To Modeste Tchaikovsky.
“Florence, March 3rd (15th), 1890.
“Yesterday I set your own closing scene to music. When I came to Hermann’s death and the final chorus, I was suddenly overcome by such intense pity for Hermann that I burst out crying. Afterwards I discovered the reason for my tears (for I was never before so deeply moved by the sorrows of my hero, and I tried to explain to myself why it should be so now). I came to the conclusion that Hermann was to me not merely a pretext for writing this or that kind of music, but had been all the while an actual, living, sympathetic human being. Because I am very fond of Figner, and I always see Hermann in the form of Figner, therefore I have felt an intimate realisation of his fate.[145] Now I hope my warm and lively feeling for the hero of my opera may be happily reflected in my music. In any case, I think Pique Dame by no means a bad opera. We shall see....
“Laroche writes that he and Napravnik do not approve of my having composed an opera in so short a time. They will not realise that to rush through my work is an essential feature of my character. I only work quickly. I took my time over The Enchantress and the Fifth Symphony, and they were failures, whereas I finished the Ballet in three weeks, and Oniegin was written in an incredibly short time. The chief thing is to love the work. I have certainly written with love. How I cried yesterday when they sang over my poor Hermann!”
Tchaikovsky had decided to leave Florence early in March for Rome. But failing to find rooms in any of the hotels, he stayed on in Florence for two or three weeks longer.
To Anna Merkling.
“Florence, March 5th (17th), 1890.
“ ... Heavens, what charming creatures children are! But little dogs are even more beautiful. They are simply the pearls of creation!... There is a breed here, almost unknown with us, called ‘Lupetto.’ You can often buy puppies of this kind on the Lungarno. If my Alexis did not hate dogs (they have a wretched life when the servants dislike them), I could not resist buying one of them.”
To Modeste Tchaikovsky.
“Florence, March 19th (31st), 1890.