Web Page by: Beth Wilson
Created April of 2014
- Childhood by Beth Wilson, licensed under CC BY
Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer born in 1840. During his childhood, his governess, Fanny Durbach, noted his sensitivity to words and his ability to read in Russian, French, and German by the time he was six years old; his governess also recalled that from the age of seven Tchaikovsky could not sleep until he had rid his mind of music and would often spend hours at the piano improvising (Wiley).
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky by Bain News Service, used under CC0
Tchaikovsky started seriously studying music during the autumn of 1861 with a music theory class. He then entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1862 where he studied theory, composition, piano, flute, and organ (Wiley). It is here where he credits learning that 1) music was his sacred calling and 2) discipline in composition is essential (Wiley).
After completing his studies at St. Petersburg, Tchaikovsky moved to Moscow in 1866 where he was a professor at the Conservatoire, another music school. He was homesick and depressed in Moscow, and it was only through the director of the school, Nikolay Rubinstein, that he was able to adapt to his new position. After about a month as a professor, he wrote to his brother, “My classes are successful, to my great astonishment: my nervousness is vanishing completely and I am gradually assuming the airs of a professor. My homesickness is wearing off” (Strutte 1979). While in Moscow, Tchaikovsky had the orchestra of the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society at his disposal while he composed. It was in this time period that he wrote his most famous pieces (to be discussed later).
- Midlife by Beth Wilson, licensed under CC BY
Tchaikovsky died around November 6th 1893, five days after the only performance of his last symphony, which was called the Sixth Symphony. His cause of death has never been established. His brother stated that Tchaikovsky had drunk unboiled water, contracted cholera, and died. However, there is some speculation that he committed suicide because his sexual advances towards a man of high birth was about to become public knowledge (Wiley).
Tchaikovsky is revolutionary because he wrote some of the most famous ballets including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Eugene Onegin, and Pique Dame. He also wrote the famous 4th of July piece, “1812 Overture.” His successful ballets made him one of the first Russian conductor and composer to have success in Europe and the United States. It was even more notable that he was able to gain this level of success because of his uniquely Russian style. Tchaikovsky did not use the fundamental Western European style of melody and harmony, choosing instead to embrace his country’s folk songs which he loved so dearly (Wiley 2009). Please click on the picture to learn more about his famous pieces (the picture will take you to a prezi)!
- Tchaikovsky by Beth Wilson, licensed under CC BY
- Click here to listen to Swan Lake
- Click here to listen to Sleeping Beauty
- Click here to listen to “1812 Overture”