“ ... I saw Colonne several times. He was very friendly, and expressed a wish to give a concert of my compositions. He asked me to send him some of my new scores to Aix-les-Bains, so that he could arrange a programme during the course of the summer. He continually lamented his poverty and the ‘terrible Concurrence Lamoureux.’ As to Lamoureux, he was amiability itself, and made me a thousand promises.”
Tchaikovsky was thrown into close contact with many other artists, several of whom, like the well-known pianist Diemer, for instance, remained his devoted friends to the end.
X
To N. F. von Meck.
“Maidanovo, June 18th (30th), 1886.
“How glad I am to be at home once more! How dear and cosy is my little house which, when I left, lay deep in snow, and is now surrounded by foliage and flowers! The three months I spent abroad were lost time as regards work, but I feel I have gained in strength, and can now devote my whole time to it without exhausting myself.”
Diary.
“July 8th (20th), 1886.
“ ... Worked atrociously again. And yet people say I am a genius! Nonsense!”
To P. Jurgenson.