Letter 4807
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French text (original)
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English translation
Copyright © 2010 by Ronald de Vet
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15/27 Novembre 1892
Grand Hôtel, St. Petersbourg |
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15/27 November 1892
Grand Hotel, Saint Petersburg |
| Mon cher et excellent ami! |
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My dear and great friend! |
| Je viens de recevoir Votre bonne lettre. Le succés [=succès] de Adèle aus der Ohe me réjouit beaucoup, car c’est non seulement une artiste de grand talent, mais aussi une bien bonne et excellente personne. |
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I just received your kind letter. The success of Adèle aus der Ohe delights me very much, for she is not only an artist of great talent, but also a very kind and
splendid person. |
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Pour beaucoup de raisons, il m’est impossible, malgré le vif désir de Vous revoir, de quitter Petersbourg en ce moment. Surtout ce sont les répétitions de Iolanthe et de Casse-noisette qui m’y retiennent.
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For a lot of reasons, I cannot possibly leave Petersburg at the moment, in spite of my strong desire to see you again.
It is above all the rehearsals for Iolanta and The Nutcracker that keep me here.
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| J’applaudis chaudement à Votre idée de faire une excursion en [= à] Russie et suis sûr que cela Vous intéressera. Je crains cependant que Vous n’arriviez ici quand je n’y serai pas. J’ai promis à Pollini d’assister à Hambourg aux répétitions de „Iolanthe”, mais, probablement grâce au choléra, on ne parvient pas encore à reprendre le train de vie ordinaire dans cette ville,
— c’est comme cela que je m’explique que jusqu’à présent je n’ai pas encore de nouvelles sûres quant à l’époque où mon opéra y sera donné. |
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I applaud warmly your idea to make a trip to Russia, and I am sure that it will interest you. I fear, however, that you may arrive here while I
am away. I have promised Pollini to
come to Hamburg to attend the rehearsals of Iolanta, but, probably because of the cholera, they
have not yet managed to resume their customary tenor of life in that
city— at least this is how I explain to myself the fact that so far I haven’t had any reliable news yet as
to the dates when my opera is to be produced there [1]. |
| Il est bien dommage [que] notre rencontre à Itter n’a eu lieu. Le fait est que juste au moment où Mme Menter devait Vous écrire pour Vous prier de venir,
— j’ai été appellé en toute hâte à Prague pour la mise en scène de la Dame de Pique où je n’ai pu que rester trois jours, car pour une affaire pressée il a fallu rentrer en Russie. Mme Menter n’a pas osé Vous inviter quand je n’y étais plus, croyant probablement, que sans moi Vous Vous y ennuyer [=ennuyez]. Quand j’aurai sûr les dates de Iolanthe à Hambourg et à Schwerin (où l’opéra sera donné aussi), je Vous le ferai savoir. Je Vous embrasse en attendant. |
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It is a great pity that our meeting in Itter didn’t take place [2]. What
happened is that just when Madame Menter
was supposed to write to you asking you to come, I was summoned in
great haste to Prague for the production of The Queen of Spades [3]; I could stay
there for only three days, because I had to return to Russia to
attend to an urgent matter [4]. Madame Menter didn’t dare to invite you
when I wasn’t there anymore, believing probably that it would be boring for you
there without me. When I know for certain the dates of Iolanta in Hamburg and in Schwerin (where the opera
is to be staged too) [5], I will let you know. I embrace you
until then. |
| Mille choses pour votre frère. |
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Lots of love to your brother. |
| P. Tschaïkovsky |
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P. Tchaikovsky |
| Si M-elle Adèle et sa soeur sont encore à Vienne, saluez les bien de ma part. |
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If Miss Adèle and her sister[6] are still in Vienna, send them my regards. |
Notes:
- It was indeed because of the cholera pandemic
of 1892, the last one in Western Europe, that daily life in Hamburg came to a standstill for about two months. Hamburg suffered much more from cholera than any other city in Europe, because drinking water was taken unfiltered from the
Elbe River, which was contaminated by sewage water [back]
- Tchaikovsky had travelled from Vienna to Itter in the Tyrol on 10/22 September 1892, together with
the pianist Sophie Menter (who lived in the castle there) and her pupil Vasily Sapel’nikov (who lived there too) [back]
- The Czech premiere of Tchaikovsky’s opera had
taken place on 30 September/12 October 1892 [back]
- Tchaikovsky was in Prague from 26 September/8 October till 1/13
October 1892. He arrived in Saint Petersburg
on 3/15 October 1892. No urgent matter is known for the days he spent
there (3/15 to 6/18 October), during which he met some family members;
in a letter to his brother Anatoly
he described these days as having been “quite pleasant” (letter
4781 of 7/19 October 1892). By “urgent matter” Tchaikovsky was
probably referring to the competition to select a principal conductor for the Moscow Maly Theatre. Tchaikovsky served on the committee that judged the conductors
who applied for this post. On Tchaikovsky's request, written in Itter
(see letter 4774 to Pavel
Pchelnikov), the competition was postponed until 14/26 October
1892. The committee recommended Andrey
Arends, who was the candidate favoured by Tchaikovsky [back]
- Tchaikovsky planned to attend the rehearsals and performances of Iolanta in both cities, but in the end he visited neither of them (cf. letter 4824, also to William von
Sachs). The production in Schwerin didn’t go through [back]
- The German pianist Adèle aus der Ohe
(1864-1937) had played Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in New York and Baltimore in 1891, in concerts conducted by the composer. He had met her sister there several times too [back]
This page was last updated on 10 February 2013 |