Letter 3431
Tchaikovsky Research
| Date | 7/19 December 1887 |
|---|---|
| Addressed to | Karl Albrecht |
| Where written | Maydanovo |
| Language | Russian and French |
| Autograph Location | Moscow (Russia): Russian National Museum of Music (Ф. 37, No. 65) |
| Publication | Чайковский на Московской сцене (1940), p. 292 П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том XIV (1974), p. 288 |
Text and Translation
| Russian and French text (original) |
English translation By Luis Sundkvist |
С[ело] Майданово Карлуша!
Написал один хорик, и посылаю тебе его — больше решительно теперь не могу. Авось впоследствии ещё несколько напишу. Обнимаю! П. Чайковский Adieu mon cher ami! Soyez heureux, j'espère Vous revoir au printemps. T. S. V. P.
Dites à Конюс старший, que demain je lui enverrai sa partition. Saluez Anna Léontievna, Karlouscha, Gennia et Millia et tout le monde. |
Maydanovo village I've written one little chorus [1] and am sending it to you — I definitely cannot do any more than this for now [2]. Perhaps later on I'll be able to write a few more. I hug you! P. Tchaikovsky Farewell, my dear friend! Be happy, I hope to see you in the spring [3]. T. S. V. P. [4]
Tell the elder Konyus that I'll send him his score tomorrow [5]. Greetings to Anna Leontyevna, Karlusha, Zhenya, Mila, and everyone else [6]. |
Notes and References
- ↑ Blessed is He Who Smiles (TH 83).
- ↑ For many years Karl Albrecht had been asking Tchaikovsky if he could contribute a few choruses to the anthologies of choral pieces which he was compiling. See, for example, Letter 1398 to Albrecht, 6/18 January 1880.
- ↑ Tchaikovsky switches to French here in imitation of Albrecht, who in his letter to the composer of 4/16 December 1887 had written the last paragraph in a comic mixture of German and French. Albrecht's letter has been published in Чайковский на московской сцене (1940), p. 291–292.
- ↑ "Tournez s'il vous plait" (French) = 'Please turn the page'.
- ↑ Tchaikovsky showed great interest in the work of Georgy Konyus, who was then still a student at the Moscow Conservatory. The score in question was very likely Konyus's Ballad for orchestra, which was performed for the first time under the direction of Taneyev at a special concert to raise funds for hard-up Conservatory students on 24 February/7 March 1888—note by Vasily Kiselev in Чайковский на московской сцене (1940), p. 293.
- ↑ Albrecht's wife and their children: Karl ("Karlusha"), Yevgeny ("Zhenya"), and Lyudmila ("Mila").
