Letter 2553
Tchaikovsky Research
| Date | 20 September/2 October 1884 |
|---|---|
| Addressed to | Sergey Taneyev |
| Where written | Pleshcheyevo |
| Language | Russian |
| Autograph Location | Moscow: Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (ф. 880) |
| Publication | П. И. Чайковский. С. И. Танеев. Письма (1951), p. 114 П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том XII (1970), p. 443 |
Text and Translation
| Russian text (original) |
English translation By Luis Sundkvist |
20 сент[ября] Милый Сергей Иванович!
Пьеса к субботе готова не будет; я не приеду. Когда справлюсь и соберусь в Москву, дам Вам знать. П. Чайковский Ничего, что Ваша партитура ещё несколько дней останется? |
20 September Dear Sergey Ivanovich!
The piece won't be ready by Saturday: I shan't be coming [1]}. When I have wound it up and am ready to go to Moscow, I shall let you know. P. Tchaikovsky Do you mind if your score [2] remains here for a few more days? |
Notes and References
- ↑ Tchaikovsky was then working on the orchestration of his Concert Fantasia (a task which he would complete at Pleshcheyevo on 24 September/6 October), but during an earlier meeting with Taneyev in Moscow on 2/14 or 3/15 September he seems to have given his former student a copy of the piano part so that he could start studying it, since Tchaikovsky very much hoped that his new work could be premiered by Taneyev at a Russian Musical Society concert before the end of the year. This did not work out, though, and the Concert Fantasia was not premiered until 22 February/6 March 1885 at a concert in Moscow conducted by Max Erdmannsdörfer and with Taneyev as the soloist.
- ↑ The score of the first movement of Taneyev's Third Symphony in D minor. Taneyev had completed his new symphony in outline in late March/early April 1884, and had played it to his former teacher in Moscow on 26 August/7 September (see Tchaikovsky's Letter 2538 to his brother Modest on 1/13 September 1884; and Taneyev's letter of 28 August/9 September 1884 to Varvara Maslova in П. И. Чайковский. С. И. Танеев. Письма (1951), p. 395). At one of his subsequent meetings with Tchaikovsky in Moscow (on 2/14-3/15 September and mid/late September) Taneyev had evidently given him the full score of the first movement which he wanted him to look over. Tchaikovsky would provide a detailed appraisal of the opening movement and its orchestration in letter 2560 to Taneyev, 28 September/10 October 1884. Taneyev completed the orchestration of the remaining movements on 4/16 October. The symphony, which was dedicated to Anton Arensky but was never published, was first performed at a Russian Musical Society concert in Moscow on 26 January/7 February 1885, conducted by Taneyev himself. For more information on Taneyev's Third Symphony, see Sergey Popov, «Неизданные сочинения и работы С. И. Танеева — Археографический очерк» (Unpublished compositions and works by S. I. Taneyev. An archaeographical outline) in Сергей Иванович Танеев. Личность, творчество и документы его жизни (Moscow / Leningrad, 1925), p. 145–149.
