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| {{picture|file=Léo Delibes.jpg|caption='''Léo Delibes''' (1836-1891)}}
| | '''''Souvenir d'un lieu cher'''''<ref name="note1"/>, [[Op.]] 42 ([[TH]] 116; [[ČW]] 205), is a set of three pieces for violin and piano, composed by Tchaikovsky between March and May 1878. |
| French composer (b. 21 February 1836 in Saint-Germain-du-Val; d. 16 January 1891 in [[Paris]]), born '''''Clément Philibert Léo Delibes'''''.
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| ==Tchaikovsky and Delibes== | | ==Instrumentation== |
| In his memoirs of Tchaikovsky, [[Nikolay Kashkin]] gives an interesting account of how his late friend, in 1875, had taken up the suggestion from [[Vladimir Begichev]], the director of the Imperial Theatres in [[Moscow]], that he should write a ballet set in medieval times: ''[[Swan Lake]]''. Tchaikovsky had set about this task by first studying thoroughly various ballet scores, in particular that of Adolphe Adam's ''Giselle'', which at the time was his ideal of what a ballet should be like: in ''Giselle'' he was fascinated both by "the poetic spirit of Théophile Gautier's libretto and the mastery of Adam's music" <ref name="note1"/>. After discussing the moderate success obtained by ''[[Swan Lake]]'' in its first stage production (with choreography by Julius Reisinger), which was premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in [[Moscow]] on 20 February/4 March 1877, [[Kashkin]] adds that a few months later:
| | Scored for solo violin with piano accompaniment. |
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| {{quote|In [[Vienna]] Tchaikovsky heard Delibes's ballet ''Sylvia'', went into raptures over it, and in a letter to me expressed himself in very sharp terms about his own ''[[Swan Lake]]'', whereby he was clearly being unjustly hard on the music of his ballet. Subsequently his views about suitable ballet subjects changed, and he no longer liked ''Sylvia''; on the other hand, he became all the more enthusiastic about another ballet by the same composer — ''Coppélia'' — and even about a boring Viennese ballet — ''Die Puppenfee'' <ref name="note2"/>, which is reflected to some extent in ''[[The Nutcracker]]''. The latter shows how Pyotr Ilyich had moved on from the magic fairy-tale genre, as in ''[[The Sleeping Beauty]]'', to that of the puppet-theatre story <ref name="note3"/>.}}
| | ==Movements and Duration== |
| | There are three pieces, together lasting around 16 to 18 minutes in performance: |
| | # '''Méditation'''<br/>Andante molto cantabile (D minor, 188 bars) |
| | # '''Scherzo'''<br/>Presto giocoso (C minor, 288 bars) |
| | # '''Mélodie'''<ref name="note2"/><br/>Moderato con moto (E-flat major, 82 bars). |
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| Tchaikovsky's letter of 23 November/5 December 1877 to [[Nadezhda von Meck]] from [[Vienna]], quoted below, certainly confirms what [[Kashkin]] says about the strong impression which the music of Delibes's ballet ''Sylvia'', ou ''La nymphe de Diane'' ([[Paris]] Opéra, 1876) made on Tchaikovsky, even causing him to reject his own ''[[Swan Lake]]'' as "not fit to hold a candle to ''Sylvia''". Although the staging of this ballet in [[Vienna]] for the 1877/78 season was Tchaikovsky's first chance to hear Delibes's music in all the splendour of its orchestral sound (''Sylvia'' was not shown in Russia until 1901), he had in fact already been studying the piano score of ''Sylvia'' in the summer of 1876. We know this from a footnote which Tchaikovsky added to the letter he sent to his brother [[Modest]] on 8/20 August 1876, a few days after he had rushed off from [[Bayreuth]], having fulfilled his obligation to sit through the first complete performance of ''The Ring'' in order to report on it for a newspaper in [[Moscow]]. In this letter Tchaikovsky describes the ordeal he had endured, which was hardly compensated by the many 'symphonic' beauties of [[Wagner]]'s music, and adds in a revealing note: "How many thousand times dearer to me is the ballet ''Sylvia''!" [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], commenting on this letter in his biography of the composer, explains that it was during this trip abroad in the summer of 1876 that his brother had first become acquainted with Delibes's music thanks to a copy of the piano score of ''Sylvia'', and that back in Russia he had played it through enthusiastically three or four times <ref name="note4"/>. | | ==Composition== |
| | The pieces were conceived while Tchaikovsky was working on his [[Violin Concerto]] (possibly in response to a request by [[Iosif Kotek]]). ''Méditation'' (No. 1) was written between 11/23 and 13/25 March 1878 at [[Clarens]] as the original second movement of the [[Violin Concerto]], which was subsequently rejected and replaced with the ''Canzonetta''<ref name="note3"/>. |
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| The above comparison between [[Wagner]]'s monumental ''Ring'' cycle and Delibes's tuneful ballet, with the latter attracting all of Tchaikovsky's spontaneous sympathy (although of course he recognized [[Wagner]]'s genius — for "symphonic" music!), is one that would eventually be extended by the Russian composer into a comparison between German and French music. In several letters to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], some of which are quoted in the list below, Tchaikovsky makes it clear that he regarded music in Germany as having entered a phase of steep decline (exemplified by the two polar extremes of [[Wagner]] and [[Brahms]], whom elsewhere he described as a "caricature of [[Beethoven]]"), whereas in France a regeneration of music had been launched by such composers as the late [[Bizet]], in particular, but also by Delibes and a few others. This "new phalanx" of French composers was distinguished by the way in which it "does not pursue depth, but carefully avoids routine, looking for new forms and paying more attention to musical beauty than to the observance of established traditions, in contrast to the Germans" <ref name="note5"/>.
| | Tchaikovsky began composing the other pieces after finishing his ''[[Children's Album]]'' on 4/16 May 1878. On 10/22 May he told [[Anatoly Tchaikovsky]]: "My work is going well" <ref name="note4"/>. Three days later Tchaikovsky left for [[Nadezhda von Meck]]'s estate at [[Brailov]], and on 19/31 May he began to make fair copies of the violin pieces <ref name="note5"/>. On leaving [[Brailov]], he handed over the completed pieces to the estate manager, Marcel, to be conveyed to [[Nadezhda von Meck]]: "I have left my pieces (''dedicated to [[Brailov]]'') with Marcel to give to you... In my opinion, the first of these is the best, but it gave me the most trouble; it is called ''Méditation'' and is to be played a tempo ''Andante''. The second is a very brisk scherzo, and the third – ''Chant sans paroles''. On giving these pieces to Marcel, I experienced an indescribable melancholy, which stayed with me even as I sat down to write this; until I saw the lilacs still in full bloom, the grass still long, and the roses only just starting to blossom!" <ref name="note6"/>. In the same letter, Tchaikovsky asked [[Nadezhda von Meck]] if a copy of the pieces could be made and sent for publication, leaving the autograph with her. [[Władysław Pachulski]] made a copy of the pieces, but Tchaikovsky did not receive them until September 1878, when he told [[Nadezhda von Meck]]: "I have received the violin pieces. My thanks to you and [[Władysław Pachulski|Pachulski]]" <ref name="note7"/>. |
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| Tchaikovsky's enthusiastic remarks about ''Sylvia'' prompted [[Nadezhda von Meck]] to ask him if he was also familiar with Delibes's comic opera ''Le roi l'a dit'' (1873) and his earlier ballet ''Coppélia'' ([[Paris]] Opéra, 1870) <ref name="note6"/>. Tchaikovsky replied saying that he thought this opera "delightful" but that he was unfortunately not yet acquainted with ''Coppélia'': he intended, however, to get hold of a copy of the score very soon. Unfortunately, it is not clear when exactly Tchaikovsky managed to study the score, or actually see a performance, of ''Coppélia'' (which was first shown in Russia in 1884, in a staging by [[Marius Petipa]]). But judging from [[Kashkin]]'s memoirs as quoted above, Tchaikovsky came to appreciate the vivid and rich music of ''Coppélia'' even more than that of ''Sylvia'', and it was the earlier ballet, loosely based on a story by [[E. T. A. Hoffmann]], which would serve as a model for ''[[The Nutcracker]]'' in the scenario that [[Ivan Vsevolozhsky]] and [[Petipa]] drew up for Tchaikovsky in 1890–91. The encounter between human emotions and the world of automata, which in contrast to [[Hoffmann]]'s original story was rendered quite harmless in the French ballet (since Dr Coppélius's doll always remains a lifeless dummy), takes on more sinister overtones in Act I of ''[[The Nutcracker]]'' <ref name="note7"/>.
| | ==Performances== |
| | No information survives on the first performance of ''Souvenir d'un lieu cher''. |
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| On 17 April 1883 {{NS}}, during his long stay in [[Paris]] that year, Tchaikovsky was able to attend, together with his brother [[Modest]], one of the first performances of Delibes's most popular opera, ''Lakmé'', at the ''Opéra-Comique ''<ref name="note8"/>. Tchaikovsky does not seem to have left any comments on this masterpiece, but from a diary entry we know that at [[Maydanovo]] in the summer of 1886 he played through the vocal-piano reduction of ''Le roi l'a dit'', and that in the following summer he was also studying (unspecified) works by Delibes <ref name="note9"/>.
| | ==Publication== |
| | In November 1878, Tchaikovsky enquired of [[Pyotr Jurgenson]]: "Please tell me, have you got the three violin pieces or not? Could I ask you to send the proofs to [[Kotek]]" <ref name="note8"/>. |
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| Tchaikovsky had a couple of chances to meet Delibes during his stay in [[Paris]] in 1886 (from late May to late June {{NS}}, but although in the course of these four weeks he managed to make the acquaintance of many prominent figures in the musical life of the French capital, including [[Ambroise Thomas]], [[Pauline Viardot]], [[Édouard Lalo]], and [[Gabriel Fauré]], fate seemed to conspire to prevent him that year from actually speaking to the French composer he admired most (after [[Bizet]] and possibly [[Gounod]]). This was not for want of opportunities, though, for in his diary he wrote down on 8/20 June 1886: "Back at the hotel I found ''Léo Delibes'''s visiting card, with an inscription" <ref name="note10"/>. The following day Tchaikovsky set off for Delibes's house, but the composer wasn't at home. The fact that Delibes had been the first to seek him out and had even left his card at the hotel was evidently flattering to Tchaikovsky's self-esteem in a city which he felt had until then shown but little interest in his music. Thus, a few days later he wrote to his brother [[Modest]]: "Léo Delibes called on me first — that really moved me! Indeed, it turns out that I'm not at all so unknown in [[Paris]] as I had thought!" <ref name="note11"/>. That he did not actually meet Delibes on this occasion, is clear from an exchange of letters with [[Nadezhda von Meck]] once he was back in Russia. Very soon after reaching [[Saint Petersburg]] (on 15/27 June) he had written to his benefactress with a brief report on his impressions of [[Paris]]: "Of the most outstanding figures [in the city's musical life] I was particularly touched by the attention I received from [[Ambroise Thomas]] and Léo Delibes" <ref name="note12"/>. [[Nadezhda von Meck]] had understood this to mean that Tchaikovsky had actually met both these eminent composers, and in her reply (sent to [[Maydanovo]], where Tchaikovsky intended to spend the rest of the summer), she asked him if Delibes was as nice in real life as he seemed to be from the "very kind and ingenuous expression" of his face on photographs <ref name="note13"/>. In his next letter to her Tchaikovsky cleared up the misunderstanding:
| | The pieces were published by [[Pyotr Jurgenson]] in May 1879, and Tchaikovsky declared himself "highly delighted with the edition" <ref name="note9"/>. |
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| {{quote|I did not get to see Léo Delibes and so I cannot answer your question. He went to my hotel one day, but I wasn't in, so he left his card with a most flattering inscription. The next day I went to call on him, but he wasn't at home either. Then we were supposed to see each other at the Conservatoire, where I had been invited by [[Ambroise Thomas|A. Thomas]] to attend a piano examination, but some meeting at the Academy [of Fine Arts] meant he couldn't come. Thus, Delibes bowled me over with his kindness (which I value especially, since after [[Bizet]] I consider him to be the most talented French composer), without ever having set eyes on me <ref name="note14"/>.}}
| | In October 1880 ''Méditation'' was published separately, as were ''Scherzo'' and ''Mélodie'' in April 1884. In 1896, [[Jurgenson]] published all three pieces in an arrangement by [[Aleksandr Glazunov]] for violin with orchestra, and in 1908 a new edition of the pieces for violin and piano was issued, edited by [[Leopold Auer]]. |
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| Within less than two years, though, Tchaikovsky did finally get to meet Delibes in [[Paris]]. In February–March 1888, he was in the French capital as part of his first concert tour to Western Europe as the conductor of his own works, and it seems that at the second of the three concerts he conducted there (at the Théâtre du Châtelet on 4 March 1888 {{NS}} Delibes was present in the audience. The two composers may also have met at the many receptions which [[Édouard Colonne]] organized in his house in honour of the illustrious visitor from Russia. At any rate, a few days after that concert Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother [[Modest]]: "The celebrations I am receiving in my honour are quite sincere. At the concert [ Gounod]] expressed his enthusiasm in a very demonstrative fashion; all the young musicians are also very kind to me. I have become acquainted with everyone. Delibes is the nicest of them all" <ref name="note15"/>.
| | The ''Souvenir d'un lieu cher'' was published in volume 55А of Tchaikovsky's ''[[Complete Collected Works]]'' (1946), edited by Ivan Shishov and Nikolay Shemanin. |
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| Two days after Tchaikovsky's death an interview with his loyal publisher and friend [[Pyotr Jurgenson]] was published in the ''Petersburg Gazette''. One of the questions [[Jurgenson]] was asked was which composers Tchaikovsky had liked the most. He replied as follows: "Pyotr Ilyich worshipped [[Mozart]] […] He was also a great admirer of [[Bizet]] and Delibes […] In [[Moscow]] I once had the opportunity to go and see some ballet by Delibes with him. Tchaikovsky was so delighted by it that he cried out: 'Now that is real ballet! […] There's no way the monsters I've produced can compare with it!'" <ref name="note16"/>.
| | ==Autographs== |
| | Although Tchaikovsky had given the autograph score to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], in May 1879, the composer wrote to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]]: "I will attempt to obtain the manuscript for you, although you will understand that this is not without its difficulties" <ref name="note10"/>. However, this promise was not fulfilled, and the whereabouts of his original manuscript remain unknown. |
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| That he could say this about ''[[Swan Lake]]'', ''[[The Sleeping Beauty]]'', and ''[[The Nutcracker]]'' is characteristic of Tchaikovsky's modesty and also confirms something he himself had pointed out in an article of 1875 — namely, that authors were liable to be too critical of their own works! (see [[TH 304]]).
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| ==General Reflections on Delibes== | | ==Dedication== |
| ===In Tchaikovsky's Letters===
| | On 24 November/6 December 1878, Tchaikovsky informed [[Jurgenson]] that "I should like the dedication to read as follows: 'Dedicated to B******* ', i.e. B and 7 asterisks" <ref name="note11"/>. The asterisks concealed the dedication to [[Brailov]] (in Russian: «Браилову»). |
| * [[Letter 491]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 8/20 August 1876, from [[Vienna]], in which Tchaikovsky summarizes his impressions of the first performance of ''The Ring'' at the inaugural [[Bayreuth]] Festival:
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| {{quote|So this is what [[Wagner]]'s opera reform is striving after? Composers in the past sought to delight people with their music; now what they do instead is to torment and exhaust them. Of course, there are wondrous details, but everything taken together is frightfully boring!!! [Footnote by Tchaikovsky:] How many thousand times dearer to me is the ballet ''Sylvia''.}}
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| * [[Letter 659]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 23 November/5 December 1877, from [[Vienna]]:
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| {{quote|After the opera [Cherubini's ''Der Wasserträger''] we saw a staging of the ballet ''Sylvia'', whose music is being talked about very much now. It really is a ''chef-d'oeuvre'' of its kind. The author of this music is a Frenchman: Léo Delibes. I really wish that you were able to get a copy of the score of this ballet. Never before in ballet music has there been such gracefulness, such a richness of melodies and rhythms, such a splendid instrumentation. Without any false modesty whatsoever, I can assure you that ''[[The Lake of Swans]]'' is not fit even to hold a candle to ''Sylvia''. I was utterly enchanted! <ref name="note17"/>."/>
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| * [[Letter 661]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 26 November/8 December 1877, from [[Vienna]]:
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| {{quote|On the whole it does seem to me that in terms of music Germany is in decline. I think it's now the Frenchmen who are coming on centre-stage. They now have a lot of new and strong talents. Recently I heard Delibes's music for the ballet ''Sylvia'' — a music which in its own way really is touched by genius. Thanks to a piano transcription I had familiarized myself with this wonderful music before, but in the splendid performance I heard from the Viennese orchestra it has quite simply enchanted me, especially in the first part. ''[[The Lake of Swans]]'' is mere rubbish in comparison with ''Sylvia''. Indeed, over the last few years I cannot think of anything apart from [Bizet]]'s] ''Carmen'' and Delibes's ballet that has so seriously enchanted me. Perhaps Russia, too, will contribute a new word, like the rest of Europe in fact. In Germany, though, we're seeing a steep decline. [[Wagner]] is the great representative of this period of decadence.}}
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| * [[Letter 662]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 27 November/9 December 1877, from [[Vienna]]:
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| {{quote|We <ref name="note18"/> are often going to the theatre in the evenings. We've heard: ''Der Wasserträger'' by Cherubini, ''Sylvia'' (a ballet) by Delibes, ''Die Walküre'' by [[Wagner]], and ''Aida''. The last of these was staged very poorly. Out of all this I have been most enchantingly impressed by ''Der Wasserträger'' and ''Sylvia'', which are staged as a double-bill in one evening.}}
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| * [[Letter 681]] to [[Sergey Taneyev]], 7/19 December 1877, from [[Venice]], in which Tchaikovsky mentions how he had attended a performance of [[Wagner]]'s ''Die Walküre'' in [[Vienna]], and how this had confirmed his negative impressions from the [[Bayreuth]] Festival: | |
| {{quote|On the other hand, I also ''heard'' in [[Vienna]] the ballet ''Sylvia'' by Leo Delibes — yes, I mean '''heard''' because this is the first ballet in which the music constitutes not just the principal, but also the sole interest. What charm, what gracefulness, what melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic richness! I was ashamed of myself. If I had known this music before, I wouldn't have written ''[[The Lake of Swans]]''.}}
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| * [[Letter 707]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 24 December 1877/5 January 1878, in which Tchaikovsky first discusses at length his views on the state of music in Russia, with some critical remarks about the "Mighty Handful", and in Germany: | |
| {{quote|As for the French, they are now moving forward in a very pronounced manner. Of course it is only now that they've started to play [[Berlioz]], that is ten years after his death, but still a lot of new talents and energetic fighters against routine have emerged there [...] Of the contemporary French composers my favourites are [[Bizet]] and Delibes.}}
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| * [[Letter 724]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 11/23 January 1878: | |
| {{quote|I don't know ''Coppélia'', but at the next convenient opportunity I definitely intend to acquaint myself with it. ''Le roi l'a dit'' is a delightful opera by virtue of both its music and plot, but Delibes's ''chef-d'oeuvre'' still remains ''Sylvia''.}}
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| * [[Letter 799]] to [[Sergey Taneyev]], 27 March/8 April 1878, who had criticized some passages of Tchaikovsky's [[Fourth Symphony]] as resembling 'ballet music':
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| {{quote|I really do not understand what you mean by ballet music and why you are so against it. Do you call ballet music every cheerful tune with a dance rhythm? Well, in that case you must also be against most of [[Beethoven]]'s symphonies, in which one continually comes across such melodies […] Indeed, I just cannot understand why there should be something reprehensible in the phrase 'ballet music'! After all, ballet music is not always bad; it can sometimes be very good (for example, Léo Delibes's ''Sylvia''). And when it is good, what difference does it make if Sobeshchanskaya <ref name="note19"/> is dancing to it or not?}}
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| * [[Letter 1436]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 29 February/12 March 1880, from [[Paris]]:
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| {{quote|Tonight I'm going to hear the opera ''Jean de Nivelle'' by Leo Delibes — a composer whose talent I find very appealing. This opera has been enormously successful, and I had quite a bit of trouble getting hold of a ticket for tonight's performance.}}
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| * [[Letter 1479]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 18/30 April 1880, from [[Kamenka]]:
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| {{quote|Over the last few days I've been studying two new operas at the same time: [[Anton Rubinstein|Rubinstein]]'s ''The Merchant Kalashnikov'' and Leo Delibes's ''Jean de Nivelle''. The former is an extremely poor work. Indeed, [[Anton Rubinstein|Rubinstein]] is behaving just like a singer who has already lost her voice but still imagines that she can captivate her audience. His is a talent that has played out long ago and lost all its charm. He ought to stop and be content with what he has achieved in the past. I pray to God that I don't eventually fall into the same mistake! As for Delibes's opera, that produces an altogether different impression. It's a fresh, elegant, and highly talented work. Perhaps, dear friend, you might like to look through this opera yourself?}}
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| * [[Letter 2113]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 20 September/2 October 1882, in which Tchaikovsky discusses his intention of creating a suite ([[TH 219]]) from his first ballet (this intention was not realised):
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| {{quote|You know that the French composer ''Delibes'' has written ballets. Since ballet is a thing without firm foundations, he made a concert suite from it. The other day I thought about my own ''[[Swan Lake]]'', and I wanted very much to save this music from oblivion, since it contains some fine things. And so I decided to make a suite from it, like ''Delibes''.}}
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| * [[Letter 2215]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 31 January/12 February–9/21 February 1883, from [[Paris]], in which Tchaikovsky first gives his general impressions of contemporary French music:
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| {{quote|If we compare the new French school with what is currently being composed in Germany, then it is impossible not to recognize that German music is in a terrible state of decline, and that they are not doing anything else other than constantly rehashing the elements introduced by [[Mendelssohn]] and [[Schumann]], on the one hand, and by [[Liszt]] and [[Wagner]], on the other. In France, on the contrary, one can hear something which is new and at times very interesting, fresh, and striking. [[Bizet]], of course, is head and shoulders above them all, but still [[Massenet]], Delibes, Guiraud, [[Lalo]], Godard, [[Saint-Saëns]], etc are people with talent and, most importantly, people who are at any rate a long way from the dry routine manner of contemporary Germans}}
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| * Letter 4298 to [[Félix Mackar]], 11/23 January 1891, from [[Frolovskoye]]:
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| {{quote|My dear friend. What a misfortune the death of ''Delibes'' is!!! He was my great favourite among French composers.}}
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| ===In Interviews with Tchaikovsky===
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| * ''[[A Conversation with P. I. Tchaikovsky]]'' (TH 324), interview for the periodical ''Petersburg Life'', 12 November 1892 {{OS}}, in which Tchaikovsky is asked, amongst other things, about his views on the state of music in Western Europe:
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| {{quote|One sees a lot of activity and forward movement in France, too, which can rightly pride itself on such artists as [[Bizet]], [[Saint-Saëns]], Delibes, [[Massenet]]…}}
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| ==External Links== | | ==External Links== |
| * [[wikipedia:Léo Delibes|Wikipedia]]
| | * {{imslpscore|Souvenir_d%27un_lieu_cher,_Op.42_(Tchaikovsky,_Pyotr)|Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op.42}} |
| * {{IMSLP|Delibes,_Léo}} | |
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| ==Notes and References== | | ==Notes and References== |
| <references> | | <references> |
| <ref name="note1">{{bib|1954/50|Воспоминания о П. И. Чайковском}} (1954), p. 117.</ref> | | <ref name="note1">The title ''Souvenir d'un lieu cher'' was first used in editions printed after Tchaikovsky's death, and it is uncertain whether this was the composer's own designation. Entitled simply "Three Pieces" in [[ČW]].</ref> |
| <ref name="note2">''Die Puppenfee'' (The Fairy Doll) is a one-act pantomimic divertissement with music by Josef Bayer (1852–1913) and choreography by Joseph Hassreiter (1845–1940), first staged at the Hofoper in [[Vienna]] on 4 October 1888.</ref>
| | <ref name="note2">Originally Tchaikovsky called No. 3 ''Chant sans paroles''.</ref> |
| <ref name="note3">{{bib|1954/50|Воспоминания о П. И. Чайковском}} (1954), p. 119–120.</ref> | | <ref name="note3">See [[Letter 798]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 24 March/5 April 1878.</ref> |
| <ref name="note4">See {{bib|1997/94|Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского ; том 1}} (1997), p. 467.</ref> | | <ref name="note4">[[Letter 826]] to [[Anatoly Tchaikovsky]].</ref> |
| <ref name="note5">From [[Letter 777]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 3/15 March 1878, in which Tchaikovsky praises warmly [[Édouard Lalo]]'s ''Symphonie Espagnole''.</ref>
| | <ref name="note5">See [[Letter 832]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 18/30–19/31 May 1878.</ref> |
| <ref name="note6">Letter from [[Nadezhda von Meck]] to Tchaikovsky, 4/16 January 1878.</ref> | | <ref name="note6">[[Letter 846]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 29 May/10 June–30 May/11 June 1878.</ref> |
| <ref name="note7">See also the contribution by Rüdiger Herpich to the archived Tchaikovsky Forum discussion "Drosselmeyer's musical symbolism" [http://www.tchaikovsky-research.net/en/forum/forum0064.html] </ref>
| | <ref name="note7">[[Letter 912]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 12/24–13/25 September 1878.</ref> |
| <ref name="note8">See also ''{{bib|1940/107|Дни и годы П. И. Чайковского. Летопись жизни и творчества}}' (1940), p. 290, which refers to an entry from [[Modest Tchaikovsky]]'s diary recording this visit to the opera.</ref>
| | <ref name="note8">[[Letter 978]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 24 November/6 December 1878.</ref> |
| <ref name="note9">Diary entries for 7/19 and 8/20 August 1886, as well as 23 March/4 April 1887, in {{bib|1993/231|Дневники П. И. Чайковского, 1873–1891}} (1993), p. 86 and p. 134 respectively.</ref> | | <ref name="note9">See [[Letter 1194]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 31 March/12 April 1879.</ref> |
| <ref name="note10">'' {{bib|1993/231|Дневники П. И. Чайковского, 1873–1891}}'' (1993), p.69.</ref>
| | <ref name="note10">See [[Letter 1194]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 31 March/12 April 1879.</ref> |
| <ref name="note11">[[Letter 2971]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 11/23 June 1886.</ref>
| | <ref name="note11">[[Letter 978]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 24 November/6 December 1878.</ref> |
| <ref name="note12">[[Letter 2975]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 17/29–18/30 June 1886.</ref> | |
| <ref name="note13">Letter from [[Nadezhda von Meck]] to Tchaikovsky, 22 June/4 July 1886.</ref> | |
| <ref name="note14">[[Letter 2988]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 28 June/10 July 1886.</ref> | |
| <ref name="note15">[[Letter 3507]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 25 February/8 March 1888.</ref> | |
| <ref name="note16">This interview with [[Pyotr Jurgenson]] from the ''Petersburg Gazette'' (Петербургская газета), 27 October 1893 {{OS}} is included (in German) in: ''{{bib|1994/85|Tschaikowsky aus der Nähe: Kritische Würdigungen und Erinnerungen von Zeitgenossen}}'' (1994), p. 273–275.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note17">Tchaikovsky is referring to his first ballet by its original designation: ''The Lake of Swans'' (Озеро лебедей), rather than the title which eventually prevailed: ''[[Swan Lake]]'' (Лебединое озеро). When the ballet was premiered at the [[Moscow]] Bolshoi Theatre on 20 February/4 March 1877 (with choreography by Julius Reisinger) it was received fairly well and it remained in the repertoire until the 1882/83 season.</ref> | |
| <ref name="note18">Tchaikovsky was in [[Vienna]] with his brother [[Anatoly]] and the violinist [[Iosif Kotek]].</ref> | |
| <ref name="note19">Anna Sobeshchanskaya (1842–1918), Russian ballerina; she danced Odette in the first production of ''[[Swan Lake]]'' (1877), although it was Pelageya Karpakova (1845–1920) who created the role at the premiere of the ballet.</ref>
| |
| </references> | | </references> |
| [[Category:People|Delibes, Leo]] | | [[Category:Chamber Music]] |
| [[Category:Composers|Delibes, Leo]]
| |
Souvenir d'un lieu cher[1], Op. 42 (TH 116; ČW 205), is a set of three pieces for violin and piano, composed by Tchaikovsky between March and May 1878.
Instrumentation
Scored for solo violin with piano accompaniment.
Movements and Duration
There are three pieces, together lasting around 16 to 18 minutes in performance:
- Méditation
Andante molto cantabile (D minor, 188 bars)
- Scherzo
Presto giocoso (C minor, 288 bars)
- Mélodie[2]
Moderato con moto (E-flat major, 82 bars).
Composition
The pieces were conceived while Tchaikovsky was working on his Violin Concerto (possibly in response to a request by Iosif Kotek). Méditation (No. 1) was written between 11/23 and 13/25 March 1878 at Clarens as the original second movement of the Violin Concerto, which was subsequently rejected and replaced with the Canzonetta[3].
Tchaikovsky began composing the other pieces after finishing his Children's Album on 4/16 May 1878. On 10/22 May he told Anatoly Tchaikovsky: "My work is going well" [4]. Three days later Tchaikovsky left for Nadezhda von Meck's estate at Brailov, and on 19/31 May he began to make fair copies of the violin pieces [5]. On leaving Brailov, he handed over the completed pieces to the estate manager, Marcel, to be conveyed to Nadezhda von Meck: "I have left my pieces (dedicated to Brailov) with Marcel to give to you... In my opinion, the first of these is the best, but it gave me the most trouble; it is called Méditation and is to be played a tempo Andante. The second is a very brisk scherzo, and the third – Chant sans paroles. On giving these pieces to Marcel, I experienced an indescribable melancholy, which stayed with me even as I sat down to write this; until I saw the lilacs still in full bloom, the grass still long, and the roses only just starting to blossom!" [6]. In the same letter, Tchaikovsky asked Nadezhda von Meck if a copy of the pieces could be made and sent for publication, leaving the autograph with her. Władysław Pachulski made a copy of the pieces, but Tchaikovsky did not receive them until September 1878, when he told Nadezhda von Meck: "I have received the violin pieces. My thanks to you and Pachulski" [7].
Performances
No information survives on the first performance of Souvenir d'un lieu cher.
Publication
In November 1878, Tchaikovsky enquired of Pyotr Jurgenson: "Please tell me, have you got the three violin pieces or not? Could I ask you to send the proofs to Kotek" [8].
The pieces were published by Pyotr Jurgenson in May 1879, and Tchaikovsky declared himself "highly delighted with the edition" [9].
In October 1880 Méditation was published separately, as were Scherzo and Mélodie in April 1884. In 1896, Jurgenson published all three pieces in an arrangement by Aleksandr Glazunov for violin with orchestra, and in 1908 a new edition of the pieces for violin and piano was issued, edited by Leopold Auer.
The Souvenir d'un lieu cher was published in volume 55А of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works (1946), edited by Ivan Shishov and Nikolay Shemanin.
Autographs
Although Tchaikovsky had given the autograph score to Nadezhda von Meck, in May 1879, the composer wrote to Pyotr Jurgenson: "I will attempt to obtain the manuscript for you, although you will understand that this is not without its difficulties" [10]. However, this promise was not fulfilled, and the whereabouts of his original manuscript remain unknown.
Recordings
- See: Discography
Dedication
On 24 November/6 December 1878, Tchaikovsky informed Jurgenson that "I should like the dedication to read as follows: 'Dedicated to B******* ', i.e. B and 7 asterisks" [11]. The asterisks concealed the dedication to Brailov (in Russian: «Браилову»).
External Links
Notes and References
