Nadezhda von Meck

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nadezhda von Meck.
Nadezhda von Meck.

Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck (Russian: Надежда Филаретовна вон Мекк) (10 February 1831 - 13 January 1894; both dates New Style) was a wealthy Russian widow best known for her relationship with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. She was also active in providing financial support to Nikolai Rubinstein and Claude Debussy.

Contents

[edit] Early life

She was born Nadezhda Filaretovna Frolovskaya, into a family with large landholdings. From an early age her father, Filaret Frolovsky, embraced a love of music. In 1847 she married Karl von Meck. Together they had 18 children, of whom 11 survived into adulthood.

[edit] Business Success of Karl von Meck

In the years following their marriage, Karl von Meck became a multi-millionaire through his work in the railroad industry. He died in 1871, leaving his widow in charge of his vast financial holdings. This allowed her to become a major patron of the arts.

[edit] Support of the Performing Arts

In the years following her husband's death, she became increasingly involved in the performing arts through financial support to composers such as Nikolay Rubinstein and Claude Debussy. Debussy was music tutor to her daughters, and he wanted to marry one of them. She would not give her permission, wanting her daughters to marry men of her own choosing (which they did, but these marriages all ended in divorce).

[edit] Relationship with Tchaikovsky

In 1877 she began a platonic relationship with Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Despite her insistence that they not meet, the two carried on a significant correspondence, which lasted until 1890. They did encounter each other on two occasions, purely by chance, but did not converse. As their relationship developed, she subsequently provided him with a financial allowance large enough (6,000 rubles a year) that he could leave his professorship at the Moscow Conservatory to focus on his creative work full-time. (This was a small fortune. A minor government official in those days had to support his family on 300-400 rubles a year.)

As well as financial support, she expressed her interest in his musical career and admiration for his music. Her feedback became so important to Tchaikovsky that, after the critics lambasted his Symphony No. 5, she provided him with the support to persevere with his composing.

However, in October 1890, she abruptly cut off her support for the composer. It is widely believed that she did so because she found out about Tchaikovsky's homosexuality. It is possible she was planning to marry off one of her daughters to Tchaikovsky. In 1883, her son Nikolay had married Tchaikovsky's niece Anna Davydova.

[edit] Dedication to Nadezhda von Meck

Tchaikovsky, as a sign of appreciation, dedicated his Symphony No. 4 and his Pokhoronnyi marsh (Funeral March), written in 1877; now lost) to her.

[edit] Death

Nadezhda von Meck died from tuberculosis in early January 1894, barely two months after Tchaikovsky's death.

[edit] Donation by Galina Nikolaevna von Meck

In 1985 Galina Nikolayevna von Meck (the daughter of Nikolay von Meck and Anna von Meck née Davydova, Tchaikovsky's niece) donated to Columbia University a collection of papers in her possession. The papers include her translation of 681 letters written by Tchaikovsky to his family covering the years March 1861 to September 1893.

[edit] Books

  • To My Best Friend: Correspondence Between Tchaikovsky and Nadezhda von Meck 1876-1878 By Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Nadezhda von Meck (1993)
  • Beloved Friend: The Story of Tchaikowsky and Nadejda von Meck By Catherine Drinker Bowen (1975)

[edit] References

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../n/a/d/Nadezhda_von_Meck_0417.html"
In other languages