Aleksey Sofronov

Tchaikovsky Research
(Redirected from Lyonya)
Aleksey Sofronov (1859-1925)

Long-time servant of the composer (b. 1859 at Tiliktino, near Klin; d. 1925 at Klin), born Aleksey Ivanovich Sofronov (Алексей Иванович Софронов), known affectionately by Tchaikovsky as Alyosha (Алëша) or Lyonya (Лёня).

In 1871, Aleksey first stood in for his older brother Mikhail (1848–1932) as Tchaikovsky's servant in Moscow. After Mikhail left Tchaikovsky's service in 1877, Aleksey stayed on to serve the composer for the rest of his days. Tchaikovsky became very attached to Aleksey, who was always staunchly loyal to his master, and helped to found the memorial museum at Klin after the composer's death.

Tchaikovsky was also godfather to Aleksey's son Georgy (b. 1892), by his second wife Yekaterina (b. 1873).

Correspondence with Tchaikovsky

117 letters from Tchaikovsky to Aleksey Sofronov have survived, dating from 1875 to 1893, of which those highlighted in bold have been translated into English on this website:

128 letters from Aleksey Sofronov to Tchaikovsky, dating from 1877 to 1893, are preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin (a4, Nos. 4062–4189).

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