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Berlin

Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. In Tchaikovsky's lifetime it was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia and (from 1871), of the newly-founded German Empire, where it formed part of the province of Brandenburg, until it was constituted a separate city district in 1881.

Tchaikovsky visited Berlin on many occasions:

• 6/18 July–9/21 July 1861 — as part of his first journey outside Russia.
• June 1868 — during a summer holiday Tchaikovsky visited the Tiergarten zoo, and reportedly burst into tears when he saw a boa constrictor devouring a live rabbit that had been placed in its cage [1].
• mid/late December 1871–early/mid January 1872 — during his Christmas break.
• late December 1875/early January 1876 — when he attended a performance of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days at the Berlin Theatre, with Modest Tchaikovsky and Nikolai Konradi.
• 11/23 January–15/27 January 1876 — on his return home from Paris.
• 4/16 October–7/19 October 1877 — staying at the Hôtel Saint Petersburg, with his brother Anatolii.
• 2/14 March–7/19 March 1879 — where he heard a string orchestra play the Andante cantabile from his String Quartet No. 1 at the Bilse concert Hall
• 11/23 November–13/25 November 1879 — for a performance of Ambroise Thomas's opera Hamlet.
• 3/15 March–7/19 March 1880 —— stopping on his return to Saint Petersburg.

• 29 December 1882/10 January 1883–2/14 January 1883 — where he attended a performance of his own Suite No. 1, and Wagner's Tristran und Isolde.

• 11/23 May–13/25 May 1883 — attending a performance of Lohengrin, which he considered to be "one of Wagner's best compositions" [2]
• 7/19 February–8/20 February 1884 — en route to Paris, avoiding the premiere of Mazepa in Saint Petersburg.
• early/mid March 1884 — returning from Paris to Saint Petersburg.
• 3/15 November–7/19 November 1884 — during which time he wrote the Elegy for String Orchestra, and the first two of the Nine Church Pieces.
• 17/29 December–19/31 December 1887 — where he met Désirée Artôt-Padilla at a concert on 18/30 December, and called on Karl Davydov the next day.
• 27 December 1887/8 January 1888–28 December 1887/9 January 1888 — between concert engagements in Leipzig and Hamburg.
• 11/23 January 1888 — attending a rehearsal for his concert on 27 January/8 February; here he met the composer Richard Strauss.
• 22 January/3 February–29 January/10 February 1888 — to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert of his own works (27 January/8 February), which included the overture-fantasia Romeo and Juliet; Piano Concerto No. 1 (soloist Aleksandr Ziloti) ; Introduction and Fugue from Suite No. 1; Andante cantabile from String Quartet No. 1; four songs (soloist Aline Friede) ; the overture The Year 1812. During his visit he met again with Désirée Artôt-Padilla, and dined with fellow composers Hugo Wolf, Emile Sauret and Edvard Grieg.
• 26 January/7 February–29 January/10 February 1889 — stopping en route from Saint Petersburg to a conducting engagement in Cologne. On the second day of this stay he attended a Bach concert at the Sing-Academie.
• 10/22 February–16/28 February 1889 — to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in another concert of his own works (14/26 February), featuring the Serenade for String Orchestra and Francesca da Rimini. He had daily meetings with Désirée Artôt-Padilla, and attended a musical evening in his honour (15/27 February) arranged by Karl Klindworth.
• 16/28–17/29 January 1890 — stopping overnight at a guest-house en route from Saint Petersburg to Florence.
• 8/20 March–9/21 March 1891 — attending (incognito) a concert of his own works, including The Year 1812 and the Andante Cantabile from String Quartet No. 1.
• 4/16 January–5/17 January 1892 — stopping overnight between conducting engagements in Warsaw and Hamburg.
• 14/26 December–17/29 December 1892 — en route from Saint Petersburg to visit Fanny Dürbach in Montbéliard.
• 15/27 May–16/28 May 1893 — stopping overnight en route from Saint Petersburg to London.

Notes:

1. Letter 2292 to Nadezhda von Meck, 12/24 May 1883 [back]
2. Konstantin de Lazari, Воспоминания о П. И. Чайковском, Россия (25 March/7 April 1900) [back]