Symphony

Reading notes

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 15 February 1890. Moscow. §9 I have read M. Tchaikovsky's "Symphony."

  Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky's play \emph{Symphony} (\emph{Симфония}), read by Chekhov ahead of its staging; Chekhov's verdict is brief but positive -- he liked it, found the impression it leaves "very definite," and predicts stage success. Compare, where Chekhov relays his own copy of \emph{The Kreutzer Sonata} through the same Modest Tchaikovsky.

• To M. I. Chaykovsky, 16 February 1890. Moscow. §3 your "Symphony"

  Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky's play "Симфония" ("Symphony"), dramatizing the world of professional musicians -- a milieu Chekhov says he had no prior picture of. This letter is a sustained, generous critique of the play's literary craft (with reservations reserved for its stage merits, which Chekhov declines to judge before seeing it performed).

• To M. I. Chaykovsky, 16 February 1890. Moscow. §5 I would have punctuated that recollection differently -- for instance, after the words "with the little reticule in her hands" I would have put an ellipsis, then crossed out the word "she."

  A specific, granular line-edit: Chekhov proposes cutting the pronoun "she" and replacing it with a trailing ellipsis at a precise phrase, illustrating exactly how he thinks the passage's warmth could be recovered -- practical craft advice offered in the middle of an otherwise general literary appreciation.

• To M. I. Chaykovsky, 16 March 1890. Moscow. §3 The editor of the journal \textit{Artist} came to see me the other day and asked me to use all my eloquence to get your \textit{Symphony} into his journal

  Chekhov is relaying a concrete business proposal on Modest Tchaikovsky's behalf, not making one of his own: an editor from \emph{Artist} wants the play placed in the journal at the start of the next season and has asked Chekhov, as a mutual acquaintance, to broker it. Chekhov reports the going rate for an original play already running on the imperial stage (150-250 rubles for the whole piece, not per printer's sheet -- his parenthetical "what beasts!" registers his own opinion of how little that is) and flags that the top rate is likely off the table because the play has already circulated via Rassokhin's lithography house (see the next note). His advice -- answer noncommittally, do not give your word, since autumn plans may change -- is practical friend-to-friend counsel, not a hint that he thinks the offer is bad; compare his own earlier reading and praise of the same play at and.

• To M. I. Chaykovsky, 16 April 1890. Moscow. §4 When in October or November they call you out for "The Symphony," imagine that I am sitting in the gallery, clapping for you along with the rest

  "Called out" (вызывать) refers to the Russian theatrical custom of an audience calling a playwright or performer onto the stage after a performance for applause -- Chekhov is picturing the curtain call for the premiere of Modest Tchaikovsky's play \emph{Symphony}, which he expects that autumn. This is the same play Chekhov had read in manuscript and praised at length two months earlier: a brief first verdict to Pleshcheyev at ("I liked it... ought to succeed"), followed the next day by a fuller critique to Modest himself at, and again discussed in practical publishing terms (the \emph{Artist} journal's interest and the Rassokhin lithography complication) at. This farewell note closes the arc with Chekhov, about to vanish for months, imagining himself present in spirit at the performance he will in fact miss.