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Vienna

Vienna (Wien) is the capital and largest city of Austria. During Tchaikovsky's lifetime it was part of the Austrian crownland of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), and part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867.

The composer visited Vienna on many occasions, as it was a convenient stopping point for many destinations in western Europe:

• mid/late August 1870 — returning to Russia after a summer holiday in Germany, the composer passed through Vienna, which he liked "more than almost any city in the world" [1].
• late January/early February 1872 — returning from his first visit to Italy.
• 20 June/2 July–26 June/8 July 1876 — at the start of his summer vacation in western Europe.
• 8/20 August–9/21 August 1876 — stopping overnight on his return to Russia, at the end of his summer vacation.
• 19 November/1 December–30 November/12 December 1877 — travelling with Iosif Kotek, Tchaikovsky worked on the full scores of the Symphony No. 4 and Evgenii Onegin.
• 8/20 April–9/21 April 1878 — an overnight stay on his way back from Clarens to Kamenka.
• 17/29 November–20 November/1 December 1878 — staying at the Hôtel Goldenes Lamm, he went with Aleksei Sofronov to the Circus Renz, which he described as "A poor troupe, and tedious programme" [2].
• 16/28 February–18 February/2 March 1881 — returning to the Hôtel Goldenes Lamm for two more nights, Tchaikovsky visited the Vienna State Opera and the Orpheum.
• 13/25 November–14/26 November 1881 — an overnight visit on his way to Rome.
• 22 November/4 December–23 November/5 December 1882 — returning to Moscow after another trip to Italy.
• early/mid March 1884 — returning from Paris to Saint Petersburg.
• 14/26 July 1887 — he had a brief stroll around the city, before continuing by train to Aachen.
• 14/26 March–16/28 March 1888 — at the theatre An der Wien he saw a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta The Mikado. "I could barely endure two-thirds of one act" [3].
• 25 November/7 December–27 November/8 December 1888 — resting after conducting a performance of Evgenii Onegin in Prague, before returning to Russia.
• 6/18 September–9/21 September 1892 — to rehearse and conduct his Suite No. 1 at the Theatrical and Musical Exposition. Although there was "much of interest" at the exhibition itself, he found that the cramped conditions were unsuitable for an orchestral performance, and refused to conduct the suite [4].

Notes:

1. Letter 204 to Anatolii Tchaikovsky, 4/16 September 1870 [back]
2. Letter 969 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 18/30 November 1878 [back]
3. Diary entry for 14/26 March 1888 [back]
4. Letter 4767 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 7/19 September–10/22 September 1892 [back]