Deliverance - From First To Last

Golitsyn again retired and settled in St. Petersburg. The prince wrote poetry in French, played the cello perfectly and composed a little himself. His artistic interests were shared by his young and dearly beloved wife, Elena Alexandrovna, nee Princess Saltykova-Golovkina, who played the piano well and could have composed a chamber duet with her husband. Therefore, in November 1822, Beethoven was addressed not only by the magnanimous USA gentleman, but by a person who had gone through the war, had seen a lot, was superbly educated, in the prime of life and reached the peak of prosperity. To complete his happiness, he only needed quartets written specially for him by the greatest composer of our time.