Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Modest Tchaikovsky

Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Модест Ильич Чайковский, 13 May [O.S. 1 May] 1850 – 15 January [O.S. 2 January] 1916) was a Russian dramatist, opera librettist and translator.

Early life

Modest Ilyich was born in Alapayevsk, the younger brother of the future composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He graduated from the School of Jurisprudence with a degree in law. In 1876, Modest became the tutor to a deaf-mute boy Nikolai ("Kolya") Hermanovich Konradi (1868–1922) and, using a special teaching method, helped him to talk, write, and read.

Career

Modest chose to dedicate his entire life to literature and music. He wrote plays, translated sonnets by Shakespeare into Russian and wrote librettos for operas by his brother Pyotr, as well as for other composers such as Eduard Nápravník, Arseny Koreshchenko, Anton Arensky and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Being the nearest friend of his brother, he became his first biographer, and also the founder of the Tchaikovsky Museum in Klin.

Personal life

Like his famous brother, he was homosexual.^[1]

Death

He died in Moscow in 1916.

Plays

• Predrassudki (Предрассудки – Prejudices)
• Simfoniya (Симфония – Symphony)
• Den' v Peterburge (День в Петербурге – A Day in St Petersburg)

Opera libretti

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Queen of Spades (Пиковая дама - Pikovaya dama), Op. 68, 1890. Premiered: 19 December [O.S. 7 December] 1890, St Petersburg

• Tchaikovsky: Iolanta (Иоланта – Iolanthe), Op. 69, 1891, based on the Danish play Kong Renés Datter (King René’s Daughter) by Henrik Hertz, translated by Fyodor Miller and adapted by Vladimir Rafailovich Zotov. Premiered: 1892, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg.

• Eduard Nápravník: Dubrovsky (Дубровский). Premiered: 15 January [O.S. 3 January] 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg.

• Arseny Koreshchenko: Ledyanoy dom (Ледяной дом). Premiered: 20 November [O.S. 7 November] 1900, Moscow.

• Anton Arensky: Nal' i Damayanty (Наль и Дамаянти), after the epos Mahabharata. Premiered: 22 January [O.S. 9 January] 1904, Moscow.

• Sergei Rachmaninoff: Francesca da Rimini (Франческа да Римини), Op. 25, 1904, after the story of the heroine Francesca da Rimini from the fifth canto of Dante's epic poem The Inferno (the first part of The Divine Comedy). Premiered: 24 January [O.S. 11 January] 1906, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

References

1. ^ Alexander Poznansky, Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man, p. 170 et al.

Bibliography

Tchaikovsky, Modest: The Life And Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, University Press of the Pacific (2004) ISBN 1-4102-1612-8

External links

• Modest Tchaikovsky at the Internet Movie Database

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Persondata
Name	Tchaikovsky, Modest Ilyich
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1850
Place of birth
Date of death	1916
Place of death