Letter 3898
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Russian text (original)
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English translation
Copyright © 2010 by Luis Sundkvist
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| Фроловское, 9 июля 1889 |
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Frolovskoe,
9 July 1889 |
| Милый друг мой! |
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My dear friend! |
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Я должен просить у тебя прощения за то,
что страшно напутал в деле о
приглашении твоего квартета. Сейчас у
меня был Сафонов (новый директор
консерватории), и из беседы с ним
оказывается следующее. Когда в
дирекции шёл разговор о приглашении
вас, то я сказал, что вы дадите четыре
сеанса. Тут же было решено, что на
каждый из них будет приглашён один из
наших четырёх пианистов. Если теперь
одному из них отказать, то произойдёт
обида, неприятности, ссоры.
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I must beg your forgiveness for having made such an awful mess of the
invitation for your quartet
[1]. Safonov
(the Conservatory's new director) has just been to see me, and this is
what emerged from my conversation with him. When the board of
directors discussed the possibility of inviting you, I said that you
would be giving four performances. It was also then that the decision
was taken to invite one of our four pianists to take part in each one
of these concerts. If we now have to turn away one of them, then the
result will be hurt feelings and unpleasant quarrels [2].
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| Итак, если это возможно,
согласись, ради Бога, играть четыре
раза. Так как в протоколе заседания
дирекции сказано (вследствие моей
ошибки), что дирекция обеспечивает
вам по 500 р. за четыре, а не за три
сеанса — то изменить это теперь уже
очень трудно. Но так как я нисколько
не сомневаюсь, что успех ваш будет
громадный, то вы, во всяком случае,
получите излишек против
гарантированной суммы. Сафонов (очень
практический человек) ручается за
большой сбор. Итак, ради Бога, не
отказывайся и прости, что я напутал.
Дни, в которые вы будете играть, уже
назначены. Итак, |
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Therefore, if it is possible, please do agree, for
God's sake, to play four times. Since in the minutes of the board of
directors' meeting it says (due to my mistake) that the board is
guaranteeing to each one of you 500 rubles for four performances
rather than three, it would be very difficult to alter this now.
However, as I have not the least doubt that your success will be
tremendous, you will in any case receive a surplus as against the
guaranteed sum. Safonov
(a very practical-minded person) vouches for the box-office returns
being very good. And so, for God's sake, don't refuse and forgive me
for having muddled things up. The dates on which you are to play
have already been fixed. Thus, |
| I) 28 окт[ября] ты
играешь в концерте, |
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I) On 28 October, you are playing in the
[symphonic] concert, |
II) 1-й сеанс 31 окт[ября]/12
ноября, вторник,
2-й сеанс 3/15 ноября, пятница,
3-й сеанс 7/19 ноября, вторник,
4-й 10/22 ноября, пятница. |
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II) the 1st [quartet] performance is on
Tuesday, 31 October/12 November,
the 2nd performance is on
Friday, 3/15 November,
the 3rd performance is on Tuesday, 7/19
November,
the 4th is on Friday, 10/22 November. |
| Таким образом, всего
квартету придётся быть в Москве две
недели, а тебе самому несколько
больше (одной репетиции для концерта
мало, и потому тебе нужно быть на
репетиции 26-го, в четверг, утром). |
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This means that the quartet would have to be in Moscow
for just two weeks, though you would have to be there a bit longer
(one rehearsal for the concert isn't enough, and so you'll have to
attend the rehearsal on the morning of Thursday the 26th). |
| Засим вам остаётся целая
неделя для Петербурга. Если хочешь, я
напишу, а то ты сам напиши Альбрехту,
что вы у него можете играть между 12/24
и 18/30 ноября. |
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After that you have a whole week left for Petersburg.
If you wish, I can write to [Eugen]
Albrecht (or you can write to him yourself) to tell him that you
can play there any day between 12/24 and 18/30 November.
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| Прости, что неудобочитаемо
написал, очень тороплюсь! |
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Forgive me for having written this in such unreadable fashion—I am
in a great hurry!
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| Твой П. Чайковский |
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Yours, P. Tchaikovsky
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Notes:
- Adolph
Brodsky
had set up his own string quartet in Leipzig
a few years earlier (this ensemble was known as the "Leipzig Quartet"). At the time of this letter its grouping included the
following players: Brodsky
(first violin), Hans Becker (second violin), Ottokar Nováček
(viola), and Julius Klengel (cello). The quartet had been invited by
the Russian Musical Society to give a number of performances in Moscow
during the forthcoming concert season [back]
- As his letter to Tchaikovsky from Leipzig
on 6/18 June 1889 shows, Brodsky
was assuming that he and his quartet had been invited to play at three
chamber music soirées in Moscow,
and he accordingly suggested a number of possible dates which he hoped
to fit around his own solo appearance in Moscow
scheduled for 28 October/9 November, at which he intended to play
Tchaikovsky's Violin
Concerto. He also intended to perform with the "Leipzig Quartet" at a chamber music soirée in Saint
Petersburg. Brodsky's
letter has been published in: Elena Biteriakova and Marina Stroganova
(eds), Анна Бродская (Скадовская).
Воспоминания о русском доме. Адольф
Бродский, Петр Чайковский, Эдвард Григ
в мемуарах, дневниках, письмах (Feodosia
/ Moscow, 2006), p. 128 [back]
This page was last updated on 10 February 2011 |