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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | |||||||||||
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Music to accompany this page:
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For the next eleven years, Tchaikovsky taught music theory at the newly established Moscow Conservatory. Pyotr entered a period of his life that would be repeated often, filled with nervous depression and self-disgust. Outwardly, he presented the image of an ordinary middle-class gentleman. Within himself he was extremely unhappy. He was terrified of solitude, yet people upset him greatly. While conducting he would hold his left hand against his head, due to a fear that his head would fly off. He battled notions of self-doubt, and would often destroyed compositions he found to be of inferior quality. During this same time he would compose one of his most popular pieces, the ballet Swan Lake, in 1876. He remained busy with compositions of four operas, In 1876, he develop a friendship with Madam Nedejda von Meck, a wealthy widow. Although they never met, they corresponded on a regular basis. Through their letters, Pyotr was able to share his beliefs, opinions, despairs, and aspirations, without fear of attack. She provided Tchaikovsky with an annual allowance of 600 pounds, as a show of enthusiasm for his music. When she had to terminate the payments in 1890, Pyotr took it as a sign of insult, and although he was financially stable, he never forgave her for it. In an effort to calm conflicts within himself regarding his homosexuality, he married Antonina Miliukova, a student at the Moscow Conservatory in 1877. Within three weeks he wrote her a letter stating that continue their Tchaikovsky's appeal as a conductor and composer spread worldwide after a series of international tours, which included the United States in 1891, where he performed in the opening ceremonies of Carnegie Hall. He continued to compose, receiving fame for pieces including the Nutcracker Suite ballet in On November 6, 1893, Tchaikovsky succumbed to cholera, in St. Petersburg, a few days after conducting the premier of his Sixth Symphony. It was reported that the cholera stemmed from a glass of unfiltered water that he had drank. There are scholars today that believe his death was a suicide, resulting from a threat to reveal his relationship with a young Russian nobleman. | ||||||||||||
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Selected Compositions by Tchaikovsky:
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school in Saint Petersburg, in 1848. After two years, he reluctantly entered the School of Jurisprudence, where he furthered his studies in not only piano, but also harmony. He graduated in 1859, and was assigned to a clerical position in the Ministry of Justice, yet his passion for music kept pulling him back, and in 1861 he leapt at the opportunity to take classes sponsored by the Russian Music Society. The Saint Petersburg Conservatory was just beginning, and a year after later, Tchaikovsky left his job to enter the institution, against the wishes of his family. He threw himself completely into his studies, and once, when asked to bring in a variation on a piece of music, he stayed up the entire night, returning in the morning with over 200 variations. He received a silver medal for his graduation cantata in 1865, on Johan Schiller's An die Freude.
three symphonies, his Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor, and many smaller works. He dedicated the Piano Concerto to Nicholas Rubinstein, who had helped in secure his position at the Conservatory. Pyotr was devastated when Rubinstein declared that the piece was unplayable. Tchaikovsky went to work, making extensive changes to the symphony, and rededicated it to Hans Guido von Bulow, a German pianist. Von Bulow graciously recognized the honor, and performed it during his first concert tour of the United States. Later, Rubinstein acknowledge the merit of the revised composition and made it a part of his own repertoire.
relationship for a day longer would drive him insane. He left her for the summer, returning in September to give the marriage a second try. Again, he stayed for less than a month before separating permanently, yet they never divorced. He left Moscow, and arrived in St. Petersburg, in a state of nervous collapse. He slipped into unconsciousness for two days, before turning into soaring temperatures. He left St. Petersburg, on doctor's orders, living in various locations throughout Russia and western Europe. The annuity from Von Meck allowed him to quit teaching and concentrate on composing. His reputation grew steadily with the 1812 Overture in 1880 and the Vesper Service in 1881. Finally, in 1888, Tsar Alexander III granted him a yearly pension.
1892, the Fifth Symphony in 1888 and the opera The Queen of Spades in 1890. His style became a source of inspiration for younger composers, who often imitated him.
