"The first time I heard about your music was 'The Tempest,' and it made me feel like I couldn't speak to you, and I've been in a fog for days."
This is a passage from Mrs. Meck's first letter to Tchaikovsky.
1. Whose song is so moving?
One afternoon in the winter of 1876, Mrs. Meck came in a carriage to Nikola Rubinstein's estate on the outskirts of Moscow, where she would spend a wonderful afternoon at the invitation of Nicola Rubinstein's family.
Nikolai Rubenstein was a musically accomplished composer who traveled to Europe as a professional performer in his early years and was appreciated by world-class music masters such as Cherny, Liszt and Meyerberg.
In order to discover and cultivate more musical talents, in 1866, after the return of Nikolai Rubenstein, he founded the Moscow Conservatory of Music and personally taught piano and so on. In order to enrich the teaching staff, Nikolai Rubenstein also invited Tchaikovsky, Safnov and others to teach composition, piano and other courses.
Whenever a friend visits, Nikolai Rubenstein plays a few tunes for fun. His skillful technique and moving melodies often cause his friends to stop talking and indulge in the music he plays. This has become one of the reasons why friends like to come to his house.
After a few words of greeting with Mrs. Mac, Nikolai Rubenstein got up and left the room, allowing Mrs. Mac and his wife to talk for a while. Then Nikolai Rubenstein came to the living room, spread out a newly written sheet of music, and began to play it selflessly.
With the beating of his dexterous fingers, the beautiful and touching melody also rippled like a wave of water.
When Nikolai Rubenstein stopped playing. Mrs. Meck couldn't wait to walk up to him from the neighboring room and exclaimed, "This piece is so beautiful, whose work is it?" ”
Nikolai Rubenstein told Mrs. Meck that the song was called "The Tempest" and that Tchaikovsky had composed it.
Second, I buy one of your songs.
When Mrs. Mac returned home, she still remembered the passionate melody of "The Tempest". After learning of Tchaikovsky's financial plight, Mrs. Meck approached Nikolai Rubinstein and asked Tchaikovsky to compose a piece of music for her.
Nikola Rubinstein had always admired Tchaikovsky's musical talent, so he was more than happy to do Mrs. Meck a small favor.
At that time, Tchaikovsky was still lonely and nameless. Although he had a talent unparalleled in music, his father believed that only by becoming a civil servant could he become a decent person. He had to follow his father's advice and get into a law school. After graduation, with the help of his father, he successfully entered the judicial department as a small clerk.
However, the deceit in the workplace and the corruption in the official arena made Tchaikovsky feel extremely disgusted. As a result, he devoted himself to the study of music. Soon after, he was admitted to the St. Petersburg Conservatory with excellent results.
Due to the time conflict between work and music, Tchaikovsky did not hesitate to quit his civil service and devoted himself entirely to the music industry.
In 1865, at the invitation of Nikolai Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky became a composition teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. From then on, Tchaikovsky began his creative career.
However, such a life still bothered Tchaikovsky. During the day, he would give lessons to his students at the conservatory, and only at night would he have time to start his work. In addition, although he wrote some pieces, he did not attract the attention of the music industry. And he also lived a very poor life because he only relied on a meager salary.
For a talented musician, if he wants to develop healthily in his creation, he must ensure that he is not bothered by food and clothing. And that's exactly the problem that Tchaikovsky has been unable to solve for a long time. So, when he heard that Mrs. Mac wanted him to compose a tune, he agreed without hesitation. He then arranged the piece and sent it by letter according to the address Mrs. Meck had given him.
When Mrs. Mac received it, she immediately wrote a text message to express her appreciation. She also wrote in her letter: "The first time I heard your music was 'The Tempest', it made me feel almost indescribable to you, and I have been in a fog for several days. ”
At the same time, Mrs. Meck attached a handsome reward to the letter.
Don't meet, just look at your photos.
Mrs. Meck's generous support, for Tchaikovsky, was simply a blessing in disguise. In addition, Mrs. Mack also has a high appreciation for music, so the two people who have never intersected have established a friendship.
However, due to Mrs. Meck's proposal that their friendship be limited to correspondence, Tchaikovsky kept this agreement.
Mrs. Mack made such suggestions, in part because of her status.
Originally, Mrs. Meck was the daughter of a big farmer, and her father and mother were both music lovers, so she grew up with melodious music and beautiful singing, and in the midst of hearing about it, music became a part of her life.
At the age of 16, Mrs. Meck married the German engineer Carl von Meck. After marriage, the two gave birth to 18 children, of which 7 died prematurely, and the 11 children who survived had to eat and drink, which was enough to make the family that was not rich enough suddenly fall into poverty. Fortunately, Mrs. Mecke was very business-minded, and under her influence, her husband resigned from public office and began to run the railway transportation. Due to his proper management, he soon became a railway transport tycoon.
In 1873, her husband died of illness, leaving a very considerable legacy to Mrs. Mac. After becoming a widow, Mrs. Meck, with a deep thought for her deceased husband, no longer lingered in the life of high society, and since then she has lived a life of seclusion behind closed doors.
Mrs. Meck had to admit that it was Tchaikovsky's music that made her heart like ashes return to the human world. For a period of time, she found all of Tchaikovsky's music, and after listening to it repeatedly, she was infected by the spiritual power of Tchaikovsky's deeply buried music. She once confessed in a letter to Tchaikovsky that listening to Tchaikovsky's songs, she often had a feeling of wandering outside the body.
Talent should not be snuffed out in the cradle by the world.
Mrs. Meck did not want Tchaikovsky to influence her work because of worldly troubles, so she decided to fund Tchaikovsky. In order to maintain Tchaikovsky's self-esteem, Mrs. Meck always asked him to arrange the music, and paid a considerable remuneration each time.
After several correspondences, Tchaikovsky also developed a great affection for Mrs. Meck. He did not expect that an ordinary, uneducated woman with no musical education would actually have the ability to appreciate music that ordinary people could not match. And there are also very clever insights in music, so the two soon became friends without talking.
At one point, Mrs. Meck said in a letter that she hoped to get a picture of Tchaikovsky. She explained that the reason why she did not want to meet was because she was afraid that after meeting, it would ruin the feelings of the two people. Maybe by then, it will be difficult to write as freely as it is now.
Tchaikovsky shared the same uneasiness, fearing that his appearance and music would cause Mrs. Meck to feel a sense of disparity.
Because of this, neither Tchaikovsky nor Mrs. Meck ever broke the agreement out of curiosity. Although the letter is slow, it can tell each other the heartfelt heart, and it can also make the writer often rejoice.
After composing several pieces, Tchaikovsky had understood that Madame Meck's so-called request for him to compose the music was just a pretext, but in fact it was just to give him money. So he wrote frankly in his letter: "You want to help me. But I don't want to write songs without inspiration for money, nor do I want to be disloyal to art in order to improve my life. ”
Tchaikovsky also borrowed money directly from Mrs. Meck and told her that he felt that Mrs. Meck was the only person in the world who could borrow money without blushing. He said he wanted him to compose music for Mrs. Mac out of sincerity, not for the money.
A man who loves face very much asks a woman to borrow money, which often requires a lot of courage. Because once rejected by a woman, it is very likely that the relationship between the two will fall into embarrassment.
Apparently, Mrs. Meck did not despise Tchaikovsky because she had asked her to borrow money, but was very happy to think that this was an act that Tchaikovsky regarded her as his most trusted friend. So she immediately sent Tchaikovsky 3,000 rubles.
Fourth, caught in an unbearable marriage.
At the age of 37, Tchaikovsky, a schoolgirl, pursued him like crazy. Even in order to marry him, he threatened to die.
Tchaikovsky's friends also hope that he can settle down and enjoy the joy of the world like everyone else, so everyone has a lot of persuasion for him. Eventually, Tchaikovsky agreed to Mikolyova's quest, and the two soon entered the palace of marriage.
Tchaikovsky, however, discovered after his marriage that Mikolyova did not like music at all, did not care about his art, and even "did not understand even a single note" of his works. Mikolyova is still like a sparrow every day, always like to talk to him about some parents. What he couldn't bear most was that Mikolyova always relished the scene when she was pursued by many noble-born youths.
The three views of the two people were inconsistent, and it was soon exposed. Therefore, life after marriage has only begun, and the family is full of smoke. Tchaikovsky, who was greatly disappointed in marriage, was on the verge of a mental breakdown a month after marriage. In order to escape his wife, he often wandered the streets of Moscow. In order to die early, he once committed suicide by throwing himself into the river in the cold winter, but soon he was rescued.
After the suicide attempt, Tchaikovsky fled St. Petersburg and filed for divorce from Mikolyova.
In those days, divorce required the payment of alimony to the woman. In Tchaikovsky's situation, he was not eligible for divorce. But in order to get out of the marriage as soon as possible, Tchaikovsky explained everything to Mrs. Meck and asked for her help. Mrs. Meck was already sympathetic to Tchaikovsky's plight, so in order to help Tchaikovsky regain his freedom, she soon helped Tchaikovsky pay off all his debts and agreed to provide 6,000 rubles a year as tchaikovsky's living expenses. However, Mrs. Meck also had a request, that is, she hoped that Tchaikovsky would do what she liked.
In addition, in order to restore Tchaikovsky's spirits, Madame Meck arranged for him to go to Switzerland to relax and let him live under the Alps. The beautiful scenery and clear air played a great role in Tchaikovsky's mental rehabilitation.
Fifth, the only time to pass by.
Tchaikovsky was so grateful to Mrs. Meck for all that he wrote to her: "From now on every note I write will be dedicated to you, and there will be no other way but to serve you with my music." ”
Soon after, when Tchaikovsky traveled to Italy, Mrs. Mecque also happened to be on holiday in Italy. So she rented A neat and comfortable apartment for Tchaikovsky near her residence. Despite their proximity, Mrs. Meck and Tchaikovsky exchanged letters and never broke the agreement.
After returning to Russia, at the invitation of Mrs. Meek, Tchaikovsky stayed in her country house. In short, in order to make Tchaikovsky feel at ease, Mrs. Meck always took care of everything for him with great care and thoughtfulness.
Of course, the two have not met without meeting.
Once, Tchaikovsky was walking down the boulevard when a coachman approached him with a carriage.
As the carriage passed him, he saw Mrs. Mec looking at him through the window on the carriage. Because of the suddenness of the incident, both men were surprised, and Tchaikovsky did not even have time to wave his hand, and the carriage sped away.
The next day, Tchaikovsky specially wrote a letter to apologize to Mrs. Meck, and Mrs. Meck wrote back: "Originally I loved you silently, I never imagined your style, I didn't expect to be able to meet you, which made me feel that what I loved was not illusory, which made me feel solid in my heart and feel very happy." ”
Under the admiration and encouragement of Mrs. Meck, Tchaikovsky was passionate and eventually wrote the Fourth Symphony. Tchaikovsky was so satisfied with the piece he had composed that he wrote to Madame Meck: "This is written specifically for you, and you will know how much I often miss you when you hear it." ”
Mrs. Meck also expected to hear the Fourth Symphony soon, so she paid for Tchaikovsky's publication. When the Fourth Symphony was performed for the first time in Moscow, he took a carriage to the concert to listen to the music, despite the bad weather. Immediately after returning home, she wrote to Tchaikovsky: "This symphony will become the most glorious part of my life." ”
Sure enough, the Fourth Symphony soon gained great acclaim in the music world, and Tchaikovsky grew more and more famous, and his works became more and more popular, and eventually he became the world's top musician.
Tchaikovsky was full of gratitude to Mrs. Meck for his success, and in his letter he enthusiastically stated: "All this is given by you, my life, my opportunity to pursue freedom, and the good luck that I never even dared to think about." ”
Mrs. Meck was very proud of Tchaikovsky's achievements. During the years of correspondence with Tchaikovsky, Mrs. Meck not only filled her room with Tchaikovsky's works, but also in newspapers and magazines, and she carefully preserved any news about Tchaikovsky.
After breaking off friendship, they still miss each other until the last moment of life.
However, as Tchaikovsky's status in the music world grew, so did his social networking and performances. Too busy, Tchaikovsky no longer wrote to Mrs. Meck as often as he had before.
In 1890, Tchaikovsky received a letter of renunciation from Mrs. Meck. Mrs. Meck wrote: "I have financial problems and have to end funding for you. Hopefully you'll think of me once in a while. ”
The last sentence of the letter, apparently greatly touched by Tchaikovsky, immediately wrote in his reply: "It is you who have accumulated all the strength I am about to exhaust, and let me concentrate on the road of music." I have never forgotten you for a moment, and I will never forget you. Because when I create, every idea is connected to you. ”
After inquiring, Tchaikovsky learned that Mrs. Meck was not in a bankruptcy situation, a lie that made him feel deeply hurt in his self-esteem.
Since then, Tchaikovsky has never received a letter from Mrs. Mac, and he has not written a single word to Mrs. Mac because he is too busy with too many musical activities and socializing.
In fact, at that time, Mrs. Meck was already suffering from a very serious tuberculosis, and her eldest son also died of tuberculosis, which made Mrs. Meck fall into deep self-blame. She believes that she is too focused on her relationship with Tchaikovsky and neglects her son's health, so God took her eldest son and made her suffer from tuberculosis as a way to punish her. It was in the midst of mental torture that Mrs. Mac wrote the letter of renunciation.
In addition, due to the increasing severity of the disease, Mrs. Meck's arms became more and more stiff, and the nervous system was severely damaged, resulting in a very severe decline in her hearing.
Mrs. Meck, because of the delay in getting a letter from Tchaikovsky, said with great disappointment: "He no longer needs me, and I cannot give him anything." If he still thinks of me, then why hasn't he written me a letter? ”
Yes, by this time Tchaikovsky had become a sought-after musician. Wherever he went, there was a tidal wave of applause and flowers waiting for him. His wealth had already allowed him to live a luxurious life that only high society had.
But material superiority did not make him happy, and he often thought of Mrs. Mac. The friendship that had hollowed out all his feelings, after Mrs. Meck announced that she had broken up with him, Tchaikovsky struggled with pain and despair for a moment. It was in that state of mind that he successively wrote far-reaching works such as the Sixth Symphony and the Symphony of Sorrow.
In 1893, Tchaikovsky fell ill with cholera from drinking unclean water in a restaurant, and soon his life came to an end, and in the last moments of his life he continued to read Madame Meck's name.
Two months after Tchaikovsky's death, Mrs. Meck, who was already terminally ill, also died with endless grievances and grievances.