Letter 3152
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Russian text (original)
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English translation
Copyright © 2010 by
Luis Sundkvist
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| 21 янв[аря 18]87 г. |
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21 January 1887
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| Дорогая Эмилия Карловна! |
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Dear Emiliia
Karlovna! |
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Спасибо за заботливость о моих артистических успехах, спасибо за Ваше сочувствие, внимание, дружбу!
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Thank you for your concern for my artistic success, thank you for your sympathy, attention, and friendship!
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| Мне невозможно дирижировать 26-го. Во 1-х) как раз в этот день я дирижирую 3-им представлением
«Черевичек» и не могу взять назад обещание, ибо ради меня цены повышены и объявлена подписка, уже вся, кажется, покрытая. Во 2-х) нужно приготовиться к дирижированию
Онегина, а на это я не имею времени. В 3-х) знаете ли, милая, дорогая моя, что я в страшной горести? Знаете ли, что девица, умершая на bal-masqué в Дворянском Собрании в
Петербурге, есть моя родная племянница, та самая, из-за которой, если помните, я целый год жил в
Париже и лечил её от
морфиномании. Я её ужасно любил. Как раз 26-го тело её повезут в
Киевскую Губернию. Приезжает
убитый (буквально) горем отец. Я должен (уж раз, что я в
Петербурге) быть около них. Ну, можно ли в такой день дирижировать!!! |
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It is impossible for me to conduct on the
26th [1]. Firstly, as it happens, on that very day I am conducting the third performance of
Cherevichki [2], and I cannot go back on my promise, because the ticket prices were raised for my sake and a subscription was announced
for which I think all the tickets have now been sold. Secondly, I would need to prepare myself before conducting
Onegin, and I don't have time for that. Thirdly, are you aware, my dear and cherished friend, that I am in a state of terrible grief? Are you aware that the young girl who died at a masked ball in the Assembly of the Nobility in
Petersburg is my niece
[Tat'iana]—that same niece for whose sake, as you may remember, I lived in
Paris for a whole year in order to cure her of her
morphine addiction. I loved her terribly much. On the 26th, as it happens, her remains are to be taken to
Kiev province. Her father [Lev
Davydov], who is literally crushed with grief, is coming. If I go to
Petersburg myself, I must remain at their side. Well, can I possibly conduct on such a day?!!! |
| Простите меня. Я ужасно, мучительно-болезненно отношусь к этой ужасной катастрофе. Целую ручки. |
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Forgive me. This terrible catastrophe has affected me in an awful, agonizingly painful way. I kiss your hands. |
| Ваш П. Чайковский |
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Yours, P. Tchaikovsky |
Notes:
- In a letter whose date has been established as 20
January/1 February 1887, Emiliia Pavlovskaia suggested to Tchaikovsky that he should come to
Saint Petersburg and conduct a performance of
Evgenii Onegin on 26 January/7 February. When she made this suggestion
Pavlovskaia had not yet received Tchaikovsky's letter of 20 January/1 February 1887
(letter 3150), in which he mentioned how the sad news of his niece
Tat'iana's death had affected him profoundly.
Pavlovskaia's letter has been published in:
Чайковский на московской сцене (1940), p. 381,
but its date is given there as "21 January/1 February 1887",
hence the slightly different dating of Tchaikovsky's letter in that
edition [back]
- In fact, the third performance of Cherevichki at the
Moscow Bol'shoi Theatre took place not on 26 January/7 February but on 27 January/8 February 1887—note by Vasilii Kiselev in:
Чайковский на московской сцене (1940), p. 382
[back]
This page was last updated on 18 February 2011 |