Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

composed a set of six romances for voice and piano, Op. 6, in late 1869; the last of these songs is the melancholy "None but the Lonely Heart" (russian: Нет, только тот, кто знал, translit=Net, tol'ko tot, kto znal, link=no), a setting of

Lev Mei Lev Aleksandrovich Mei (russian: Лев Алекса́ндрович Мей (name sometimes transliterated as Lev Mey); ) was a Russian dramatist and poet. Biography Mei was born on 13/25 February 1822, in Moscow. His father was a German officer wh ...

's poem "The Harpist's Song" which in turn was a translation of "

Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt "" ("Only he who knows yearning") is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The poem appears in the 11th chapter of Book Four of Goethe's novel ''Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship''. In the novel, it is sung as a duet by Mignon and the harpist (Augus ...

" from

Goethe's Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German people, German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, politician, statesman, theatre director, and critic. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe bibliography, His works include pla ...

Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship ''Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship'' ( ger, Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre) is the second novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1795–96. Plot The eponymous hero undergoes a journey of self-realization. The story centers upon Wilhelm's ...

''. Tchaikovsky dedicated this piece to Alina Khvostova. The song was premiered by Russian

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya Yelizaveta Andreyevna Lavrovskaya (russian: Елизавета Андреевна Лавровская, link=no; – February 4, 1919) was a Russian mezzo-soprano praised for her dramatic performances of operatic arias and her sensitive int ...

in Moscow in 1870, following it with its Saint Petersburg premiere the following year during an all-Tchaikovsky concert hosted by

Nikolai Rubinstein Nikolai Grigoryevich Rubinstein (russian: Николай Григорьевич Рубинштейн; – ) was a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer. He was the younger brother of Anton Rubinstein and a close friend of Pyotr Ilyich Tc ...

; the latter was the first concert devoted entirely to Tchaikovsky's works.

Text

Mei's Russian translation (transliteration) Net, tol'ko tot, kto znal svidan'ja, zhazhdu, pojmjot, kak ja stradal i kak ja strazhdu. Gljazhu ja vdal'... net sil, tusknejet oko... Akh, kto menja ljubil i znal — daleko! Akh, tol'ko tot, kto znal svidan'ja zhazhdu, pojmjot, kak ja stradal i kak ja strazhdu. Vsja grud' gorit... Goethe's original Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt weiß, was ich leide! Allein und abgetrennt von aller Freude, seh ich ans Firmament nach jener Seite. Ach! der mich liebt und kennt, ist in der Weite. Es schwindelt mir, es brennt mein Eingeweide. Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt Weiß, was ich leide! An English translation None but the lonely heart knows what I suffer! Alone and parted from all joy, I see the firmament in that direction. Alas, who loves and knows me is far away. I'm dizzy, it burns my entrails. None but the lonely heart knows what I suffer.

Notable recordings

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...

(in English) *

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, four recordings: as a

V-Disc V-Disc ( "V" for Victory) was a record label that was formed in 1943 to provide records for U.S. military personnel. Captain Robert Vincent supervised the label from the Special Services division. Many popular singers, big bands, and orches ...

in 1946, again in 1946 and 1947 (all for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, arranged by

Axel Stordahl Axel Stordahl (August 8, 1913 – August 30, 1963) was an American arranger who was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his work with Frank Sinatra in the 1940s at Columbia Records. With his sophisticat ...

), and finally in 1959 for the

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

album '' No One Cares'', arranged by

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Loui ...

(in English) *

Leonard Warren Leonard Warren (April 21, 1911 – March 4, 1960) was an American opera singer. A baritone, he was a leading artist for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Especially noted for his portrayals of the leading baritone roles in ...

(in English) *

Lawrence Tibbett Lawrence Mervil Tibbett (November 16, 1896 – July 15, 1960) was an American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone, he sang leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera in New York ...

(in English) *

Rosa Ponselle Rosa Melba Ponzillo, known as Rosa Ponselle (January 22, 1897 – May 25, 1981) was an American operatic soprano. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the 20t ...

(with German text) * Elisabeth Schwartzkopf (with German text) *

Fritz Wunderlich Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966) was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident aged 35. Biography Wunderlich was born in Kusel in ...

(with German text) *

Boris Christoff Boris Christoff ( bg, Борис Кирилов Христов, Boris Kirilov Hristov, ; 18 May 1914 – 28 June 1993) was a Bulgarian opera singer, widely considered one of the greatest basses of the 20th century. Early life He was born i ...

(with Russian text) *

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

and

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...

(with Russian text) *

Dmitri Hvorostovsky Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Хворосто́вский, ; 16 October 1962 – 22 November 2017) was a Russian operatic baritone. Early life and education Hvorostovsky was born i ...

(with Russian text) *

Pavel Lisitsian Pavel Gerasimovich Lisitsian (, hy, Պավել (Պողոս) Գերասիմի Լիսիցյան) (November 6, 1911 – July 6, 2004), was a Soviet baritone opera singer who performed in the Bolshoi Opera, Moscow from 1940 until his retirement fr ...

https://www.amazon.com/Net-Tolko-Znal-Only-Knew/dp/B0032127KK (with Russian text)

References

Sources * * *

External links

"Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt" / "Песнь Миньоны: Нет, толко тот, кто знал"

The LiederNet Archive The LiederNet Archive (formerly The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Archive) is a donation-supported web archive of art song and choral texts founded in 1995 by Emily Ezust, an American/Canadian computer programmer and amateur violinist. The websi ...

{{Authority control Compositions by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1869 songs Music with dedications Songs about loneliness Works based on Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship Musical settings of poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe