Marking the 175th anniversary of the birth of Pyotr Tchaikovsky
«Music… from the depths of the soul excited by artistic inspiration».

First Music Teacher

A significant figure, who influenced the development of creative abilities of Tchaikovsky, was his first music mentor. According to the composer's brother Modest, 'the music teacher — Maria Palchikova (her married name is Longinova) was invited to Pyotr'. Modest wrote about her, mostly, in a negative way, 'It remain unknown where this Maria Palchikova came from, to what extent she was experienced in her profession. It may be stated only that it was specially sent to somewhere for her, that she knew well her specialty, that her student has kept the friendly memory of her, but that she was not able to meet entirely the needs of the future composer, because, in 1848, her pupil knew how to read music not worse than she did'.

It's hard to say on what Modest's conclusions concerning the studying piano art by the little Pyotr, were based, because he tells about the time when he was not born yet in the world (Modest was born two years later - in 1850). Judging from the above quotation, he did not know much about her. However, now there is very little information about Maria Palchikova (Loginova).

She was born in 1823 in the village of Votskoe in Urzhum Province. In 1845, Ilya Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Tchaikovsky's father, arrived in Urzhum, and Maria Palchikova was likely recommended to him as a music teacher. By his invitation, Maria came to Votkinsk where she taught Pyotr Tchaikovsky playing piano for three years. In 1848, Maria Palchikova's family moved from Votkinsk to the town of Slobodskoy in Vyatka Province. Later she lived in Samara and Kazan. She died in 1888 in Urzhum, where she was buried.

In view of the paucity of information, several legends was composed about the figure of Maria Palchikova. One relates to her origin. For example, you can find tales that Mary was born in a family of serfs (or former serfs). Her father played the balalaika, and his mother sang well. Among the legends are two versions regarding her musical education. According one of them, Mary was self-taught, the other narrates that the landowner's wife took the trouble to learn her, when she saw the peasant girl sitting at her piano and picking up melodies of folk songs.

These legends were debunked by the two manuscripts, presented to Empress Maria Alexandrovna and Emperor Alexander II on the occasion of the coronation in 1856. Their full texts are reproduced on the site of the National Library of Russia in the project «Musical Gifts to Russian Emperors».
One of the manuscripts is a composition of Maria Loginova – Variations for Piano on a Romance «Why do you become silent».

Maria Loginova prefaced her composition with a detailed reference to the Empress, in which she not only pays tribute to the activities of the Romanovs in the field of science and art, but also reported that the art ' was her constant occupation from the childhood'. The address was signed 'Maria Loginova, the wife of Collegiate Assessor Loginov, living in the town of Slobodskoy of Vyatka Province'.

Another manuscript is the cantata «Alexander! The Whole World Glorifies Your Deeds». It is similar to the first in handwriting, design and a style of address to the imperial person, but, in this case, to Emperor Alexander II. The author of the cantata – Mark Palchikov. In it, like in the manuscript of Maria Loginova, the musical text is preceded by a direct address to the emperor.

In it, Mark Palchikov states that the «four-voice singing with the piano music», as he calls here the cantata was not his first work to be devoted to high-ranking persons. In 1845, he composed a march, prefacing it by a dedication to Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg visiting the town of Malmyzh.

Maximilian Joseph Eugene Auguste Napoleon de Beauharnais (1817–1852) – the 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg, Prince of Venice since 1839, became a member of the Russian imperial family by marrying the daughter of Emperor Nicholas I, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna. He also, like other members of the imperial house, was a patron of the arts, in particular, Maximilian of Leuchtenberg was the President of the Imperial Academy of Arts (since 1843).

Note that the Marsh, written by Mark Palchikov, was not only well received by the ducal suite, but was released in 1846 in Moscow.

But let us revert to the manuscript of the cantata dedicated to Alexander II. At the end of the reference to the emperor, the composer gives the details about himself, 'Your Imperial Majesty's loyalist Mark Palchikov, a Kazan bourgeois, who lives in the town of Slobodskoy in Vyatka Province'.

Comparing the names, it is easy to conclude that Maria Markovna Palchikova was Mark Palchikov's daughter. This fact disproves the legend of the peasant origin of the first music teacher of Tchaikovsky. Mark was a bourgeois, therefore, his daughter had the same social position before her marriage. At a time when serfdom was not yet canceled, a daughter of a serf hardly could become the wife of a man who had the rank of collegiate assessor. This rank was very highly valued and granted personal nobility. It was not easy to receive it - as a rule, it is required to obtain an university degree or to take an appropriate exam.

The myths about Maria Markovna's self-education in music, and that she learnt to play the piano from some landowner's wife also were completely refuted. Mark Palchikov was a composer, therefore, he mastered the instrument. Of course, he gave piano lessons to the daughter. His compositions in honor of the members of the imperial family were accepted with favor. One of them was published, the second entered in the Imperial Hermitage Library. Perhaps, in their circles, Mark had sufficient authority which became the basis for the invitation of Maria Palchikova as a music teacher to the family of Tchaikovsky.

Speaking about Maria Palchikova (Loginova), of course, we cannot disregard her well-known letter to Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It was written on 22 December 1882, shortly before the festival of Christmas. The letter contains a rather cheerless story of Maria about her fate and a request for help.
It is unknown what Tchaikovsky answered to her, his letter which was sent through his publisher P. Jurgenson to Loginova, has not survived.

There is a note addressed to Jurgenson, in which Tchaikovsky wrote,
'Dear friend! Kindly put fifty rubles in the enclosed letter and send it at the address. I was asked for help by my first music teacher, to whom I am very, very much obliged. And I absolutely can not refuse, and I found it improper to do it otherwise than through you. Your Tchaikovsky. For the address, I send her letter and ask to keep it.'

The note by Tchaikovsky demonstrates that he remembered his teacher, and, unlike Modest Ilyich, who believed that she could not "fully meet the needs of the future composer", he highly appreciated her.
And, thanks to his request to save the letter from Maria Loginova, it has been preserved to this day.