Władysław Pachulski

Władysław Pachulski (c. 1855 – 1919) was a Polish violinist, pianist and amateur composer who was the secretary to and later son-in-law of Nadezhda von Meck, the patroness for 13 years of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Pachulski was often the intermediary between composer and patroness, who had agreed never to meet face to face but to conduct an epistolary relationship. He played a significant role in the events surrounding the sudden break between them in 1890, and probably even instigated it.

He lived in Russia most of his adult life, where his name was rendered as Владислав Альбертович Пахульский (Vladislav Al'bertovich Pakhul'sky). He was the elder brother of the composer Henryk Pachulski.

Władysław Pachulski was born in Łazy, Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland in 1855 or 1857, to a poor family. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory and one of his teachers there for some time was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In 1877 Tchaikovsky left the Conservatory to become a full-time composer, with the ongoing financial support of a wealthy widow, Nadezhda von Meck. A very unusual feature of their arrangement was that they agreed never to meet, but would communicate only by letter or messenger. Another of Tchaikovsky's students, and later possibly his lover, was Iosif Kotek. On Tchaikovsky's recommendation, von Meck had engaged Kotek as her house musician. She had a succession of musicians in her coterie, none of whom lasted long, and before long Kotek too was dismissed. Pachulski succeeded Kotek, and he proved to be the only musician who ever gained a permanent place in her affections. The difference was that he was not recommended by Tchaikovsky, whose opinion of his musical talents was always very low. Pachulski in fact made his own introductions to von Meck. On 4 January 1878, she wrote to Tchaikovsky saying that one of his former pupils (unnamed) was writing to her constantly, saying that life at the Conservatory was not the same since Tchaikovsky had left. Just why she regarded Pachulski so favourably in the first place is not clear. His father Albert Pachulski managed one of von Meck’s estates, although it is not known whether he was already there at that time or came later. Maybe it was because Władysław showed the same love of Tchaikovsky’s music as she herself felt. Whatever her reasons, she offered him employment, and immediately began asking Tchaikovsky to provide him with lessons and advice. This he agreed to, because he felt an obligation to show his gratitude for her generosity towards him; he also felt it appropriate to make his assessments of Pachulski's skills as favourable as he could, without sacrificing his artistic integrity. However, he soon found it burdensome and tiresome.

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