Letter 2232
| Date | 1/13 March 1883 |
|---|---|
| Addressed to | Anna Merkling |
| Where written | Paris |
| Language | Russian |
| Autograph Location | unknown |
| Publication | П. И. Чайковский. С. И. Танеев. Письма (1951), p. 216–217 П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том XII (1970), p. 75 |
| Notes | Manuscript copy in Klin (Russia): Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve (signature omitted) |
Text and Translation
Based on a handwritten copy in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin, which may contain differences in formatting and content from Tchaikovsky's original letter.
| Russian text (original) |
English translation By Luis Sundkvist |
Париж 1/13 марта 1883 г[ода] Голубушка Аня! Хоть несколько слов хочу тебе написать, хоть ты и запрещаешь. Я ужасно тебе благодарен за милейшие письма! Ничего особенного сообщить тебе не имею. Часов 7 в день работаю, а остальное посвящаю поездкам к Тане и фланированию. Всё это так меня утомляет, что, действительно, затрудняюсь вести постоянную корреспонденцию с теми милыми людьми, которые меня радуют своими письмами. В театрах бываю редко; Модя гораздо чаще. Весь Париж теперь занят оперой Сен-Санса, которую только что великолепно поставили в «Grand Opéra». Вообще, хвалят; я ещё не слышал. Так как я сам вожусь целый день с музыкой, то ни в концерты, ни в оперу меня не тянет, и я предпочитаю бывать в таких театрах, где много смеха. Вчера я видел, вероятно, известную тебе по Питеру пьесу «Le truc d'Arthur» и хохотал до изнеможения. Думаю, что не раньше как через месяц мне можно будет направиться в Россию. Лето я, действительно, мечтаю прожить в окрестностях Москвы, но осуществится ли это, — не знаю. Всё зависит от денежных обстоятельств. Но вероятнее, что так устроится. Во всяком случае, я тебя увижу в Петербурге, через который проеду, и останусь там несколько дней. Погода здесь стоит до того отвратительная, что ничего подобного я не запомню. Снег с вьюгой, чередующийся с дождём, холод, слякоть, сырость, — ну просто октябрь петербургский. Манифестации здешние издали видел. Мне кажется, что это вспышки пламени, которое в непродолжительном будущем должно разгореться. Целую ручки, обнимаю, благодарю. Твой, |
Paris 1/13 March 1883 Golubushka Anya! I want to write you at least a few words, even if you forbid it. I am awfully grateful to you for your ever so sweet letters! I don't have anything in particular to tell you. Every day I work for about 7 hours, and the rest of my time I spend on visits to Tanya [1] and on flânerie. All this exhausts me so much that, truly, I find it difficult to carry on a regular correspondence with those dear people who make me happy with their letters. I don't go to the theatres very often; Modya does so far more frequently. All Paris is now preoccupied with Saint-Saëns opera, which has just been staged in a magnificent production at the Grand Opéra [2]. On the whole, people are praising it; I haven't heard it myself yet. Since I am busying myself with music all day long, I don't feel drawn either to concerts or to the opera, and I prefer instead to go to those theatres where there are lots of laughs. Yesterday I saw a play which you are probably familiar with from Piter — 'Le truc d'Arthur' [3] — and I was splitting my sides with laughter. I think it won't be until after another month that I shall be able to head for Russia. Yes, I am indeed dreaming of spending the summer in the environs of Moscow, but as to whether this will come true, I don't know It all depends on my financial circumstances. Still, it is more likely than not to work out that way. In any case, I shall see you in Petersburg, where I shall be stopping over for a few days. The weather here is so repulsive that I don't think I can remember anything like it. We are having snow and blizzards, alternating with rain, cold, slush, dampness — in short, the kind of weather you get in Petersburg in October. I saw the local demonstrations from a distance. They seem to me like bursts of a flame which in the near future is bound to blaze up [4]. I kiss your hands, and embrace and thank you. Yours, |
Notes and References
- ↑ The composer's niece, Tatyana Davydova ("Tanya") , was being treated for her morphine addiction at a private hospital in Paris. She was also at an advanced stage of her pregnancy with an illegitimate child. The only members of her family who were aware of her predicament were her uncles Modest (who brought her to Paris in mid/late January) and the composer. They both helped to look after Tatyana during her confinement, and, when, on 26 April/8 May 1883, she gave birth to a boy, christened Georges-Léon, Tchaikovsky arranged for the child to be taken care of by a French family for the time being.
- ↑ Saint-Saëns's opera Henri VIII (libretto by Léonce Détroyat and Armand Silvestre) was premiered at the Paris Opéra on 5 March 1883 [O.S.]. This means that Tchaikovsky here must have been referring to the final rehearsals, which he had probably read about in the newspapers.
- ↑ Le truc d'Arthur (Arthur's Trick; 1882), a comedy in three acts by Alfred Duru (1829–1889) and Henri Chivot (1830–1897).
- ↑ In February 1883 there were several demonstrations by the unemployed in Paris. They were led by the French anarchist Louise Michel (1830–1905), who had recently been allowed to return to France after being deported, in 1873, to a French colony in the Pacific for her role in the Paris Commune of 1871 — note based on information provided in Дни и годы П. И. Чайковского. Летопись жизни и творчества (1940), p. 288.
