Letter 41
Tchaikovsky Research
| Date | 23 November/5 December 1851 |
|---|---|
| Addressed to | Aleksandra Tchaikovskaya and Ilya Tchaikovsky |
| Where written | Saint Petersburg |
| Language | Russian |
| Autograph Location | Saint Petersburg (Russia): National Library of Russia (ф. 834, ед. хр. 33, л. 59–60) |
| Publication | П. И. Чайковский. Письма к родным (1940), p. 37 П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том V (1959), p. 42–43 |
| Notes | Postscript to a letter from Nikolay Tchaikovsky dated "23 November 1851" |
Text and Translation
Spelling and punctuation errors in the original text have not been indicated.
| Russian text (original) |
English translation By Luis Sundkvist |
| Какая приятная эта неделя! праздников куча! Воскресенье был день Ангела Платона Алексеевича, нам было очень весело и только на один день уехали в училище сегодня уже опять дома. У нас так как был большой праздник, то вчера (т. е. накануне) непустили меня потому что у нас надо ходить в церковь. Жду с нетерпением вашего письма, которое ещё не получилось.
Целую Зину, Сашу, Полю, Наст[асью] Васильев[ну], Толю, Модю, Лидию, Наст[асью] Петровну и всех. Прощайте милые Ангелы целую ваши ручки и прошу вашего благословления. Ваш сын, П. Чайковский |
What a pleasant week this is! Feast-days galore! On Sunday it was Platon Alekseyevich's name-day [1]. We had a lot of fun and only had to go back to the school for one day: today we are again at home [2]. Since we had a big [religious] feast [at the school], yesterday (that is, on the day before) I wasn't allowed out because we had to go to church. I am impatiently awaiting your letter, which still hasn't arrived.
I kiss Zina, Sasha, Polya, Nastasya Vasilyevna [3], Tolya, Modya, Lidiya [4], Nastasya Petrovna [5] and everyone else. Goodbye, dear Angels; I kiss your hands and ask for your blessing. Your son, P. Tchaikovsky |
Notes and References
- ↑ Platon Alekseyevich Vakar (1826-1899) was the guardian of young Pyotr and his brother Nikolay from early/mid-May 1851 until Ilya Tchaikovsky was able to move to Saint Petersburg with the rest of the family in May 1852. Platon Vakar was himself a graduate of the School of Jurisprudence, and it is possible that he played a part in Ilya Tchaikovsky's decision to enrol Pyotr in the school proper after he had completed the preparatory class. See Пётр Чайковский. Биография, том I (2009), p. 45.
- ↑ Although the School of Jurisprudence was a boarding-school, on Sundays and other holidays pupils were allowed to visit their families — in Pyotr's case, the family of Platon Vakar — unless they had obtained low marks or misbehaved otherwise during the week.
- ↑ The composer's cousin Anastasiya Vasilyevna Popova (1807–1894), the daughter of Ilya Tchaikovsky's older sister Yevdokiya Popova.
- ↑ The composer's cousin Lidiya Vladimirovna Tchaikovskaya (married name Olkhovskaya; 1836-1892) was the daughter of Ilya Tchaikovsky's elder brother, Vladimir. She lost her mother when she was quite little, in 1842, and was effectively adopted by Ilya and his wife Aleksandra.
- ↑ Anastasiya Petrovna Petrova (1824–1893) had joined the Tchaikovsky family in Alapayevsk on 24 November/6 December 1849 as a governess, specifically with the task of preparing Pyotr for the School of Jurisprudence in Saint Petersburg. After spending some three years with the Tchaikovskys she worked as a governess in various other families, but returned to her first employer in 1859, when she took charge of the twins, Anatoly and Modest.
