Scotland: July-September

August marked the end of the musical season in London, and Queen Victoria, with her royal consort, Prince Albert, left for Scotland. High society and numerous artists followed the court, in the hope of financial gain. They included Chopin and Tellefsen. Jane Stirling put them up with her various aristocratic relatives and friends in Scotland. On 26 November 1848, after his return to France, Tellefsen wrote to his parents: “I spent three months in London and two months in Scotland. I didn’t perform any concerts, as I will be giving those next year; however, I did play at musical soirées given by the foremost families in London, such as Count Sutherland, Lady Shelburn, Lord Landsdown, etc. And success followed me everywhere; I managed to earn some money in Scotland”.

Tellefsen and Chopin may have travelled together for some part of their journey to Edinburgh, but Tellefsen came to Calder House, the residence of Lord Torphichen, eight days before Chopin. “Chopin will be coming here also in eight days and, as you may imagine, I will spend several really beautiful days, just according to my liking”. The owner of Calder House, James Sandilands, the 10^th baron Torphichen, was a brother-in-law to Jane Stirling, the husband of her sister, Margaret Douglas Stirling, who died in 1836. She left him with four of their children: Robert, John, James and Mary. Tellefsen probably gave piano lessons to his host’s children during his stay at Calder House.

On their Scottish journey, Calder House was the longest stop for Tellefsen and Chopin. Chopin stayed there more or less between 7 and 20 August, while Tellefsen for almost a month, from around 1 August, which he described as follows: “After a really good stay in London and after numerous successes, I came here to stay for a month with Lord Torphichen, a brother-in-law of Miss Stirling”.

It is quite possible that Tellefsen joined Chopin and Jane Stirling on their further tour of her other family members for several weeks after 1 September. Though it is not confirmed by any written documents, that journey coincides with Tellefsen’s stay in Scotland, before he returned to France at the end of September 1848. He had already set the dates for his next visit to the British Isles, with employment for two months, starting in February 1848. He spent the rest of the year in Honfleur. Apart from a few weeks in December in Paris, still ravaged by post-revolutionary chaos and poverty, he did not leave Honfleur until February 1848.