|
Tchaikovsky |
Tat'iana DavydovaTat'iana L'vovna Davydova (Татьяна Львовна Давыдова) was Tchaikovsky's niece, to whom she was known as Tania (Таня), born on 6/18 September 1861 at Kamenka (near Kiev), the eldest child of Lev Davydov and the composer's sister Aleksandra. Tchaikovsky was close to his niece, and when in 1883 she became pregnant by Stanislav Mikhailovich Blumenfel'd (1850–1897), the composer and his brother Modest were the only two members of the family to be entrusted with the secret; they took Tat'iana to Paris, and arranged her medical care. After she gave birth to a boy, Georges-Léon, the composer himself registered the child's birth, organised his baptism, and provided financial support. Tchaikovsky also helped to arrange Georges-Léon's eventual adoption by his brother Nikolai. Tchaikovsky's set of Six Duets, Op. 46 (1880) is dedicated to his niece. Tat'iana Davydova died suddenly on 19/31 January 1887 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, aged 25. She was buried in the cemetery at the Aleksandr Nevskii Monastery in Saint Petersburg, although the grave site has not been preserved. |