Laiškai iš Peterburgo

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Adamas Honory Kirkoras; Devyniolikto amžiaus Lietuvos kultūrinis gyvenimas; Lenkija (Lenkijos karalystė. Kingdom of Poland. Poland); Peterburgas; Viktoras Kažynskis; Vilnius; XIX a. kultūrinis gyvenimas; Adam Honory Kirkor; Cultural life in nineteenth-century Lithuania; Cultural life of the 19th century; Petersburg; Vilnius; Wiktor Kazynski; Rusija (Russia).

ENThis article publishes eight letters written by musician and publicist Wiktor Każyński (b. 1812-d. 1867; in 1842 settled in St. Petersburg) between 1844 and 1856 and sent to Vilnius to Adam Honory Kirkor (b. 1818-d. 1886), archaeologist, historian, and journalist. The dates of four lelters are identified by the author of the article. The author provides the translations of the letters from Polish to Lithuanian and supplements them by exhaustive comments and explanations that allow capturing the nuances of cultural life in nineteenth-century Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. The letters were written during a turning point in Lithuanian political and public life, which had a marked impact on the destinies of individual personalities and the activity of cultural institutions. After 1844, when all the institutions of higher learning were closed in Lithuania, the circle of the university-educated intelligentsia members narrowed and the demand for professional cultural events decreased. In search of more favourable creative conditions many artists departed to St. Petersburg. The letters as well reflect a watershed period in the activity of Vilnius Theatre, for which Każyński was opera conductor. After 1845, in addition to moving to new premises, the theatre started executing the order of the tsarist government to perform in the Russian language. The letters reflect a transitional period in photography, too, and reveal the circumstances of the establishment of the Antiquity Museum in Vilnius.Still, the main theme in Kažynski's letters is the problems related to publication of his "Set of Polish Songs". Some fragments of the letters supplement the theme of the conception of Lithuanian identity in the 19th century. One of the goals of this article is to record the suppositional use of authentic Lithuanian folk music in the professional creative works of the 19th century. The Kažynski's letters, chosen as the subject for this article, have an undoubted historical value. They do not deal with trivial problems. Instead, through the author's personal experience and evaluation of cultural and public events, they disclose the facts of cultural life in Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. The letters published serve as an account of the author's public and artistic activity. [From the publication]