Von Meck’s and Tchaikovsky’s Correspondence

Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Nadezdha Von Meck had shared lots of correspondence between the years of 1866 and 1868. What originally started as letters asking for commissions evolved into much more. As the letters kept going back and forth, this relationship went from a composer-client negotiation to a very close friendship. While still asking for commissions and talking about music, Tchaikovsky and Von Meck wrote about each other’s daily lives, families, personal beliefs, travels, special events, and emotions. However, while the correspondence formed a beautiful friendship, it may have also helped develop some intimate feelings from Von Meck towards Tchaikovsky. He viewed Von Meck as a really close friend while she may have seen him differently. Her choice of words and writing style demonstrate a hidden meaning of love and intimacy towards the composer.

Von Meck had been recently widowed when the correspondence started, and she was introduced to Tchaikovsky through The Tempest. Nikolay Rubinstein suggested she should commission music from him. The letters first started off as business negotiations and money matters between the two. In Letter 13, she then suggested that their correspondence should come from an inner urge and should not always be about business. This is a rather odd thing for a client to do, but eventually they start writing about things that did not have to do with money. Von Meck was thankful for the dedication for his symphony that she eventually refers to as “theirs,” and she was very sympathetic about what he was going through. In Letter 33, she appreciates that Tchaikovsky understands her and sympathizes with her. She explains that although she would love to run away with him, doing so requires freedom and so much more. Also, she states that her life is nearly done and he deserves peace and health. She worries about him and in him she treasures a lot of things. Her concern for him is all in self-interest. She questions why Tchaikovsky won’t tell her about his state of mind, considering she loves him and cherishes their friendship. After Tchaikovsky wrote to Von Meck about his unhappiness with his wife in Moscow, she wrote back to him. In Letter 35, she expressed how she was happy that Tchaikovsky was getting some freedom from his marriage. She also writes that she would have done the same since she understood his feelings. She asked why he worries so much about money, and she also states how he’s given her so many happy moments and she really cares about him. They get to know each other more. They discuss things such as taste in music, thoughts on religion, idealism vs realism, and more. Von Meck was a realist, and it would have made sense for her to prefer the music of the realist Musorgsky and not the music from a man who hates realism. However, she preferred Tchaikovsky’s music over his. In fact, her praise for him and his music is exaggerated at times. In fact, in letter 208 after receiving the vocal score for Eugene Onegin, she expresses how listening to his music makes one’s being feel something grand. While Tchaikovsky’s music is great, the way she explained how it made her body react is quite unique, to say the least. In her final letter to Tchaikovsky, she concluded with “Goodbye, my dear, incomparable friend. Do not forget one whose love for you is infinite.” Infinite is quite the interesting adjective to use to describe a close friend.

At the time the letters started, Tchaikovsky was 36 and unmarried. As a friendship began to bloom through their letters, Tchaikovsky decided to dedicate his Fourth Symphony to her for being a good friend. It was also this time that Tchaikovsky started having issues with his wife. He proceeded to write to Von Meck about his terrible time with his wife in Moscow. After getting Letter 35 from Von Meck, Tchaikovsky decided that he could rely on her not just for money, but for sympathy as well. Once Von Meck wrote that she would regularly provide for him financially, he saw her as a mother figure. In Letter 80, Tchaikovsky states how he wants to comfort her the same way she comforts him whenever he’s in a bad state of mind. Like a child in its mother’s arms, he goes to her for comfort after any bad situation because that’s how he feels about their friendship. He hopes she will remember him as the friend who loves her during her hardships. In Letters 84 and 119, Tchaikovsky wrote to Von Meck, assuring her that he is writing to her not out of force, but to satisfy his heart’s need and, and writing to her provided him with pleasure. It’s great to know Tchaikovsky really cared for Von Meck as a great friend even when she feels he shouldn’t care for her that much.

One of the letters I found interesting was Letter #13. This letter was from Von Meck to Tchaikovsky, and this was written from Moscow on May 2, 1877. She thanked Tchaikovsky for the dedication of the Fourth Symphony to her. She refers to herself as a close friend who loves him very much. Von Meck also says she hasn’t gotten his answer regarding being able to write to each other from an inner urge and not just talk about business. She states that she needs him, “the pure minister of my beloved lofty art,” and she will feel bliss if he agrees to this. She feels his dedication to her is welcome and precious. I found this letter interesting because it feels like the first time a sense of intimacy is present. At this time, she is not aware of Tchaikovsky’s homosexual tendencies. Also, her choice of words is rather interesting. For example, referring to him as the pure minister of her beloved lofty art makes it sound like she has or is now developing feelings of love and intimacy for him. 

Another letter that grabbed my attention was Letter #57. This letter was from Tchaikovsky to Von Meck, and it was written from Vienna on December 9, 1877. In this letter, he wrote that he avoided going to a grand Philharmonic concert that would feature Schumann’s Third Symphony. He wanted to avoid meeting musicians and socializing with them. Also, he hated how other musicians would act in a condescending manner towards any Russian musicians. He described it as the musicians putting on a fake, polite face and being extremely polite, and he could see right through it. Tchaikovsky also wrote about the war news and how he felt about how “the Turks had captured Elena.” This letter struck me as interesting because it’s sad how Tchaikovsky’s anthropophobia would cause him to miss a performance of one of his favorite symphonies. Also, he brings up the perspective of Russian musicians being looked down upon by other musicians, which is a unique and not one I thought would be real. Lastly, it is nice to hear of his opinions that do not necessarily have to do with music, even if they are about a subject as grim as war.

The correspondence between Tchaikovsky and Nadezhda Von Meck presents a closer, more personal look at how these two individuals lived their lives. What started off as just seeking commissions evolved into a great friendship between the two. Tchaikovsky dealt with many emotional struggles (some which prevented him from participating in things he wanted to do), and he would get comfort from Von Meck. She had endless love for Tchaikovsky, always worrying about him, praising him to the extreme, and wanting to know everything about him. While this correspondence only lasted two years, it was a great 2-year emotional outlet for them.

Omar A. Cordova

Bibliography

Tchaikovsky, Pyotr, and Nadezhda von Meck. To My Best Friend: Correspondence between Tchaikovsky and Nadezhda von Meck 1876-1878. Trans. Galina von Meck. Ed., Edward Garden and Nigel Gotteri. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.