person
Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kashkin
Kashkin
also: Николай Дмитриевич Кашкин, Nikolay Kashkin, N. D. Kashkin
Russian music critic and pedagogue (1839-1920), professor at the Moscow Conservatory from 1866 and one of Tchaikovsky's closest friends (the two collaborated on the early scenario for Eugene Onegin, and Tchaikovsky dedicated the romance "Net, tolko tot, kto znal" to him). Chekhov invokes him here as a mutual acquaintance who can personally vouch for the cellist Marian Semashko, a fellow Conservatory man.
Reading notes
- To P. I. Chaykovsky, 18 October 1891. Moscow. §5 Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kashkin knows him well.
Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kashkin, professor at the Moscow Conservatory from 1866 and one of the most respected music critics and pedagogues in Russia, was among Tchaikovsky's closest personal friends -- the two had collaborated on the early scenario for \emph{Eugene Onegin}, and Tchaikovsky dedicated the romance "Net, tolko tot, kto znal" to him. By naming Kashkin as a character reference, Chekhov is not padding the letter with an unfamiliar name but invoking someone Tchaikovsky already knew and trusted intimately -- a shared acquaintance who could independently corroborate Semashko's character and musicianship, strengthening the recommendation considerably beyond Chekhov's word alone.