Konstantin Koninsky

Tchaikovsky Research

Russian choirmaster and conductor, born Konstantin Martynovich Koninsky (Константин Мартынович Конинский).

In March 1888, Konstantin Koninsky sent Tchaikovsky the manuscript of what he believed at the time to be a "Vater unser" by Mozart, and therefore a "unique find". Tchaikovsky's reply was scathing: "An "Our Father" by Mozart. What a blasphemy!!! I say blasphemy, because I consider Mozart the God of music. What you have sent me is the most banal rubbish in the style of Russian church music of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century..." [1]

In July 1893, Koninsky again wrote to Tchaikovsky, this time for advice on harmonizing the folksong It's Not the Wind that Bends the Branch (То не ветер ветку клонит), this time receiving a more positive response [2].

Correspondence with Tchaikovsky

2 letters from Tchaikovsky to Konstantin Koninsky have survived, dating from 1888 to 1893, both of which have been translated into English on this website:

4 letters from Koninsky to the composer, dating from 1888 and 1893, are preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin (a4, Nos. 1667–1670).

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Letter 3529a to Konstantin Koninsky, 15/27 March 1888.
  2. See Letter 4957 to Konstantin Koninsky, 19 June/1 July 1893.