Diaries (January 1890)

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Tchaikovsky's Diary No. 10 covers the period from 1/13 January to 15/27 March 1890, and includes his trip to Florence, where he worked on his opera The Queen of Spades, written to a libretto supplied by his brother Modest.

The start of January 1890 found Tchaikovsky in Saint Petersburg for the dress rehearsal of his ballet The Sleeping Beauty (attended by Tsar Alexander III) on 2/14 January, followed by the first public performance the next day at the Mariinsky Theatre. After then spending a few days in Moscow, where he conducted at a Russian Musical Society concert on 6/18 January, he returned to Saint Petersburg to attend the 75th performance of Yevgeny Onegin on 12/24 January, and then left for Florence, where he arrived on 18/30 January, seeking seclusion in order to compose The Queen of Spades.

Text and Translation

The following diary entries were first published in Дневники П. И. Чайковского (1873-1891) (1923), p. 249-253, edited and with notes by the composer's brother Ippolit. They were also translated into English by Wladimir Lakond in The Diaries of Tchaikovsky (1945), p. 286-290, and into German by Ernst Kuhn and Hans-Joachim Grimm in P. I. Tschaikowsky. Die Tagebücher (1992), p. 317-321.

The new English translation and detailed commentary published here for the first time was prepared by Brett Langston.

Monday 1/13 January 1890
Встретил Новый год в ресторане у Лейнера с Модестом, Гитри и Angèle. Saw in the New Year at Leiner's restaurant with Modest, Guitry and Angèle [1].
Tuesday 2/14 January 1890
Репетиция балета с Государем. «Очень мило»!!!!! Его Величество третировал меня очень свысока. Господь с ним. Ballet rehearsal with the Sovereign [2]. "Very nice"!!!!! His Majesty treated me very condescendingly. The Lord be with him.
Wednesday 3/15 January 1890
Первое представление балета. First performance of the ballet.
Thursday 4/16 January 1890
Отъезд в Москву с Толей и Паней. Left for Moscow with Tolya and Panya.
Friday 5/17 January 1890
Москва. Прямо на репетицию. Дома умирающая Феклуша. Усложнение всякого рода и недовольство Москвой. Straight to the rehearsal [3]. Feklusha dying at home [4]. All sorts of complications and complaints with Moscow.
Saturday 6/18 January 1890
Концерт. Я дирижировал Рубинштейну. Лопнула струна. Ужин. The concert. I conducted Rubinstein. A string broke. Supper.
Sunday 7/19 January 1890
Завтрак у Коншиных. Концерт Рубинштейна. Обед. Бестактность Сафонова. Lunch with the Konshins [5]. Rubinstein's concert [6]. Dinner. Safonov's tactlessness.
Monday 8/20 January 1890
Обед у Коншиных. Dinner with the Konshins.
Tuesday 9/21 January 1890
У Коншиных. С Толей и Володей Коншиным домой. Визит и объяснение Сафонова. Обед у Коншиных. Прощаюсь с Толей и Паней. Татуся. «Ни за что» не поеду к Пете и т. д. At the Konshins'. Home with Tolya and Volodya Konshin [7]. Safonov's visit and explanation. Dinner with the Konshins. Farewells to Tolya and Panya. Tatusya. Won't go to Petya "for anything", etc. [8].
Wednesday 10/22 January 1890
С Алёшей в Подсолнечной. Спасское и Миловидово. With Alyosha to Podsolnechnaya [9]. Spasskoye and Milovidovo.
Thursday 11/23 January 1890
Петербург. У Всеволожского. Любезности. В Мих[айловском] театре, к обеду у Кондратьевых. Petersburg. With Vsevolozhsky. Kindness. To the Mikhaylovsky Theatre [10], dinner with the Kondratyevs.
Friday 12/24 January 1890
Вечером в "Евгении Онегине". В ложе с Г. П. Кондратьевым. Глазунов. (Завтракали у меня Зилоти и Сапельников.) In the evening at "Yevgeny Onegin" [11]. In a box with G. P. Kondratyev. Glazunov. (Ziloti and Sapelnikov had lunch at mine.)
Saturday 13/25 January 1890
Вечером в Мих[айловском] т[еатре]. "La Boule". Ужин с Погожевым и Co а также Гитри и Angèle. Evening at the Mikhaylovsky Theatre. "La Boule" [12]. Supper with Pogozhev and Co., as well as Guitry and Angèle.
Sunday 14/26 January 1890
Выезд из Петербурга. Тоска в вагоне. Left Petersburg. Homesickness on the train.
Monday 15/27 January 1890
Эйдкунен. Спальный вагон. Тоска. Сонливость. Eydtkuhnen [13]. Sleeping compartment. Homesickness. Drowsiness.
Tuesday 16/28 January 1890
Берлин. Hôtel de Rome. С Назаром по городу. Завтракали вместе. Один гулял. Обедали вместе. В 9 ч[асов] выезд. В спальном вагоне, очень удобно (но содрали). Berlin. Hôtel de Rome. Around the city with Nazar [14]. Had lunch together. Walked alone. Dinner together. Left at 9 o'clock. Sleeping compartment, very comfortable (but overpriced).
Wednesday 17/29 January 1890
Мюнхен. В простом вагоне одни. В Куфштейне осмотр маленьких вещей. Завтрак. Гористая дорога. Тоска!!! В 9½ граница (Ala). Ехали всю ночь одни. Спал скверно. Munich. A whole carriage to ourselves. At Kufstein, [15] an inspection of small baggage. Lunch. Mountainous route. Homesickness!!! 9.30 at the border (Ala) [16]. Travelled by ourselves all night. Slept badly.
Thursday 18/30 January 1890
Приезд во Флоренцию. Погода сырая, но тёплая. Скверная комната. Осмотрел квартиру при гостинице, нанял и условился. С Назаром в S[an] Miniato. Завтрак у Gilli e Letto. Дома. Устраивали. Первый обед. Отдельный столик. Хорошо. Оржевская. Arrived in Florence. Weather was damp, but warm. Awful room. Inspected an apartment at the hotel, and negotiated terms to rent it [17]. With Nazar to San Miniato [18]. Lunch at Gilli e Letto [19]. Home. Settling in. First lunch. Separate table. Good. Orzhevskaya [20].
Friday 19/31 January 1890
Начал работать, и недурно. (Начало украдено у Направника.) День прошёл в порядке. После завтрака шлялся. Подул холодный ветер, но у нас солнце. После обеда пошёл в цирк Celebrissimi. Mariani. Толстяк. Сигары. Started to work, and not badly. (Stole the beginning from Nápravník [21].) The day went to plan. After lunch I roamed around. Cold wind blowing, but we had the sun. After dinner went to the Celebrissimi circus. Mariani. Portly man. Cigars.
Saturday 20 January/1 February 1890
Занимался хорошо. Тоски меньше. Все как следует. Вечером в Pagliano. Толстуха Singer (Амнерис). Подлец дирижёр. Подлые хоры. Вообще все по провинциальному. После 2-го акта ушёл. Worked well. Less homesick. Everything went as it should. Evening at the Pagliano [22]. The portly Singer (Amneris) [23]. Blackguard of a conductor. Wretched choruses. Everything generally so provincial. Left after the 2nd act.
Sunday 21 January/2 February 1890
Работал утром хорошо, а после завтрака скверно. Гулял ходил в Кашино в самый конец. Обедал вследствие усталости и напряжения в работе скверно. Шлялся по кофейням. Дома письмо. Камин. Беседа с Назаром. Worked well in the morning, but badly after lunch. Went for a stroll to the Cascino [24], and walked to the very end. I dined badly as a consequence of tiredness and exertion from work. Roamed around the cafés. A letter at home. The fireplace. Discussion with Nazar.
Monday 22 January/3 February 1890
Все ещё холодная, но ясная погода. Вставши, читал газеты, пил чай с мёдом как водится. Работал хорошо. За завтраком беседа с Luidgi о короле, папе и т. д. Прогулка по городу, покупки. Смотрели с Назаром из своего окна на катающихся. Работал хорошо. Приходил в некоторый азарт. Отлично обедал (у Оржевской гости и болтунья девочка). С Назаром в Arena. Мой Mariani. Все как обыкновенно. Туда и назад пешком. Чудная, но холодная лунная ночь. Weather still cold but clear. Rose, read the newspapers, drank tea with honey as usual. Worked well. At lunch, discussion with Luidgi about the king, the pope, etc. Walked around town, shopping. Watched the passers-by with Nazar from our window. Worked well. Became a little carried away. Dined splendidly (Orzhevskaya's guests and a chatty little girl). At the Arena [25]with Nazar. My Mariani. Everything as usual. There and back on foot. Wonderful, but cold, moonlit night.
Tuesday 23 January/4 February 1890
Во время завтрака Оржевская сидела с русской дамой, которая потом подошла ко мне. Оказалась Платонова. Я отнёсся к ней очень сухо. Вечером письма писал. Работалось ничего. Телеграмма к Сапельникову по поводу письма Модеста о его отказе ехать в Париж и ответ. Сердился дважды на Назара. During lunch, Orzhevskaya was sitting with a Russian lady, who came over to me. It turned out to be Platonova [26]. I treated her very coldly. Wrote letters in the evening. Work was fine. Telegram to Sapelnikov concerning Modest's letter about his refusal to go to Paris and a reply [27]. Nazar made me angry twice.
Wednesday 24 January/5 February 1890
Работал с усилием. После обеда был в Alfieri. Giro del Моndо с Stenterello; глупо и балаганно до нельзя. Worked with effort. Went to the Alfieri after dinner [28]. Giro del Моndо [29] with Stenterello [30]; utterly stupid and farcical.
Thursday 25 January/6 February 1890
Работал с усилием (ансамбль). Погода тёплая. Via Lungo del Mugnone. Телеграмма от Модеста, — предлагает приехать. Worked with effort (the ensemble). Weather warm. Via Lungo del Mugnone. Telegram from Modest offering to come [31].
Friday 26 January/7 February 1890
Работал недурно. Письма от Римана, Наты и Шпажинской. После завтрака ходил по дороге к Fiesole. Покупки трубки и табаку для Назара. Работал хорошо. После обеда был, как всегда, в Cafe (Cerretani) и в театре Nicollini. Давали Мессалину. Насилу высидел один акт. Скверно и смешно. Worked not too badly. Letters from Reimann, Nata and Shpazhinskaya. Walked along the road to Fiesole after lunch. Bought pipes and tobacco for Nazar. Worked well. After dinner, as always, I went to a café (Cerretani) and to the Nicollini Theatre [32]. They were giving Messalina [33]. Forced myself to sit through one act. Awful and absurd.
Saturday 27 January/8 February 1890
Трудненько работалось (финал 1-ой картины). После завтрака по поручению Назара ходил искать русскую церковь — насилу нашёл. После обеда был в Pagliano, опять 2 первые действия Аиды (смешна толстая Зингер с извощичьими нотами). На этот раз инструментовка Аиды местами казалась мне груба до гадости. Как всегда, восхищался началом сцены Аиды и Амнерис. Work rather difficult (finale of the 1st scene). After lunch, on an errand for Nazar, I went to look for the Russian church, and only just managed to find it. After dinner went to the Pagliano, the first 2 acts of Aida again (the comically plump Singer with a coachman-like voice). This time Aida's instrumentation seemed to me to be coarse to the point of vulgarity in places. Was as captivated as ever by the beginning of the scene with Aida and Amneris.
Sunday 28 January/9 February 1890
Празднество открытия памятника Manin. Получил утром письма от Лароша и Юргенсона. За завтраком видел Венецианских гостей, тоже завтракавших. Ходил в Cascino. Но открытия не было. По возвращении смотрел с Назаром из окна на пешую толпу. Работа. Обед. Сидел в разных кафе. Разговор с Назаром по возвращении домой. Читал Gretry "Rich[ard] Coeur de lion". В глубине души страшная скука и ощущение безотрадности. Celebrations for the opening of the Manin monument [34]. Received letters from Laroche and Jurgenson in the morning. At lunch I saw the Venetian guests from, who were also having lunch. Walked to the Cascino. But there was no unveiling. On returning, watched the crowds passing by the window with Nazar. Work. Dinner. Sitting in various cafés. Discussion with Nazar on returning home. Read through Grétry's "Richard Coeur de Lion" [35]. Terrible ennui and feeling of emptiness in the depths of my soul.
Monday 29 January/10 February 1890
Начал утром 2-ю картину. После завтрака ходил по ту сторону реки влево. Собака, на меня напавшая. У нас в отеле все ещё караул, и народ собирается по случаю Венецианских гостей. Письма от Алёши, Эммы, Моди. Занимался хорошо. Обед. Пьянство в кафе. Fiera и латтереи, в которые мне везло. Дома. Послал Назара на Fier'y. Читал взятые из Дирекции старинные партитуры. Started on the 2nd scene in the morning. After lunch I walked along the other side of the river to the left. Attacked by a dog. We still have the guards at our hotel, and people are gathering on account of the Venetian guests. Letters from Alyosha, Emma, Modya. Work went well. Dinner. Binging at a café. Fair and a lottery, where my luck was in. Home. Sent Nazar off to the Fiera. Read through old scores borrowed from the Directorate.
Tuesday 30 January/11 February 1890
Письмо П. И. Ю[ргенсона] с известием об А[нтонине] И[вановне] страшно расстроило меня. Весь день был как сумасшедший. Спал скверно. Не работал. Letter from P. I. Jurgenson with news about Antonina Ivanovna upset me terribly [36]. I was in a frenzy the whole day. Slept badly. Did no work.
Wednesday 31 January/12 February 1890
Работалось лучше; вечером перед обедом посетило настоящее вдохновенье. Как всегда, шлялся и пьянствовал. Заходил на Fier'y. Все выигрыши раздавал. Worked better; true inspiration struck in the evening, before dinner. As always, I roamed around and drank. Stopped off at the Fair. Gave away all the prizes.

Notes and References

  1. ↑ The French actor Lucien Guitry and his actress wife Angèle.
  2. ↑ Tsar Alexander III attended the dress rehearsal for The Sleeping Beauty at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, the day before the official premiere.
  3. ↑ A rehearsal for the Sixth Russian Musical Society concert in Moscow on 6/18 January 1890, at which Tchaikovsky was to conduct Anton Rubinstein's Konzertstück in A-flat major, Op. 113 (1889), with Rubinstein himself as the soloist.
  4. ↑ Fekla Grigoryevna Sofronova, wife of the composer's servant Aleksey Sofronov.
  5. ↑ The family of the composer's sister-in-law Praskovya ("Panya"), the wife of his brother Anatoly ("Tolya").
  6. ↑ A recital by Anton Rubinstein to raise funds for the establishment of a concert hall named in honour of his late brother Nikolay.
  7. ↑ Vladimir Vladimirovich Konshin (b. 1857), older brother of Praskovya Tchaikovskaya.
  8. ↑ "Tatusya" was one of the composer's pet names for Anatoly and Praskovya's six-year old daughter, Tatyana. She called the composer "Uncle Petya".
  9. ↑ Podsolnechnaya railway station, not far from Klin.
  10. ↑ "Mademoiselle Eve" (1889), by the French writer Sibylle Riqueti de Mirabeau (1849–1932, known by her pseudonym "Gyp") was on the Mikhaylovsky Theatre's programme for this day — see Дни и годы П. И. Чайковского. Летопись жизни и творчества (1940), p. 484.
  11. ↑ The 75th performance of Tchaikovsky's opera at the Mariinsky Theatre.
  12. ↑ La Boule. Comédie en quatre actes, by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, first performed 24 November 1874 [N.S.] at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris.
  13. ↑ Eydtkuhnen was an important railway junction near the Russian-German border, where passengers were obliged to change between trains using the Russian broad gauge to the narrower standard-gague carriages used on the Prussian Eastern Railway. The town is now known as Chernyshevskoye, in the Kaliningrad oblast of Russia.
  14. ↑ While the composer's own servant Aleksey Sofronov remained at home in Frolovskoye to care for his seriously ill wife, Tchaikovsky was accompanied on this journey abroad by his brother's servant Nazar Litrov.
  15. ↑ Kufstein railway station, on the border between Germany and Austria-Hungary.
  16. ↑ Ala railway station, on the border between Austria-Hungary and Italy.
  17. ↑ The eleventh-century basilica of San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain), overlooking the city of Florence.
  18. ↑ Tchaikovsky and Nazar were staying in a ground floor apartment at the Hotel Washington in Florence. See Letter 4009 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 18/30 January 1890.
  19. ↑ Gilli & Letta was a popular restaurant, café and wine-house situated at Piazza della Signoria 3. See K. Baedeker, Italy. Handbook for Travellers, Part 1 (Leipzig, 1892) [1] (accessed 2 December 2023).
  20. ↑ In Letter 4012 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 23 January/4 February 1890, the composer wrote: "Living next to me here is an old maid Orzhevskaya, and with her a very pretty Russian servant girl, which is pure joy for Nazar. But it's very unpleasant for me, because I once visited Orzhevskaya and knew her personally in my youth. Of course, she recognised me, and it's very difficut to avoid renewing her acquaintance". Orzhevskaya's full name, and the nature of her earlier relationship with Tchaikovsky, remain unknown.
  21. ↑ "Napravnik did not know from which of his works the beginning of "The Queen of Spades" could have been stolen" — The Diaries of Tchaikovsky, p. 288.
  22. ↑ The Teatro Pagliano, built in 1854 on the Via Ghibellina (renamed in 1901 to become the Teatro Verdi).
  23. ↑ The mezzo-soprano Theresia (Teresa, or Teresina) Singer (1850–1928) was performing the role of Amneris, daughter of the king of Egypt, in Verdi's opera Aida.
  24. ↑ The Parco delle Cascine, on the north bank of the Arno river. In his diaries and correspondence, Tchaikovsky habitually referred to it by the name "Cascino".
  25. ↑ An outdoor theatre, situated on the Via dei Serragli.
  26. ↑ In Letter 4012 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 23 January/4 February 1890, the composer wrote: "a certain Mrs. Platonova, whom I also once knew very well, came up to me and tried to console me in my loneliness. But I treated her very coldly". It is possible that this was the soprano Yuliya Platonova (1841–1892), whom the composer knew from her performances at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg in the early 1870s, and who spurned the composer by turning down a role in the premiere of his opera The Oprichnik.
  27. ↑ In Letter 4012 to Modest of this date, he wrote: "I received your letter this morning and was incredibly upset about Sapelnikov" (who had been on a concert tour in Paris). "I telegraphed him now and have already received an answer. Explain for God's sake why he was not successful?". Neither Tchaikovsky's letter, nor Sapelnikov's reply have survived.
  28. ↑ The Teatro Alfieri, an important theatre and opera house, built in 1740 at Via dell'Ulivo (now demolished).
  29. ↑ Possibly Jules Verne's 1874 theatrical adaptation (made with Adolphe d'Ennery) of his novel Around the World in Eighty Days (Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours, 1872).
  30. ↑ The clownish character of Stenterello was a favourite of the Commedia dell'Arte in Florence, and was portrayed over the years by a variety of actors.
  31. ↑ Writing to Modest the next day, Tchaikovsky discouraged his brother from visiting Florence, pleading that: "If I had a surplus of money now, I should simply temper my loneliness in order to give you a chance to visit Italy. But in terms of money, things are still terribly bad" (Letter 4013, 25 January/6 February 1890).
  32. ↑ The Teatro Niccolini on Via Ricasoli, founded in 1648.
  33. ↑ Messalina, a 'drama per musica' in 3 acts by the Italian composer Carlo Pallavicino (c.1630–1688), first performed at the Teatro San Salvatore in Venice in 1679.
  34. ↑ Urbano Nono's statue commemorating the Italian revolutionary Daniele Manin (1804–1857), then situated on the Piazza d'Ognissanti.
  35. ↑ Tchaikovsky went on to use the aria 'Je crains de lui parler la nuit', from André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry's opera Richard Coeur-de-lion (1784), in the Countess's aria from The Queen of Spades (Act II, No. 16, bars 212–237).
  36. ↑ For more on Tchaikovsky's reaction to this news, see Letter 4020 to Pyotr Jurgenson of this date.
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