Taichovsky biography

A thrilling new biography of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky—composer of some of the world’s most popular orchestral and theatrical music

“A lively, argumentative and thoughtful reflection on one of the 19th century’s most important musical figures.”—Michael O’Donnell, Wall Street Journal

Tchaikovsky is famous for all the wrong reasons. Portrayed as a hopeless romantic, a suffering melancholic, or a morbid obsessive, the Tchaikovsky we think we know is a shadow of the fascinating reality. It is all too easy to forget that he composed an empire’s worth of music, and navigated the imperial Russian court to great advantage.

In this iconoclastic biography, celebrated author Simon Morrison re-creates Tchaikovsky’s complex world. His life and art were framed by Russian national ambition, and his work was the emanation of an imperial subject: kaleidoscopic, capacious, cosmopolitan, decentred.

Morrison reexamines the relationship between Tchaikovsky’s music, personal life, and politic

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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Who Was Tchaikovsky?

Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's work was first publicly performed in In , his First Symphony was well-received. In , he established han själv with Piano Concerto No.1 in B-flat Minor. Tchaikovsky resigned from the Moscow Conservatory in and spent the rest of his career composing yet more prolifically. Tchaikovsky is most celebrated for his ballets, specifically Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. He died in St. Petersburg on November 6,

Early Life

Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, , in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Vyatka, Russia. He was the second eldest of his parents' six surviving offspring. Tchaikovsky's father, Ilya, worked as a mine inspector and metal works manager.

When he was just five years old, Tchaikovsky began taking piano lessons. Although he displayed an early passion for music, his parents hoped that he would grow up to work in the civil service. At the age of 10, Tc

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Biography

Born on May 7, , in Votkinsk in the Vyatka district of Russia, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was the son of a successful engineer. Pyotr and his brothers and sister received a sound education from their French governess. His parents sometimes took him to concerts, and after one such evening he complained that he could not fall asleep because of the music stuck in his head. He was devoted to his mother, and at age four he and his sister composed a song for her. Her death when he was fourteen was a huge blow to him.

Tchaikovsky attended law school in St. Petersburg, Russia, and, while studying law and government, he took music lessons, including some composing, from Gabriel Lomakin. Tchaikovsky graduated at the age of nineteen and took a job as a bureau clerk. He worked hard, but he hated the job; by this time he was totally absorbed by music. He soon met the Rubinstein brothers, Anton (–) and Nikolai (–), both of whom were composers. Anton was a pian