Letter 111
| Date | 21 January/2 February 1868 |
|---|---|
| Addressed to | Mily Balakirev |
| Where written | Moscow |
| Language | Russian |
| Autograph Location | Saint Petersburg (Russia): National Library of Russia (ф. 834, ед. хр. 11, л. 1–2) |
| Publication | Переписка М. А. Балакирева и П. И. Чайковского (1868-1891) [1912], p. 14 П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том V (1959), p. 131 Милий Алексеевич Балакирев. Воспоминания и письма (1962), p. 118 |
Text and Translation
| Russian text (original) |
English translation By Luis Sundkvist |
Милостивый государь!
Милий Алексеевич! Согласно нашему уговору посылаю Вам партитуру моих «Танцев»; если можно исполнить их в каком-нибудь концерте под Вашим управлением, то буду Вам крайне обязан. Если же нельзя, то потрудитесь их при случае возвратить; да, кстати, пришлите, если это возможно, словечко поощрения. От Вас мне в высшей степени приятно было бы получить таковое. Примите уверение в искреннем уважении, преданного Вам П. Чайковского Москва. 21 января 1868 |
Gracious Sir!
Mily Alekseyevich! In accordance with our agreement, I am sending you the score of my "Dances" [1]. If it is possible to have them performed at a concert conducted by you, I should be extremely obliged to you. If it is not possible, would you be so kind as to return the score when you have the chance? And, by the way, do send me a small word of encouragement if you can. It would be most agreeable for me to receive such a word from you. Please accept the assurance of my sincere respect, your devoted P. Tchaikovsky Moscow. 21 January 1868 |
Notes and References
- ↑ The Dances of the Chambermaids from Act II of Tchaikovsky's first opera, The Voyevoda, the orchestration of which he was completing at the time. At their first meeting, in Moscow in early January 1868, Balakirev had undertaken to conduct the Dances at one of the concerts of the Saint Petersburg branch of the Russian Musical Society. In the end, however, it was not Balakirev, but Anton Rubinstein who conducted the Dances at an RMS concert in Saint Petersburg on 25 January/6 February 1869 (five days before the opera's premiere at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre). The Dances were first performed in public not in an RMS concert, but in a concert at the Saint Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre conducted by Konstantin Lyadov on 17/29 March 1868.
