Letter 2613
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Russian text (original)
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English translation
Copyright © 2010 by Luis Sundkvist
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| Париж, 1/13 дек[абря] 1884 г. |
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Paris, 1/13
December 1884 |
| Дорогая Эмилия Карловна! |
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Dear Emiliia
Karlovna! |
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Мне необходимо по делам быть в Москве 7-го числа, а так как уехать из
Парижа я могу только послезавтра, то, следовательно, в
Петербург заехать не успею, а направлюсь прямо в
Москву. Между тем, уезжая из
Петербурга, я обещал возвратиться в начале декабря; таким образом, выходит, что я всех обманул, и Вас, моя благодетельница, в том числе. Хотя никто от этого ничего не теряет, что увидит меня месяцем позже,
— но я всё-таки не люблю не исполнять обещаний, и чтобы несколько угомонить укоры совести, пишу Вам эти несколько слов и прошу Вас не сердиться на меня. Да кстати, так как лично не придётся в скором времени выразить Вам свою неизменную горячую симпатию, то делаю это покамест письменно.
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It is essential for me to be in Moscow on the 7th [of December [O.S.]] to attend to business matters, and since I can only leave
Paris the day after tomorrow, I won't have time to stop over in
Petersburg, but will head straight for
Moscow [1]. However, before leaving
Petersburg I had promised that I would be back by the start of
December [2], which therefore means that I have deceived everyone, including you, my
benefactress [3]. Although no one is going to come to grief just because they won't see me for another month, still I don't like to fail to keep promises, and so as to assuage the pangs of my conscience a little I am writing you these few words and kindly ask you not to be cross with me. Moreover, since in the near future I won't have the chance to convey to you personally the invariably ardent sympathy which I feel for you, I am doing this in writing for the time being.
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| Я совершил целое путешествие по Швейцарии, отдохнул, чувствую себя отлично и с наслаждением возвращаюсь в Россию, без которой всё-таки долго не люблю обходиться. |
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I undertook quite a bit of a journey through Switzerland, where I had some rest. Now I feel splendid and am delighted to be returning to Russia—I really don't like to have to do without her for long. |
| 15-го и 22-го буду слушать в
Москве свои два новые большие сочинения. После праздников побываю в
Петербурге. |
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On the 15th and the 22nd I shall hear my two new big works in
Moscow [4]. After the holidays I will come to
Petersburg. |
| Кланяйтесь от меня, голубушка, Сергею Евграфовичу, всем артистам и не забывайте меня. Целую Вашу ручку как можно крепче.
— До свиданья, благодетельница. |
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Please, my dear, give my regards to Sergei Evgrafovich[5] and all the artists, and do not forget me. I kiss your hand as warmly as I can. Goodbye, my benefactress. |
| Ваш П. Чайковский |
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Yours, P. Tchaikovsky |
Notes:
- In fact, after setting off from Paris a few days after this letter Tchaikovsky did not head straight for
Moscow but went to Saint
Petersburg, where he arrived on 7/19 December 1884 and stayed for some ten days before travelling to
Moscow, partly to work on the proofs of his
Suite No. 3, which was being prepared for publication by
Jurgenson [back]
- Tchaikovsky had set off from Saint
Petersburg on 1/13 November 1884 in order to travel—via Berlin,
Munich, and Lindau—to
Davos in Switzerland where he wanted to visit his ailing friend, the violinist
Iosif Kotek [back]
- Tchaikovsky repeatedly calls Emiliia Pavlovskaia his "benefactress" in his letters because of the enthusiasm with which she had made the role of Mariia in
Mazepa her own at the opera's premiere in
Moscow on 3/15 February 1884 [back]
- The first performance of Tchaikovsky's Concert Fantasia for piano with orchestra (with
Taneev as the soloist) was scheduled to take place in
Moscow on 16/28 December 1884, and that of the
Suite No. 3 on 22 December 1884/3 January 1885. However, due to the illness of the conductor
Max Erdmannsdörfer both these performances had to be postponed. Thus, the
suite was eventually played in
Moscow on 19/31 January 1885 (a week after its premiere in
Saint Petersburg), and the
Concert Fantasia was premiered on 22 February/6 March 1885
[back]
- Emiliia
Pavlovskaia's husband, Sergei Evgrafovich Pavlovskii
(1846–1915), was also a singer and a member of the Saint Petersburg Mariinskii Theatre's
troupe [back]
This page was last updated on
14 February 2011 |