PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia. He started taking piano in 1845, but since Russian schools didn’t have music programs at that time his parents never thought that he’d pursue a career in music.

Instead they prepared him for a career in civil service which he studied at the Imperial School of Jerusprudence for nine years.

When Tchaikovsky was 17 his father finally realized his affinity for music and let him take lessons from professional pianist. When the St. Petersburg Conservatory opened in the fall of 1862, Tchaikovsky was one of the very first students.

Starting his formal music education at age 22, he could be considered a late bloomer compared to his German contemporaries.

The first public performance of his compositions took place in August, 1865 when Johann Strauss Jr. conducted Tchaikovsky’s characteristic dances.

Tchaikovsky graduated from the conservatory in December 1865. He then went to Moscow to teach at the newly established Moscow conservatory.

He was not a fan of teaching. In the first decade after graduation he composed his first three symphonies.

His operas: the Voyevoda, The Oprichinik, and Vakula the Smith In these years he also composed his ever so famous Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, his String Quartet No. 1 and his Piano Concerto No. 1 in b-flat minor.

By 1876 Tchaikovsky’s music was gaining popularity both inside and outside of Russia. Tchaikovsky caught the interest of Nadezhda von Meck, a wealthy widow of a railroad tycoon who became Tchaikovsky’s patroness and provided him with a monthly allowance.

This allowed him to give up teaching and dedicate his life to composing. The relationship lasted 14 years until she claimed that she was close to ruin and and abruptly cut off his pay.

As Tchaikovsky gained fame his personal life was exposed to the public. He had been aware of his feeling for men since he was at the Imperial School of Jurisprudence where he developed very strong emotional bonds with some of his classmates.

Homosexuality was technically illegal in a Russia at that time but it was typically ignored among the upper classes. However Tchaikovsky was succumbed to social and familial pressures and entered into marriage with a young music student Antonina Milyukova, in 1877.

At once, Tchaikovsky realized his mistake. In a letter to his brother Anatoly, he wrote “only after the tale of my marriage have I finally begun to understand that there is nothing less fruitless than not wanting to be that which I am by nature.

Tchaikovsky was the first widely recognized Russian composer. However he faced criticism from the group known as the Mighty Handful or the Russian Five.

Tchaikovsky died of cholera which came from contaminated drinking water.

THE WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS

1812 OVERTURE

SWAN LAKE WALTZ

• It had a Wagnerian touch
• Water nymphs were on trend in the 1800s
• The swan theme is a full-fledged leitmotif with variations
• Odile was not a black swan in the first place
• https://youtu.be/CShopT9QUzw

SITES

• YouTube.com
• Blog.sheetmusicplus.com
• Cmuse.org
• Classicfm.com