Anna Maslova and Letter 96: Difference between pages

Tchaikovsky Research
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{{picture|file=Maslov Family.jpg|size=400px|caption='''Anna Maslova''' (b. 1844) is seated at the table in the centre of this photograph, which shows her together with (from left to right) sister [[Varvara Maslova|Varvara]], brother [[Fyodor Maslov|Fyodor]], the composer [[Sergey Taneyev]], and brother Nikolay Maslov}}
{{letterhead
Sister of Tchaikovsky's schoolfriend [[Fyodor Maslov]] (b. 1844; d. after 1925), born '''''Anna Ivanovna Maslova''''' (Анна Ивановна Маслова).
|Date=8/20 November 1866
|To=[[Anatoly Tchaikovsky]]
|Place=[[Moscow]]
|Language=Russian
|Autograph={{locunknown}}
|Publication={{bib|1900/35|Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского ; том 1}} (1900), p. 260–261 (abridged)<br/>{{bib|1940/210|П. И. Чайковский. Письма к родным ; том 1}} (1940), p. 93–94 <br/>{{bib|1955/37|П. И. Чайковский. Письма к близким}} (1955), p. 33–34 (abridged)<br/>{{bib|1959/50|П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений ; том V}} (1959), p. 113–114 <br/>{{bib|1981/81| Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Letters to his family. An autobiography}} (1981), p. 32 (English translation; abridged)
|Notes=Manuscript copy in [[Klin]] (Russia): {{RUS-KLč}}
}}
==Text and Translation==
Based on a handwritten copy in the [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive, which may contain differences in formatting and content from Tchaikovsky's original letter.  
{{Lettertext
|Language=Russian
|Translator=Brett Langston
|Original text={{right|8 ноября}}
Милый мой друг! Вот видишь, как ты скверно сделал, что по лени не согласился вести дневник для меня! Во-первых, я скучаю, ничего не зная о тебе, а во-вторых, твоя леность и меня сбила с толку, а мне гораздо легче было бы писать каждый день по три строки, чем настрочить разом целое письмо.


Anna was the liveliest member of the Maslov family. She loved Nature passionately and was a keen gardener, especially on the family estate at Selishche, in Oryol province, where the composer [[Sergey Taneyev]] was often a guest in the summer months and highly appreciated the raspberries and apples grown by her. She never married, but for her godson Pyotr, the son of [[Taneyev]]'s elder brother Vladimir, she created a valuable herbarium which has survived to this day. In later years she became interested in photography and took many pictures of her family and their numerous guests, which included [[Lev Tolstoy]]'s wife, the countess Sofya Andreyevna, and the painter [[Vladimir Makovsky]], who painted some of his best paintings while at Selishche. Anna had some knowledge of medicine and she was always willing to attend to sick peasants in the villages surrounding their family estate.
Я по-прежнему здоров и по возможности счастлив; со всеми живу в мире и согласии и ежечасно помышляю о приближающемся свидании с Петербургом. Увертюру для Дагмары совершенно окончил, но, кажется, приезд её в Москву отложен до апреля, и, следовательно, я напрасно торопился. Теперь займусь переделкой симфонии, а там, может, понемножку примусь за оперу. Есть надежда, что сам Островский напишет мне либретто из «Воеводы». Сделал несколько новых знакомств, в том числе с кн[язем] Одоевским и правой московской красавицей княгиней Мещерской, у которой вчера провёл вечер. Я не помню, писал ли я о Альбрехте; этот господин играет большую роль в моей московской жизни, а потому следует сказать о нем несколько слов. Во-первых, это милейший человек во всей Москве; я ещё в прошлом году с ним очень сошёлся, а теперь до того полюбил и привык к нему, что в его семействе нахожусь как дома, и это для меня подчас большое утешение. Во-вторых, я довольно сильно привязался к его двум весьма милым детям, с своей стороны меня очень любящим. На днях жена его должна родить третьего, и я уже заранее приглашён быть крестным отцом. Он занимает место инспектора консерватории и живёт здесь же; Рубинштейн и я обедаем у него в качестве нахлебников почти ежедневно. Что касается до Тарновских, то я бываю у них довольно часто, однако несравненно реже прошлого года. Посылаю тебе довольно остроумный ''menu'' одного обеда у князя Одоевского; на к[ото]ром я присутствовал вместе с Рубинштейн[ом], Лауб[ом], Коссманом и Альбрехтом; покажи его Давыдовым. На днях хочу снять с себя карточки и прислать Вам: Что пишешь: отчего у меня нет денег? Их у меня бывает много, но ведь и трат ужасно много! А Бокса? А новое платье и тёплое пальто? Сегодня посылаю Папаше долг. Целую тебя крепко, крепко во всякие места!


==Tchaikovsky's Works Dedicated to Anna Maslova==
Что Модя мне не пишет? Это меня начинает удивлять. Напиши мне что-нибудь о тёте Кате и Дитловой. Целую всех, начиная с Папаши. Сашу, Леву, детей покрепче обнимаю, Лизавете Мих[айловне] низко кланяюсь. Получил письмо от А. В. Давыдовой.
* '' Un poco di Schumann'' — No. 9 of the [[Eighteen Pieces, Op. 72]] (1893)


==Correspondence with Tchaikovsky==
|Translated text={{right|8 November}}
3 letters from Tchaikovsky to Anna Maslova have survived, dating from 1880 to 1891, of which those highlighted in bold have been translated into English on this website:
My dear friend! Look here, how lazy you are by not agreeing to keep a diary for me! <ref name="note1"/> Firstly, it pains me not knowing anything about you, and secondly, I am baffled by your laziness, since it would be far easier to write me three lines every day than to weave together a whole letter all at once.
* [[Letter 1645]] – 13/25 December 1880, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 2074]]''' – 10/22 August 1882, from [[Moscow]] (addressed jointly to to Anna, [[Fyodor Maslov]], [[Sofya Maslova]] and [[Varvara Maslova]])
* '''[[Letter 4560]]''' – 19 November/1 December 1891, from [[Maydanovo]] (addressed jointly to Anna and her sister [[Sofya Maslova]])


2 letters from Anna Maslova to Tchaikovsky, dating from 1879 and 1883, are preserved in the [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive.
I remain as healthy and happy as it's possible to be; living peacefully and contentedly with the thought of our forthcoming meeting in [[Petersburg]]. The overture for [[Mariya Fyodorovna|Dagmara]] is completely finished <ref name="note2"/>, but it seems that her visit to [[Moscow]] has been postponed until April, and therefore I didn't need to rush. I'm now busy revising the [[Symphony No. 1|symphony]] <ref name="note3"/> and then, perhaps, I can eventually make a start on an opera. There is hope that [[Ostrovsky]] himself will write me a libretto from "[[The Voyevoda (opera)|The Voyevoda]]". I've made some new acquaintances, including Prince Odoyevsky, and Princess Mescherskaya <ref name="note4"/>, a true [[Moscow]] beauty, with whom I spent yesterday evening. I don't remember if I wrote about [[Albrecht]]? This gentleman plays a considerable role in my life in [[Moscow]], and therefore I must say a few words about him. Firstly, this is the nicest man in all [[Moscow]]. I've grown ever closer to him over the last year, and we're now on such good terms that his family is almost like home to me, which is a great comfort. Secondly, I'm quite fond of his two exceptionally dear children, who are very affectionate towards me. His wife has recently given birth to a third, and I've already been invited to be godfather. He holds the position of inspector at the conservatory, and lives here. [[Nikolay Rubinstein|Rubinstein]] and I eat at his house almost every day, like boarders. As regards the Tarnovskys, I've visited them quite often, but rather less than last year. I'm sending you a rather witty ''menu'' from one of Prince Odoyevsky's dinners, which I attended together with [[Nikolay Rubinstein|Rubinstein]], [[Laub]], [[Cossmann]] and [[Albrecht]]; show it to the Davydovs. One of these days I want to have my picture taken and send it to you. But how is it I have no money, you write? I actually have quite a bit, but then I spend an awful lot! On Bokso? On new clothes and a warm coat? Today I'm sending some money to [[Papasha]]. I kiss you very hard in all sorts of places!


==Bibliography==
Why doesn't [[Modya]] write to me? This is starting to concern me. Write me something about [[Aunt Katya]] and Ditlova <ref name="note5"/>. I kiss everyone, staring with [[Papasha]], [[Sasha]] and [[Lev]], hug the children even tighter, and bow low to [[Lizaveta Mikhaylovna]]. I received a letter from A. V. Davydova <ref name="note6"/>.
* Tamara Slutskaya, "«Очень хочется в Селище...» (Танеев и семья Масловых)" in E. V. Fetisova (ed.), '' Новое о Танееве'' ([[Moscow]], 2007), p. 57–69
}}
 
==Notes and References==
[[Category:People|Maslova, Anna]]
<references>
[[Category:Correspondents|Maslova, Anna]]
<ref name="note1">In [[Letter 83]], 23 January/4 February 1866, the composer had suggested to his brothers [[Anatoly]] and [[Modest]] that they should write to him less often, "but in more detail and something more akin to a diary".</ref>
[[Category:Dedicatees|Maslova, Anna]]
<ref name="note2">The [[Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem]], Op. 15, which Tchaikovsky wrote and orchestrated between September and November 1866 (the completed manuscript was dated 12/24 November). It was commissioned from Tchaikovsky by [[Nikolay Rubinstein]] for the impending celebrations of the marriage of the heir to the Imperial Throne, [[Alexander III|Grand Duke Aleksandr Aleksandrovich]], and the Danish [[Mariya Fyodorovna|Princess Dagmar]] (later Tsar [[Alexander III]] and Empress [[Mariya Fyodorovna]]).</ref>
<ref name="note3">The [[Symphony No. 1]], which Tchaikovsky revised during the autumn of 1866 in response to criticism from his former tutors [[Anton Rubinstein]] and [[Nikolay Zaremba]], who had criticised the first draft when the composer showed it to them during the summer.</ref>
<ref name="note4">Actually Prince (not Princess) Vladimir Petrovich Meshchersky (1839-1914), Tchaikovsky's schoolmate and journalist, also a fellow homosexual. See also ''{{bib|1993/186|Tchaikovsky. The quest for the inner man}}'' (1993), p. 366-368.</ref>
<ref name="note5">Lizaveta Ditlova was a relative of the composer's aunt, [[Yekaterina Alekseyeva]].</ref>
<ref name="note6">Aleksandra Vladimirovna Davydova (1827-1917), older sister of Tchaikovsky's brother-in-law [[Lev Davydov]].</ref>
</references>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter 0096}}

Revision as of 14:19, 12 July 2022

Date 8/20 November 1866
Addressed to Anatoly Tchaikovsky
Where written Moscow
Language Russian
Autograph Location unknown
Publication Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского, том 1 (1900), p. 260–261 (abridged)
П. И. Чайковский. Письма к родным (1940), p. 93–94
П. И. Чайковский. Письма к близким. Избранное (1955), p. 33–34 (abridged)
П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том V (1959), p. 113–114
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Letters to his family. An autobiography (1981), p. 32 (English translation; abridged)
Notes Manuscript copy in Klin (Russia): Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve

Text and Translation

Based on a handwritten copy in the Klin House-Museum Archive, which may contain differences in formatting and content from Tchaikovsky's original letter.

Russian text
(original)
English translation
By Brett Langston
8 ноября

Милый мой друг! Вот видишь, как ты скверно сделал, что по лени не согласился вести дневник для меня! Во-первых, я скучаю, ничего не зная о тебе, а во-вторых, твоя леность и меня сбила с толку, а мне гораздо легче было бы писать каждый день по три строки, чем настрочить разом целое письмо.

Я по-прежнему здоров и по возможности счастлив; со всеми живу в мире и согласии и ежечасно помышляю о приближающемся свидании с Петербургом. Увертюру для Дагмары совершенно окончил, но, кажется, приезд её в Москву отложен до апреля, и, следовательно, я напрасно торопился. Теперь займусь переделкой симфонии, а там, может, понемножку примусь за оперу. Есть надежда, что сам Островский напишет мне либретто из «Воеводы». Сделал несколько новых знакомств, в том числе с кн[язем] Одоевским и правой московской красавицей княгиней Мещерской, у которой вчера провёл вечер. Я не помню, писал ли я о Альбрехте; этот господин играет большую роль в моей московской жизни, а потому следует сказать о нем несколько слов. Во-первых, это милейший человек во всей Москве; я ещё в прошлом году с ним очень сошёлся, а теперь до того полюбил и привык к нему, что в его семействе нахожусь как дома, и это для меня подчас большое утешение. Во-вторых, я довольно сильно привязался к его двум весьма милым детям, с своей стороны меня очень любящим. На днях жена его должна родить третьего, и я уже заранее приглашён быть крестным отцом. Он занимает место инспектора консерватории и живёт здесь же; Рубинштейн и я обедаем у него в качестве нахлебников почти ежедневно. Что касается до Тарновских, то я бываю у них довольно часто, однако несравненно реже прошлого года. Посылаю тебе довольно остроумный menu одного обеда у князя Одоевского; на к[ото]ром я присутствовал вместе с Рубинштейн[ом], Лауб[ом], Коссманом и Альбрехтом; покажи его Давыдовым. На днях хочу снять с себя карточки и прислать Вам: Что пишешь: отчего у меня нет денег? Их у меня бывает много, но ведь и трат ужасно много! А Бокса? А новое платье и тёплое пальто? Сегодня посылаю Папаше долг. Целую тебя крепко, крепко во всякие места!

Что Модя мне не пишет? Это меня начинает удивлять. Напиши мне что-нибудь о тёте Кате и Дитловой. Целую всех, начиная с Папаши. Сашу, Леву, детей покрепче обнимаю, Лизавете Мих[айловне] низко кланяюсь. Получил письмо от А. В. Давыдовой.

8 November

My dear friend! Look here, how lazy you are by not agreeing to keep a diary for me! [1] Firstly, it pains me not knowing anything about you, and secondly, I am baffled by your laziness, since it would be far easier to write me three lines every day than to weave together a whole letter all at once.

I remain as healthy and happy as it's possible to be; living peacefully and contentedly with the thought of our forthcoming meeting in Petersburg. The overture for Dagmara is completely finished [2], but it seems that her visit to Moscow has been postponed until April, and therefore I didn't need to rush. I'm now busy revising the symphony [3] and then, perhaps, I can eventually make a start on an opera. There is hope that Ostrovsky himself will write me a libretto from "The Voyevoda". I've made some new acquaintances, including Prince Odoyevsky, and Princess Mescherskaya [4], a true Moscow beauty, with whom I spent yesterday evening. I don't remember if I wrote about Albrecht? This gentleman plays a considerable role in my life in Moscow, and therefore I must say a few words about him. Firstly, this is the nicest man in all Moscow. I've grown ever closer to him over the last year, and we're now on such good terms that his family is almost like home to me, which is a great comfort. Secondly, I'm quite fond of his two exceptionally dear children, who are very affectionate towards me. His wife has recently given birth to a third, and I've already been invited to be godfather. He holds the position of inspector at the conservatory, and lives here. Rubinstein and I eat at his house almost every day, like boarders. As regards the Tarnovskys, I've visited them quite often, but rather less than last year. I'm sending you a rather witty menu from one of Prince Odoyevsky's dinners, which I attended together with Rubinstein, Laub, Cossmann and Albrecht; show it to the Davydovs. One of these days I want to have my picture taken and send it to you. But how is it I have no money, you write? I actually have quite a bit, but then I spend an awful lot! On Bokso? On new clothes and a warm coat? Today I'm sending some money to Papasha. I kiss you very hard in all sorts of places!

Why doesn't Modya write to me? This is starting to concern me. Write me something about Aunt Katya and Ditlova [5]. I kiss everyone, staring with Papasha, Sasha and Lev, hug the children even tighter, and bow low to Lizaveta Mikhaylovna. I received a letter from A. V. Davydova [6].

Notes and References

  1. In Letter 83, 23 January/4 February 1866, the composer had suggested to his brothers Anatoly and Modest that they should write to him less often, "but in more detail and something more akin to a diary".
  2. The Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem, Op. 15, which Tchaikovsky wrote and orchestrated between September and November 1866 (the completed manuscript was dated 12/24 November). It was commissioned from Tchaikovsky by Nikolay Rubinstein for the impending celebrations of the marriage of the heir to the Imperial Throne, Grand Duke Aleksandr Aleksandrovich, and the Danish Princess Dagmar (later Tsar Alexander III and Empress Mariya Fyodorovna).
  3. The Symphony No. 1, which Tchaikovsky revised during the autumn of 1866 in response to criticism from his former tutors Anton Rubinstein and Nikolay Zaremba, who had criticised the first draft when the composer showed it to them during the summer.
  4. Actually Prince (not Princess) Vladimir Petrovich Meshchersky (1839-1914), Tchaikovsky's schoolmate and journalist, also a fellow homosexual. See also Tchaikovsky. The quest for the inner man (1993), p. 366-368.
  5. Lizaveta Ditlova was a relative of the composer's aunt, Yekaterina Alekseyeva.
  6. Aleksandra Vladimirovna Davydova (1827-1917), older sister of Tchaikovsky's brother-in-law Lev Davydov.