Letter 1030
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Russian text (original)
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English translation
Copyright © 2010 by Luis Sundkvist
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Париж
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1 янв[аря] 1879
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20 дек[абря] 1879
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[= 1878]
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Paris
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1 January 1879
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20 December 1879
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[= 1878]
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| Карлуша!
Прости, голубчик, за все беспокойства, которые тебе причинила эта дурацкая
история с мебелью. В последний раз тебе пишу об этом и прошу подождать
уплаты 25 р. до моего приезда, о продаже же вовсе не беспокоиться и, главное,
всё, что из этой дряни понадобится тебе, оставить у себя (о диване, который
нужен Вам, я уже говорил тебе прежде). Старикашке на его надоедные письма
не отвечай вовсе; я устрою так, что он будет удовлетворён и что надоедать
тебе больше не будет. А главное, ради Бога прости, что всем этим вздором
я тебя беспокоил. Это было с моей стороны ужасно неделикатно и глупо.
Не сердись, мой милый! |
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Karlusha!
Forgive me, dear fellow, for all the trouble which this idiotic business
with my furniture has caused you. This is the last time I am writing to
you about it, and I want to ask you to wait until I have arrived before
[making or receiving ?] that payment of 25 rubles, not to worry at all
about the sale, and, most importantly, to keep for yourself any items
in that rubbish which may come in handy for you (I already told you about
that divan which your family could do with) [1]. Don't reply to the little
old man's tiresome letters at all—I shall arrange things so that he is
satisfied and doesn't start bothering you again [2]. The main thing is that you
must, for God's sake, forgive me for troubling you with all this nonsense.
It was terribly tactless and stupid on my part. Don't be angry, my dear! |
| Я в Париже. Приехал
сюда, чтобы с месяц здесь пожить, послушать музыки и потаскаться по чудному
городу,—но оказывается, что денег слишком мало, и поэтому я уезжаю отсюда
дня через четыре в Швейцарию, куда я попрошу тебя обращаться ко мне письменно
в случае надобности. (Адрес: Suisse, Canton de Vaud, Clarens, Villa Richelieu.)
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I am in Paris.
I came with the intention of living here for about a month, of getting
to hear some music and to roam about this wonderful city, but it turns
out that I just don't have enough money, and so within four days or so
I am leaving for Switzerland. That is where I kindly ask you to address
your letters if you should need to write to me. (Address: Suisse, Canton
de Vaud, Clarens,
Villa Richelieu.) |
| Я ещё не имею никаких известий о том, как прошло представление
«Онегина». Меня
это ужасно интересует. Я начинаю подумывать об том, как бы, в случае если
вся опера пойдёт весной, приехать и из тёмного уголка послушать. Впрочем,
до этого ещё далеко. Я жду с нетерпением письма от тебя или от Кашкина. Очень боюсь,
что исполнение разочарует Вас в вещи, которая Вам нравилась на бумаге.
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I still don't have any news about the performance of Onegin
and how it went [3].
This is something that interests me terribly. I am starting to think about
coming to Moscow if the whole opera
is staged in the spring, so that I can listen to it from some dark corner
[of the theatre]. That's a long way off, though. I am impatiently waiting
for a letter from you or from Kashkin. I am very much
afraid lest the performance should cause you both to be disappointed in
a work which you liked on paper. |
| Прости, милый, что пишу сегодня мало и неинтересно. Час
поздний, я ужасно устал от беготни и едва вожу пером по бумаге. |
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Forgive me, my dear, for writing so little today, and
about such uninteresting things. It is very late; I am awfully tired after
running about and I can hardly move my pen along the page. |
| Как мне бы хотелось очутиться у Вас на ёлке 24-го. Желаю тебе всякого счастья на новый год. Передай от
меня поклоны и всякие пожелания всем нашим. Твой |
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How I wish I could be with you all on the
24th [December 1878 [O.S.]], when you are having
your Christmas party. I wish you every possible happiness for the
New Year. Give my regards and best wishes to all our bunch [4]. Yours |
| П. Чайковский |
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P. Tchaikovsky |
Notes:
- After Tchaikovsky's flight abroad in the autumn
of 1877 the apartment which he and Antonina were renting
had to be vacated, and he entrusted his belongings to Nikolay Rubinstein and Karl Albrecht for safekeeping,
or, in some cases, to be sold. Tchaikovsky's definitive decision, in October
1878, not to settle in Moscow again
meant that most of his belongings now had to be sold, and Albrecht took care of this [back]
- The "little old man" refers to Nikolay Lvovich
Bochechkarov (d. 1879), whom Tchaikovsky had been supporting financially
during his Moscow years. For more
information on Bochechkarov's role in the composer's life, see: Alexander
Poznansky,
Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man (1991), and the same author's
more recent Russian biography,
Петр Чайковский: Биография (2009) [back]
- The first four scenes from Yevgeny Onegin were
then being rehearsed by students at the Moscow Conservatory. They were performed
at the Conservatory at some point in January 1879 [back]
- i.e. to Tchaikovsky's former colleagues at the Moscow Conservatory [back]
This page was last updated
on 10 February 2013
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