Tchaikovsky
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Osip Jurgenson

Russian music retailer, and older brother of Pyotr Jurgenson (b. 1829; d. 1910), born Osip Ivanovich Yurgenson (Осип Иванович Юргенсон), also known as Iosif Ivanovich Jurgenson (Иосиф Иванович Юргенсон).

The son of Jögen Kirs Jurgenson, the captain of a fishing vessel, and his wife Aeta, Osip Jurgenson was born and educated in Reval (now Tallinn Estonia). After leaving school at the age of 14 he moved to Saint Petersburg, where he worked for the music publishers F. T. Stellovsky and N. M. Bernard. In 1871 he opened his own music store in the Russian capital, which eventually took over Stellovsky's firm. He also acted as an agent for his brother Pyotr.

Tchaikovsky knew Osip and his family well, and often called on them while he was staying in Saint Petersburg. His piano piece Mazurque pour danser—No. 6 of the Eighteen Pieces, Op. 72 (1893)—is dedicated to Osip's daughter Luiza, and the composer also corresponded with Osip's son Aleksandr.

Tchaikovsky's correspondence with Osip Jurgenson:

• 11 letters from Tchaikovsky to Osip Jurgenson have survived, dating from 1889 to 1893.