Letter 623a
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French text (original)
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English translation
Copyright © 2010 by Luis Sundkvist
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Clarens.
1er Novembre 1877 |
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Clarens.
1st November 1877 |
| Monsieur! |
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Monsieur! |
| Votre lettre de 5 Septembre n'est parvenue jusqu'à
moi que depuis quelques jours. Une grave maladie ayant forcé de fuir
le climat rigoureux de mon pays, c'est en Suisse que je me suis fixé
pour quelque temps, et c'est ici que j'ai eu l'honneur de recevoir
Votre missive |
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Your letter of 5 September did not reach me until a
few days ago [1]. Since a grave illness has forced me to flee the harsh
climate of my country, it is in Switzerland that I have established my
abode for a while, and it is here that I have had the honour of
receiving your communication [2]. |
| Monsieur et illustre maître! C'est avec la plus
grande joie que j'accepte la proposition que V[ou]s me faites de
prendre part au recueil que V[ou]s avez l'intention de publier en
l'honneur du grand maître, dont j'ai toujours été un fervent
admirateur |
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Monsieur and illustrious maître! It is with
the greatest joy that I accept your offer to take part in the
anthology which you intend to publish in honour of the great master [Bellini] whose fervent
admirer I have always been |
| Pas plus tard que le 1er
Decembre je V[ou]s enverrai la pièce demandée |
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I shall send you the requested piece not later than
the 1st of December [3]. |
| En attendant, agréez, Monsieur l'expression du
profond respecte de Votre serviteur dévoué |
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In the meanwhile, please accept, Monsieur, this
assurance of profound respect from your devoted servant |
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P. Tchaïkovsky |
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P. Tchaikovsky |
| Clarens. Villa
Richelieu. Suisse |
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Clarens. Villa
Richelieu. Switzerland |
Notes:
- In 1876 the remains of Vicenzo Bellini (who
died on his estate near Paris in
1835) had been transferred from the Père Lachaise cemetery to the
cathedral of his native town Catania in Sicily. This had led to a number
of commemorative events across Italy. To accompany the unveiling of a Bellini monument in Naples, where the composer had
studied and achieved his first operatic successes, Lauro Rossi,
the director of the city's conservatory, wanted to publish an album of
piano pieces in his honour.
Rossi wrote to a number of composers, including Tchaikovsky, asking
them to contribute to this
Bellini album. As this letter shows, Tchaikovsky gladly accepted the
offer—note based on information provided by Thomas Kohlhase in 'Bisher
unbekannte Briefe, Notenautographe und andere Čajkovskij-Funde'
(1998), p. 190–191 [back]
- By these references to his "grave illness" and
the "harsh climate" of Russia Tchaikovsky is obliquely alluding to his
escape abroad in early October 1877. The composer, in consultation with
his brothers Anatolii
and Modest, had
decided to explain his sudden flight from his wife Antonina as the
result of a nervous breakdown, following which the doctors had allegedly
advised him to go abroad. Tchaikovsky and Anatolii arrived in Clarens
on 10/22 October 1877 and rented rooms at the Villa Richelieu [back]
- Tchaikovsky was unable to keep his promise, and
on 11 May 1878
[N.S.] Rossi
wrote to him again to remind him about the Bellini album. Since he
was occupied with other work at the time, Tchaikovsky decided to make
use of the piano piece Danse russe—No. 10 of the Twelve Pieces, Op. 40
(1878), which in fact he had written earlier in 1877 as an additional
number for the ballet
Swan Lake. He changed some nuances in the dynamics and phrasing
of the Danse russe and sent the new manuscript score (written in
his own hand) to Naples, where to
this day it is still kept in the library of the Conservatory. The
Danse russe was incorporated into the Album per pianoforte alla
memoria di Vincenzo Bellini, which was eventually published by
Ricordi in Milan in 1885—note
based on information provided by Thomas Kohlhase in 'Bisher
unbekannte Briefe, Notenautographe und andere Čajkovskij-Funde'
(1998), p. 190–191 [back]
This page was last updated on
26 February 2012 |