Florence - Revision history

Brett: /* Gallery */

2025-04-23T06:04:58Z

Gallery

Brett at 11:09, 21 April 2025

2025-04-21T11:09:00Z

Tony: /* Tchaikovsky in Florence */

2023-01-02T20:31:54Z

Tchaikovsky in Florence

Tony at 20:29, 2 January 2023

2023-01-02T20:29:07Z

Brett: 1 revision imported

2022-07-12T11:20:35Z

1 revision imported

Brett: Text replacement - "
2020-10-25T13:16:19Z

Text replacement - "<mapframe " to "

'''''Florence''''' (Firenze), is a provincial capital and the principal city of the Tuscany (Toscana) region of Italy.

During Tchaikovsky's lifetime the city was part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until 1860, when it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy (of which Florence was the capital city from 1865–71).
TOC
<br clear="all"/>
==Tchaikovsky in Florence==
Tchaikovsky was very fond of Florence, and sometimes stayed there for long periods:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width=20%|From
! width=20%|Until
! width=60%|Notes
|-
| 27 April/9 May 1874
| early/mid May 1874
| On his first visit he declared Florence to be "very pleasant" <ref name="note1"/>.
|-
| 4/16 November 1877
| 6/18 November 1877
| Stopping with his brother [[Anatoly Tchaikovsky|Anatoly]] ''en route'' from [[Paris]] to [[Rome]].
|-
| 9/21 February 1878
| 23 February/7 March 1878
| Travelling with his brother [[Modest Tchaikovsky|Modest]] and [[Nikolay Konradi]]. Between visits to the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Vecchio, Basilica di San Lorenzo, and the Muzeo Nazionale, he found time to work on the [[Twelve Pieces, Op. 40]] for piano, and [[Six Romances, Op. 38]]. Towards the end of his visit a young street singer (Vittorio) provided the text and tune for ''Pimpinella'' (No. 6 of the Op. 38 set).
|-
| 20 November/2 December 1878
| 16/28 December 1878
| Staying at the Viale dei Colli, Restaurant Bonciani, at the invitation of [[Nadezhda von Meck]], who was in residence at her nearby ''Villa Oppenheim''. While working on his [[Suite No. 1]], he conceived the idea of the opera [[The Maid of Orleans]].
|-
| 19 February/3 March 1881
| 20 February/4 March 1881
| A short stay at the ''Hôtel New York'', while travelling from [[Vienna]] to join [[Modest Tchaikovsky]] and [[Nikolay Konradi]] in [[Rome]].
|-
| 18/30 November 1881
| 19 November/1 December 1881
| Another overnight stop, travelling from [[Venice]] to [[Rome]].
|-
| 16/28 March 1882
| 20 March/1 April 1882
| Stopping at the ''Hôtel Washington'', en route from [[Sorrento]] to [[Vienna]].
|-
| 18/30 January 1890
| 26 March/7 April 1890
| The composition of the opera ''[[The Queen of Spades]]'' was begun the day after Tchaikovsky's arrival, and the rough draft was completed on 3/15 March; the vocal-piano reduction was also made entirely in Florence (4/16 March to 24 March/5 April), although the orchestration was begun later in [[Rome]]. During this extended visit, Tchaikovsky also found time to visit the Cirque Celebrissimi, the Teatro Alfieri, Teatro Niccolini, Teatro Pagliano, and the Alhambra, and on 28 February/12 March he was delighted to hear a street singer perform ''Pimpinella''. On the last day of his stay he returned to the Uffizi Gallery, but declared that "I must confess that painting, especially old painting, is essentially completely beyond my understanding and leaves me cold" <ref name="note2"/>.
|}

==Bibliography==
* {{bib|1969/45}} (1969)
* {{bib|1999/68}} (1999)
* {{bib|2006/26}} (2006)

==External Links==
* [[wikipedia:Florence|Wikipedia]]

==Notes and References==
<references>
<ref name="note1">[[Letter 351]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 27 April/9 May 1874.</ref>
<ref name="note2">[[Letter 4083]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 27 March/8 April 1890.</ref>
</references>
[[Category:Places]] [[Category:Italy]]