Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Composer

1840-1893

Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840 at Votkinsk, in the government of Vyatka, Russia. At the age of five, he began to study piano, soon revealing his amazing gifts. It wasn't until he was 21, however, that he began to study music seriously. In 1863, Tchaikovsky entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory and undertook private training. He frequently attended the opera and fell in love with the music of Mozart.

In 1866, Tchaikovsky moved permanently to Moscow where he accepted a teaching position in a new conservatory. It was there that his First Symphony was created, receiving a warm reception by Moscow audiences in 1868. Other works followed with less success, including Tchaikovsky's first opera, The Voyevoda, in 1869, later re-worked into The Oprichnik in 1874. By then Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony had begun winning acclaim, as had his First Piano Concerto. Following these compositions were his Third Symphony and Swan Lake, the tone poem Francesca da Rimini in 1875, and the Rococo Variations for cello and orchestra in 1876.

At the end of 1876, Tchaikovsky was contacted by a wealthy admirer, Nadejda Fillaretovna von Meck, who gave him several commissions and became his sponsor for the next 12 years. In the late 1870s, he wrote some of his greatest works—the opera Eugene Onegin, the Violin Concerto, and the Fourth Symphony. He wrote Manfred in 1885; the Fifth Symphony in 1888; another successful opera, Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades) in 1890; and the Casse-Noisette ballet in 1891.

These successes made Tchaikovsky famous throughout the world. He temporarily surrendered his shyness to conduct, and, in 1888, made an international conducting tour. In 1891, he came to New York and conducted his own works at the ceremonies of the opening of Carnegie Hall.

By 1890, the inevitable break with his sponsor, Madame von Meck, had occurred and, while Peter gained his financial independence, he felt his loss on a more personal than professional level. Madame von Meck, in addition to an income of 6,000 roubles, had provided Tchaikovsky an outlet to air his opinions, beliefs, hopes, and dreams. There has been no particular reason recorded as to why the break between them occurred.

In 1893, Tchaikovsky completed the Pathetique Symphony No.6 and conducted it at St. Petersburg to a rather apathetic response. Unfortunately, Peter would not live to see its ultimate success.