974/53|П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений ; том XIV}} (1974), p. 583
}}
==Text and Translation==
{{Lettertext
|Language=French
|Translator=Brett Langston
|Original text={{right|{{datestyle||28 Octobre|9 Novembre|1888}}}}
{{centre|Mon cher et bon ami!}}
Je Vous remercie de tout mon cœur pour Votre bonne lettre et pour les bonnes nouvelles que Vous me donnez. Vous avez fait preuve d'un grand courage en paraissant devant le public de Berlin avec ma "''Fantaisie''". C'est une œuvre ingrate et il a fallu tout Votre talent pour obtenir un succès éclatent avec cette pièce.


It contains a report on the death of [[Nikolay Rubinstein]] in [[Paris]] based on conversations with those who looked after him in his last days, as Tchaikovsky only reached the French capital two days after his friend and mentor had died (on 11/23 March 1881).
Je me réjouis beaucoup à la pensée du concert de Dresde du 20 Fevrier. Je sais que Vous jouez d'une manière magistrale mon concerto en ''Si-{{sic|bemole|bémol}} mineur'' et je serai fort content et tout fier de conduire l'orchestre à cette occasion.


The death of someone who had been so close to him, in spite of some differences in later years (as with his [[Piano Concerto No. 1]]), affected Tchaikovsky deeply and prompted him to write a notable letter to [[Nadezhda von Meck]] <ref name="note2"/>, reflecting on his religious faith. Later that year he would start writing his [[Piano Trio]], dedicated "''to the memory of a great artist''", in which apart from his sadness at the death of his friend he also paid tribute to [[Nikolay Rubinstein|Rubinstein]]'s energy, joy of life and love of Russian folksong in the second movement variations.
Recevez, mon cher ami, l'expression de ma vive reconnaissance pour l'attention touchante que Vous témoignez pour ma musique. Au revoir à Dresde!!!


==History==
Votre bien dévoué ami.
Completed by 14/26 March 1881, and enclosed with [[Letter 1710]] of that date to the editor of the ''Moscow Register''.
{{right|P. Tschaïkowsky}}


==English translation==
|Translated text={{right|{{datestyle||28 October|9 November|1888}}}}
{{Copyright|English text copyright © 2009 Luis Sundkvist}}
{{centre|My dear and good friend!}}
I thank you with all my heart for your kind letter and for the good news you have given me <ref name="note1"/>. You have demonstrated great courage in appearing before the [[Berlin]] public with my "''[[Concert Fantasia|Fantasia]]''". This is an ungrateful work and it required all your talent to achieve a brilliant success with this piece.


A significant majority of your readers are probably waiting impatiently for details about the last days of [[N. G. Rubinstein]], and I hope that you will not refuse to publish in your newspaper the following lines, in which I would like to report, albeit briefly, what I have heard from those who were with this unforgettable artist before his death <ref name="note3"/>.
I am very much looking forward to the [[Dresden]] concert on 20 February. I know how masterfully you play my concerto in ''B-flat minor'' and I shall be happy and very proud to conduct the orchestra on this occasion.


As you probably know already, [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]] had set off from [[Moscow]] on the evening of 28 February [[Calendar|O.S.]] to travel to the south of Europe together with S. M. Tretyakov <ref name="note4"/>. News of the terrible event of 1 March [[Calendar|O.S.]] <ref name="note5"/> reached the travellers in [[Vilnius]], and S. M. Tretyakov considered it his duty to make his way to [[Saint Petersburg]] immediately. [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]] was able to get to [[Berlin]], accompanied by Mr Olivier <ref name="note6"/>, who happened to be travelling in the same train, and by his servant. In this city he was joined by two Russian ladies for the next stage of his journey: S. A. Bernar <ref name="note7"/> and A. A. Zadonskaya <ref name="note8"/>. [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]] stayed in [[Berlin]] for less than forty-eight hours, during which there was not a single minute in which he did not suffer the most excruciating pains. These were so acute that his only way of relief was to let out every now and then a cry, which, as one of his fellow-travellers put it, would resound "across the whole hotel". All the same he hastened on to [[Paris]], arriving there on 5 (17) March at the cost of a tremendous physical effort. When these two ladies told me about the agony he had gone through on this journey, I was quite at a loss as to where he had found the strength to endure it. This may partly be accounted for first of all by the fact that he was encouraged all along by the radiant hope of making a complete recovery, as the doctors in [[Moscow]] had promised him, and, secondly, by the gentle care which he received from the two ladies, who were devoted friends of his and who, as he put it in a conversation with [[Ivan Turgenev|. S. Turgenev]] when the latter visited him, had looked after him "as they would a close relative". Waiting in [[Paris]] for the patient to arrive was Ye. A. Tretyakova, the wife of the [[Moscow]] mayor (the original plan had been for [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]] and Sergey Mikhaylovich to join her there and travel on together to [[Nice]], where they intended to spend a few weeks). No sooner had [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]] arrived in [[Paris]] than he was confined to bed again, struck down by those very same unbearable pains in the bowels which had also been the most characteristic feature of his illness in [[Moscow]], on the train journey, and in [[Berlin]]. The most renowned doctors in [[Paris]] were immediately sent for one after the other, including Potain <ref name="note9"/>, a luminary of French medicine. These doctors unanimously diagnosed his illness as tuberculosis of the intestinal tracts. They pronounced it to be absolutely incurable, made very disapproving comments about the competence of those who had advised a patient who was fated to die to undertake such a long journey, and pointed out the symptoms which would indicate the onset of the final phase of this terrible illness. However, even they had not expected that the end would come so soon. After these medical examinations there followed a series of long, excruciating days. The patient suffered day and night and his physical strength was gradually subsiding. But his spirit was still cheerful; his hopes of getting better did not desert him—evidently [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]] had no idea that his last hour was approaching. He took great trouble about his personal appearance in view of the constant presence of ladies around him. With them he was light-hearted, even cheerful, insofar as that can be said of someone who was standing with one foot in the grave and who, moreover, had been profoundly shocked by the news of the late sovereign's agonizing death. All the details of that event frightfully interested him, and every day he would, either by himself or with the help of his kindly sick-nurses, read through most of the Parisian newspapers. In his conversations with these ladies he showed himself to be quite certain that he would get better soon, and he loved to talk about the forthcoming trip to [[Nice]], as well as mentioning all the work that was waiting for him in [[Moscow]] in connection with the exhibition <ref name="note10"/> and during the next season of symphony concerts. The thought that death was near never crossed his mind. Only once did he utter some misgivings about the future. Looking sadly at his emaciated and weak hands, he said with a bitter smile on his face: "Well, it seems that my artistic career is over for good." In reply to this remark the ladies of course exclaimed that they were completely certain that he would soon fully regain his earlier strength, and the patient said nothing more about that. Evidently he wanted to keep on hoping. He was visited by [[Ivan Turgenev|I. S. Turgenev]] and many figures from the music world of [[Paris]]. That was very comforting for him. For five days there seemed to be no change in [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]]'s condition, but in fact the mysterious process of his terrible disease was already approaching its fatal outcome, imperceptibly for those who were around him, and very soon the final crisis set in. On Wednesday, 12 (24) [''sic''] March, at 10 o'clock in the morning, the patient had still been able to ask for and devour some oysters and ice cream, whilst jestingly reproaching Ye. A. Tretyakova for letting him starve… But suddenly he started vomiting, and a complete breakdown set in, with all the symptoms of the terminal phase (a bursting or ''lesion'' of the intestinal wall) that the doctors had pointed out earlier. S. A. Bernar rushed off to fetch one of them, and when the doctor arrived soon afterwards he said that that was the end… It seems that he was no longer suffering in these last hours, but he had irrevocably lost consciousness and had no strength left in him. With a weak effort he just managed to grip the hand of Ye. A. Tretyakova as she leant over him.
Accept, my dear friend, my deep gratitude for the touching attention that you show towards my music. Until we meet in [[Dresden]]!!!<ref name="note2"/>
 
For a long time he had been immobile. All the life had gone out of him. His hand was gradually growing stiff and cold. At about 3 o'clock he passed away… During these last minutes of [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]], apart from the three aforementioned ladies and his servant Grigory, [[Anatoly Brandukov|A. Brandukov]] was also present—a young cellist and former student of the [[Moscow]] Conservatory.
 
[[Anton Rubinstein|Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein]], who had rushed from Spain to be by his dying brother's side, found him no longer alive. I, too, just got there only to see his lifeless body and his beloved features worn out by a cruel death…
 
This morning the funeral service for the deceased was conducted at the local Russian church here. The church was full. Apart from the deceased's fellow-countrymen, also present were Madame [[Viardot]], Messrs [[Massenet]], [[Colonne]], [[Lalo]], and most of the leading representatives of French music. Mr [[Turgenev]] has offered to take care of the transport of the coffin to Russia.
 
In two days' time the remains of [[Nikolay Grigoryevich]] will be conveyed to [[Moscow]] <ref name="note11"/>.
 
{{right|''P. Tchaikovsky''<br/>[[Paris]]. 26 (14) March 1881.}}


Your most devoted friend.
{{right|P. Tchaikovsky}}
}}
==Notes and References==
==Notes and References==
<references>
<references>
<ref name="note1">Entitled 'Letter to the Editor. The Last Days of the Life of N. G. Rubinštein' in [[ČW]].</ref>
<ref name="note1">In a letter dated 15/27 October 1888, [[Emil von Sauer]] had informed Tchaikovsky of the success of his performance of the [[Concert Fantasia]], Op. 56, at a concert in [[Berlin]] the previous day.</ref>
<ref name="note2">[[Letter 1711]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 15/27 March 1881.</ref>
<ref name="note2">On 8/20 February 1889, Tchaikovsky conducted a concert of the Philharmonic Society in [[Dresden]], which included his [[Piano Concerto No. 1]] with [[Emil von Sauer]] as soloist.</ref>
<ref name="note3"> [[Nikolay Rubinstein]] had fallen seriously ill at the start of 1881, but had nevertheless insisted on conducting at several Russian Musical Society concerts in [[Saint Petersburg]] and [[Moscow]]. At the last of these, in February, he had had to conduct the orchestra sitting on a chair as he was too weak to stand. On the advice of his doctors in [[Moscow]] he decided to travel to [[Paris]], where he was to consult various leading specialists. However, after several days of great agony [[Nikolay Rubinstein]] died in the French capital on 23 March 1881 {{NS}}. Tchaikovsky, who was in [[Nice]] at the time (he had left Russia on 14/26 February to travel to [[Vienna]] and then Italy), received a telegram from [[Pyotr Jurgenson]] in [[Moscow]] on 11/23 March with the news that [[Nikolay Rubinstein|Rubinstein]] was dying in [[Paris]]. Tchaikovsky immediately sent telegrams to [[Paris]] and found out that his friend had actually died earlier that day. Tchaikovsky arrived in the French capital on 13/25 March just in time to attend the funeral service at the city's Russian Orthodox church the following day — ''translator's note''.</ref>  
<ref name="note4">Sergey Mikhaylovich Tretyakov (1834–1892), Russian businessman, collector, patron of the arts, president of the [[Moscow]] section of the Russian Musical Society from 1869 to 1889, mayor of [[Moscow]] from 1877 to 1881. He helped his elder brother [[Pavel Tretyakov]] (1832–1898) to set up the famous Tretyakov Gallery in [[Moscow]] in 1893 — ''translator's note''.</ref>
<ref name="note5">The assassination of Tsar [[Alexander II]] in [[Saint Petersburg]] on 1/13 March 1881 — ''translator's note''.</ref>
<ref name="note6">Lucien Olivier (1838–1883), Belgian-born Russian chef; he opened the famous Hermitage Restaurant in [[Moscow]] in the early 1860s and created a salad which soon became very popular with the city's gourmets and eventually came to form part of the cuisine of many countries as 'Russian salad' or 'Salade Olivier' — ''translator's note''.</ref>
<ref name="note7">S. A. Bernar was the landlady in charge of the cheap flats for staff and students at the [[Moscow]] Conservatory —''translator's note''.</ref>
<ref name="note8">After [[Nikolay Rubinstein]]'s death A. A. Zadonskaya donated 70,000 rubles to the Conservatory to set up a memorial fund in his name for the support of hard-up students and young artists —''translator's note''.</ref>
<ref name="note9">Pierre Charles Édouard Potain (1825–1901), famous French cardiologist — ''translator's note''.</ref>
<ref name="note10">The Arts and Industry Exhibition in [[Moscow]] which had been planned for 1881, and for which [[Nikolay Rubinstein]] had been appointed head of the music section the year before. Tchaikovsky composed his festival overture ''[[The Year 1812]]'' for this exhibition at [[Nikolay Rubinstein|Rubinstein]]'s request. Because of the Tsar's assassination, however, the opening of the exhibition was postponed until 1882 — ''translator's note''.</ref>
<ref name="note11">Tchaikovsky was part of the group who went to the Gare du Nord on 16/28 March to see to the dispatch of the coffin to [[Moscow]]. [[Nikolay Rubinstein]] was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery of his native city — ''translator's note''.</ref>
</references>
</references>
[[Category:Articles]]

Revision as of 11:08, 1 March 2020

Date 28 October/9 November 1888
Addressed to Emil von Sauer
Where written Frolovskoye
Language French
Autograph Location Emden (Germany): Private collection
Publication Советская музыка (1965), No. 9, p. 48 (Russian translation)
П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том XIV (1974), p. 583

Text and Translation

French text
(original)
English translation
By Brett Langston
  28 Octobre
9 Novembre
 1888

Mon cher et bon ami!

Je Vous remercie de tout mon cœur pour Votre bonne lettre et pour les bonnes nouvelles que Vous me donnez. Vous avez fait preuve d'un grand courage en paraissant devant le public de Berlin avec ma "Fantaisie". C'est une œuvre ingrate et il a fallu tout Votre talent pour obtenir un succès éclatent avec cette pièce.

Je me réjouis beaucoup à la pensée du concert de Dresde du 20 Fevrier. Je sais que Vous jouez d'une manière magistrale mon concerto en Si-bemole mineur et je serai fort content et tout fier de conduire l'orchestre à cette occasion.

Recevez, mon cher ami, l'expression de ma vive reconnaissance pour l'attention touchante que Vous témoignez pour ma musique. Au revoir à Dresde!!!

Votre bien dévoué ami.

P. Tschaïkowsky

  28 October
9 November
 1888

My dear and good friend!

I thank you with all my heart for your kind letter and for the good news you have given me [1]. You have demonstrated great courage in appearing before the Berlin public with my "Fantasia". This is an ungrateful work and it required all your talent to achieve a brilliant success with this piece.

I am very much looking forward to the Dresden concert on 20 February. I know how masterfully you play my concerto in B-flat minor and I shall be happy and very proud to conduct the orchestra on this occasion.

Accept, my dear friend, my deep gratitude for the touching attention that you show towards my music. Until we meet in Dresden!!![2]

Your most devoted friend.

P. Tchaikovsky

Notes and References

  1. In a letter dated 15/27 October 1888, Emil von Sauer had informed Tchaikovsky of the success of his performance of the Concert Fantasia, Op. 56, at a concert in Berlin the previous day.
  2. On 8/20 February 1889, Tchaikovsky conducted a concert of the Philharmonic Society in Dresden, which included his Piano Concerto No. 1 with Emil von Sauer as soloist.