Letter 50
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Russian text (original)
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English translation
Copyright © 2010 by Luis Sundkvist
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| Пятница 28 Марта 1852. |
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Friday, 28 March 1852 |
| Сегодня такой день мои
прекрасные родители, что нельзя
писать по французски. |
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Today, my wonderful parents, is a day on which it is
impossible to write in French. |
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Сегодня страстная Пятница: после
завтра начнется Святая Неделя.
Сегодня целый день буду читать или
Евангелие или щипать шолк.
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Today is Good Friday: the day after tomorrow Holy Week begins. Today
all day long I shall be either reading the Gospel or plucking silk [1].
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| Время я провожу очень весело.
Конечно без вас, но зато Платон
Алексеевич и Мария Петровна и все так
добры что нельзя выразить. Вот уж
начинается весна, Нева скоро
разойдется, по ней уже запрещено
ездить. Когда вы получите мое письмо,
то прекрасная ваша Нейва, которая
отличается от нашей реки только
одной й верно разойдется. Видите,
как я уже привык жить в Питере, что
даже говорю: наша Нева, у нас; одним
словом совершенно как житель
Петербурга. |
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I am spending my time very merrily. Without you of
course, but Platon Alekseevich and Mariia Petrovna and everybody are
so kind that it is beyond description [2]. And
now spring is on its way, the Neva will soon melt: it is already
forbidden to drive over it. When you receive my letter, your
wonderful Neiva [3],
which differs from our river only by a single "i",
will probably also have melted. See how I have already become
accustomed to living in Piter:
I even speak of "our Neva", "in our place"—in
short, altogether like a resident of Petersburg.
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| Но вот скоро, скоро
я не буду писать вам письма, а буду
говорить с моими Ангелами лично. Ах
как приятно будет первый раз в жизни
приехать домой из Училища,
посмотреть на вас, расцеловать вас,
мне кажется что это будет для меня
самое большое из счастий, которые со
мной случались. |
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Yet, soon, soon I shall not be
writing you letters, but speaking with my Angels in person. Oh how
pleasant it will be for the first time in my life to come home from
the School, look at you, and smother you with kisses—I think that
for me this will be the greatest happiness of all those which have
ever befallen me. |
| Вы, Зина, Саша, Поля,
Толя, Модя, Лида, Настасья
Васильевна,
моя добрая и чудесная сестрица, Тетя
Настя, все эти новые лица, перемены
будут мне казаться сном, я не буду
верить самому себе. В Субботу Платон
Алексеевич, был так добр что приехал
за мною, повез на вербы, велел мне
выбрать вещи, которые мне понравятся. |
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You, Zina, Sasha, Polia, Tolia, Modia,
Lida [4],
Nastas'ia Vasil'evna,
my kind and wonderful 'little sister' [5], Aunt Nastia [6]:
all these new faces and changes will seem to me like a dream; I
shall not be able to believe my own eyes. On Saturday Platon
Alekseevich was so kind that he came and fetched me, took me to the
palms [7],
and told me to pick out the things which I liked. |
| Прошлое письмо я вам писал:
поздравляю вас с праздниками, а
теперь могу сказать: Христос
воскресе: и вообразите у меня такие
уши не ослинные что я слышу что вы мне
отвечаете: «Воистину воскресе». Уж вы
меня как хотите браните а яичко я вам
не могу прислать, и потому вообразите
что у вас в руках яйцо, а я с своей
стороны буду думать что у меня в
руках ваше яйцо. |
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In my last letter I wrote to you:
"congratulations on the feast-days", whilst now I can say:
"Christ is risen!", and just imagine, I have such ears,
though not donkey's ones, that I can hear you replying: "Verily
He is risen!". Now you can scold me however you like, but I
cannot send you a little egg, and so imagine that you have in your
hands an egg, and I for my part will think that I have an egg
from you in my hands. |
| Вчера я был очень рад что
нашел между газетами такую, которая
Сентября месяца, а именно 14-аго, и
чтоже: Санкт Петербургские
городские известия в Северной
пчеле. |
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Yesterday I was very glad to find among some newspapers one which was from September, namely from the 14th, and what do you think: Saint
Petersburg city news in the Northern Bee [8]:
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Приехали в С.-Петербурге
Чайковский. |
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Have arrived in Saint Petersburg:
Tchaikovsky [9].
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| Я хотел сберечь газету или
вырезать то место, где ваше имя, да
нечаянно потерял. |
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I wanted to put the newspaper away in some safe place or cut out the
section in which your name was, but I accidentally lost it.
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| Целую Зину, Сашу, Полю, Толю,
Модю, Лиду, Н[астасью] В[асильевну],
Тетю Настю (добрую душу чудесную) и
одним словом всех. |
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I kiss Zina, Sasha, Polia, Tolia, Modia, Lida,
N[astas'ia] V[asil'evna], Aunt Nastia (a kind and wonderful soul),
and, in short, everyone.
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| Прошу ваше благословление. |
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I ask for your blessing.
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| Прощайте... го-го!!! как
ошибся. До свидания! мои Ангелы
душички и все возможное. |
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Good-bye... ha ha!!! what a mistake I've made. See you soon!
my Angels, darlings, and everything possible.
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| Ваш сын |
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Your son
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| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Чайковский |
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tchaikovsky
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| P. S. Ich grüsse meine lieben Madamen Kemerling und
besonders Каролина Даниловна. |
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P. S. [in German:] I send greetings for my dear Mesdames Kemmerling [10], and
especially to Karolina Danilovna [11].
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Notes:
- In Russia, as in many other countries, finely
decorated Easter eggs are traditionally given to relatives and friends
to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. Such eggs are usually
painted, but, as in this case, they can also be decorated with silk
threads [back]
- Platon Alekseevich Vakar (1826-1899) was the
guardian of young Petr and his brother Nikolai from early/mid May 1851
until Il'ia
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 Il'ia
Tchaikovsky's decision to enrol Petr in the school proper after he
had completed the preparatory class. See Alexander
Poznansky, Петр
Чайковский. Биография (2009), vol. 1, p. 45.
Mariia Petrovna (née Markova) was Platon Vakar's wife [back]
- The Neiva River in the Urals passes through Alapaevsk [back]
- The composer's cousin Lidiia Vladimirovna Tchaikovskaia
(married name Ol'khovskaia; 1836-1892) was the daughter of Il'ia Tchaikovsky's elder
brother, Vladimir.
She lost her mother when she was quite little, in 1842, and was effectively
adopted by Il'ia and his wife Aleksandra [back]
- The composer's much older cousin, Anastasiia Vasil'evna Popova
(1807–1894), the daughter of Il'ia Tchaikovsky's
older sister Evdokiia Popova.
Partly in jest, young Petr would call her by the affectionate nickname
of 'Sestritsa' or 'little sister' [back]
- Anastasiia Petrovna Petrova (1824–1893)
had joined
the Tchaikovsky family in Alapaevsk on 24 November/6 December 1849 as a governess, specifically
with the task of preparing Petr 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, Anatolii and Modest [back]
- On the Saturday before Palm Sunday (which is
the Sunday preceding Easter) fairs were traditionally held in Russia
at which one could buy not just 'palms' (made from willow and yew) in
memory of those which were strewn along the way during Christ's
triumphant entry into Jerusalem, but also handcrafted toys which were
very popular with children [back]
- A daily newspaper which at the time had the
largest circulation in Saint
Petersburg [back]
- In September 1851 Il'ia
Tchaikovsky had come to Saint
Petersburg from Alapaevsk
in order to visit his sons Petr and Nikolai,
who was also attending a boarding-school in the imperial capital. Il'ia
spent about three weeks with his sons before returning to the Urals [back]
- An acquaintance of the Tchaikovskys in Alapaevsk
was a certain Dr Kemmerling, and these ladies were evidently relatives
of his [back]
- Karolina was the nanny in
charge of the composer's younger siblings Aleksandra and Ippolit [back]
This page was last updated
on 26 February 2012
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