Letter 4845a
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French text (original)
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English translation
Copyright © 2010 by Luis Sundkvist |
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19 Janvier 93
Paris |
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19 January 1893
Paris |
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Chère Madame!
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Dear Madame! |
| Bien des fois je me suis adressé à mon ami Colonne pour
lui recommander des compatriotes, qui voudraient se faire entendre au[x]
concerts du Chatelet [= Châtelet]. Je sais combien il est difficile pour
lui de trouver une place pour chaque artiste qui lui est bien recommandé;
aussi jamais n’ai j’été désappointé quand mes lettres de recommandations
n’aboutissent à aucun résultat. Mais aujourd’hui je m’adresse à lui par
Votre intermédiaire non comme à Colonne, chef d’orchestre célèbre, mais
comme à l’ami. De grâce qu’il sacrifice un quart d’heure de son temps
pour mon jeune protégé Petchnikoff, lequel de reste Vous conaissez
[= connaissez] pour l’avoir entendu au Conservatoire à Moscou. Mais ceci
ne suffirait pas: je Vous demande en grâce, je Vous supplie, je Vous implore
comme la plus grande manifestation de Votre amitié (que j’apprecie [=
apprécie] ènormèment [= énormément]) — de lui trouver une petite place
dans un des Concerts du Chatelet [= Châtelet]. Je considèrerai cela comme
un vrai bonheur pour moi. D’ailleurs le jeune homme est vraiment
un talent hors ligne et je suis sûr que Vous serez content de lui! |
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On many an occasion I have written to my friend Colonne
to recommend to him compatriots of mine who would like to be heard
at the Châtelet concerts [1].
I know how difficult it is for him to find a place for every artist
who has been recommended to him in such terms; and, moreover, I have
never felt disappointed when my letters of recommendation came to
nothing. Today, though, I am addressing myself to him, through your
mediation, not in his capacity as Colonne,
the famous conductor, but as to a friend. I beg him to sacrifice a
quarter of an hour of his time for my young protégé Pechnikov,
whom, by the way, you know, since you heard him at the Moscow
Conservatory [2].
However, that would not be enough: I ask you kindly—nay, I beseech,
I implore you, by way of the greatest manifestation of your
friendship (which I cherish enormously), to find him a little slot
in one of the Châtelet concerts. I would consider this as a true
blessing for me. Besides, this young man is truly
exceptionally talented, and I am certain that you will be satisfied
with him! |
| De grâce, chère bonne Madame, soyez mon interprete [=
interprète] auprès de Votre cher mari et priez le bien de faire ce que
je désir[e] ardemment. Pour le jeune homme c’est une grosse affaire: il
y va de toute sa carrière. Je me mets à Vos pieds. |
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I beg you, dear, kind Madame: would you be my
spokeswoman with regard to your dear husband and ask him
emphatically to do what I so ardently wish? For the young man it is
a matter of great consequence: his whole career depends on it. I
throw myself before your feet. |
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P. Tschaïkovsky
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P. Tchaikovsky |
Notes:
- See, for example, letter
4602 to Édouard Colonne,
16/28 [?] January 1892, in which Tchaikovsky recommends the
mezzosoprano Elena Iosifovna Ter’ian-Korganova (b. 1864), or letter
4782b to Colonne,
9/21 October 1892, written on behalf of a young Russian pianiste [back]
- Aleksandr Abramovich Pechnikov (1873–1949)
studied violin at the Moscow
Conservatory under Jan Hřímalý,
graduating in 1891. Thanks to Tchaikovsky's mediation Colonne
had been engaged to conduct a Russian Musical Society concert in Moscow
on 23 March/4 April 1890, and subsequently he was invited a number of
times to Russia to conduct concerts in both Moscow
and Saint Petersburg.
It seems that during one of these visits Colonne
and his wife Eugénie,
who accompanied him to Russia, attended a student performance at the Moscow
Conservatory and heard the young Pechnikov play. Pechnikov had
performed Tchaikovsky's Violin
Concerto in public as early as 19/31 August 1892, at a concert in Moscow
conducted by Vojtěch Hlaváč (Voitekh Glavach; 1849–1911). See Дни и годы П. И. Чайковского
(1940), p. 556. In 1899, during a tour of America, Pechnikov would
give the first performance in Chicago
of the Violin
Concerto [back]
This page was last updated
on 26 February 2012
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