PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893), AUTOGRAPH Autograph letter signed, addressed to the Belgian conductor Joseph Dupont. Moscow, 25 October / 6 November 1876

3 pp. Paper with embossed monogram ‘P.Ch.’. In French. 20 x 13.2 cm Tchaikovsky probably first met the Belgian conductor Joseph Dupont (1838-1899) in the autumn of 1868, when Dupont arrived in Moscow with the Italian opera company performing at the Warsaw Theatre. The company’s main attraction during its Moscow season (which lasted until 19/31 December 1868) was the mezzo-soprano Désirée Artôt, to whom Tchaikovsky was briefly engaged. In 1870 and 1871 Dupont was also conductor of Moscow’s own Italian opera company at the Bolshoi Theatre, so it is not surprising that Tchaikovsky, replying to Dupont’s request for the score of one of his works, addresses him as ‘dear friend’. Published: Petersburg Musical Archive: A Collection of Articles and Materials. Vol. 11: Tchaikovsky. Novye materialy k tvorcheskoy biografii; [executive editor T.Z. Skvirskaya]. St Petersburg: Polytechnic University Press, 2013, pp. 284-286. Of unique historical and cultural value.