Tchaikovsky
www.tchaikovsky-research.net

Jan Seifert

Cellist, teacher, professor at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and director of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Society (b. 26 May 1833 in Prague; d. after 1914); known in Russia as Ivan Ivanovich Zeifert (Иван Иванович Зейферт, Ivan Ivanovič Zejfert).

Born into a Czech family, from 1853 Seifert played the cello in the orchestra of the Imperial Theatres in Saint Petersburg. He was an instructor at the city's conservatory from its foundation in 1862, while Tchaikovsky was a student there. Seifert also gave tuition to amateur musicians, including the Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. He also composed small pieces for cello.

Tchaikovsky's correspondence with Jan Seifert:

• 2 letters from Tchaikovsky to Jan Seifert have survived, dating from 1880 to 1892.