Boris Vietinghoff-Scheel
Russian composer of German extraction (b. 14/26 August 1829 in Morshansk; d. 13/26 September 1901 in Saint Petersburg), known in Russia as Baron Boris Aleksandrovich Fitingof-Shel (Борис Александрович Фитингоф-Шель).
Born into a noble family, and after serving as an artillery officer, Boris resigned his commission in order to dedicate himself to music. He was taught the piano by Henselt and composition by Vogt, and also received advice from Aleksandr Dargomyzhsky. He wrote operas on the subjects of Mazepa (1859), Tamara (1886), Juan de Tenorio (1888), two ballets, and up to 80 small compositions of church and chamber music.
Correspondence with Tchaikovsky
2 letters from Tchaikovsky to Boris Vietinghoff-Scheel have survived, dating from 1887 and 1890, both of which have been translated into English on this website:
- Letter 3394 – 31 October/12 November 1887, from Saint Petersburg
- Letter 4262 – 28 November/10 December 1890, from Saint Petersburg
One letter from Vietinghoff-Scheel to Tchaikovsky, dating from 1890, is preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin (a4, No. 5829).
Bibliography
- Альбом автографов. Пётр Ильич Чайковский (1899)
- Пётр Ильич Чайковский (1899)
- Пётр Ильич Чайковский (1910)
- Boris Vietinghoff-Schell (1999)
