Tchaikovsky and the Tambov Region

Petr Ilyich Tchaikovsky went to the village of Ussovo of the Tambov province since 1871 till 1876.
Ussovo is the country-house of his pupil and friend Vladimir S.Shilovsky (later a count Vasiliev-Shilovsky). For the first time Tchaikovsky visited Ussovo country-house in summer 1871. He was delighted with Russian nature. The beautiful places to take a walk and an opportunity to stay alone attracted him to Ussovo. In 1872 Tchaikovsky spent there July and August. As a result he finished the draft version of the Second Symphony.
The third visit to his friend at Ussovo in summer 1873 had stuck in
his memory for a long time. In April 22, 1878 in his letter to Nadezhda F. von Meck he writes:"...At the beginning of August I had arrived in the the Tambov province straight from Paris and found myself quite alone in the charming oasis of steppe surroundings. I couldn't tell you how I had been blissfully happy here these two weeks... Within these two weeks without any efforts I wrote "The Tempist" in rough as if I had been activated by a supernatural strength". The scheme of the Symphonic Fantasia "The Tempist" was suggested by Stasov. The composer had thoroughly worked out the plan of Fantasia. Firstly the work had been advancing slowly. But later at Ussovo during ten days Tchaikovsky had finished The Tempist.
The next visit of his to Tambov province in July-August 1874 concerned
the composition of the opera "Vakula the Smith" (Kuznets Vakula) after N.Gogol's story "Christmas Eve". At Ussovo Tchaikovsky had finished Vakula, which had won a competition announced by the Directors of Russian Musical Society. He was awarded with the First Prize (1500 roubles).
In summer 1875 Tchaikovsky wisited Ussovo for the fifth time. There within
a month he worked on the Third Symphony.
In September 1876 he was at Ussovo and stayed there some days for the last time.

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