Natalya Plesskaya
Cousin to the composer's brother-in-law Lev Davydov (b. 1837), born Natalya Andreyevna Plesskaya (Наталия Андреевна Плесская), sometimes also spelled Pleskaya (Плеская).
Natalya was a close friend of the composer's sister Aleksandra, and a cousin to his brother-in-law Lev Davydov (1837–1896). Tchaikovsky was very fond of Natalya Plesskaya, and admired her sunny disposition and ready wit. In 1878 he wrote a piano piece — Nathalie-Valse — specially for her, and he revised this three years later as the Natha-Valse — No. 4 of the Six Pieces, Op. 51.
Dedications
In 1878 Tchaikovsky wrote a Nathalie-Valse for Natalya Plesskaya. He retained the dedication of this piano piece when it was reworked as Nata-Valse, No. 4 of the Six Pieces, Op. 51 (1881).
Correspondence with Tchaikovsky
16 letters from Tchaikovsky to Natalya Plesskaya have survived, dating from 1879 to 1893. Those now highlighted in bold have been translated into English on this website:
- Letter 1060 – 6/18 January 1879, from Clarens
- Letter 1376 – 13/25 December 1879, from Rome
- Letter 1388 – 23 December 1879/4 January 1880, from Rome
- Letter 1941 – 22 January/3 February 1882, from Rome
- Letter 1986 – 6/18 March 1882, from Naples
- Letter 2014 – 4/16 May 1882, from Kamenka
- Letter 2269 – 20 April/2 May 1883, from Paris
- Letter 2330 – 16/28 August 1883, from Podushkino
- Letter 2333 – 22 August/3 September 1883, from Podushkino
- Letter 2536 – 28 August/9 September 1884, from Skabeyevo
- Letter 2687 – 15/27 April 1885, from Maydanovo
- Letter 2744 – 31 July/12 August 1885, from Maydanovo
- Letter 3640a – 11/23 August 1888, from Frolovskoye
- Letter 4859 – 6/18 February 1893, from Klin
- Letter 4907 – 5/17 April 1893, from Klin
- Letter 4958 – 19 June/1 July 1893, from Grankino
250 letters from Natalya Plesskaya to the composer, dating from 1878 to 1893, are preserved in the Klin House-Museum Archive.
