Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky 1840-1893
By: Zoe Cardno
Tchaikovsky's Early,Adult, and Personal Life
Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia. Tchaikovsky's dad Ilya Petrovich was a magistrate and had a lot of serfs and he had his own personal army with 100 Cossacks. His mother Alexandra was a second wife to Piotr's dad. Also, Alexandra was really young when she married Ilya Petrovich(20 years old). The music in Piotr's life was brought into his family by Alexandra(she was responsible for it). She hosted soirees(musical) in the home. Overall, Piotr loved his mother;Alexandra. But his mother was self-absorbed and just wanted to return to Saint Petersburg. When Piotr went to a private school his mother stayed with him to help him settle him to the life in a different school then his mother left and he didn't want her to go so he got dragged by the end of the carriage. Later that year, his mother died of cholera. Tchaikovsky was friends with Madame Nadezhda von Meck who he wrote songs for, and she paid him for his financial support. Then one day she doesn't want to be friends with him anymore so she pretends she went bankrupt. Tchaikovsky also had a crush on a opera singer name Desiree Artot who later on married a Spanish baritone.
St.Petersburg
St.Petersburg is where Piotr Tchaikovsky went for his Preparatory School at age 10 years. At this school his mother stayed with him for awhile until he was well settled. Once it was time for his mother to go home he was really traumatic and when his mother was in the carriage,leaving, he grabbed the back and was dragged until he lost his grip and fell in the mud. Also in St.Petersburg Tchaikovsky and his brother Nikolay were registered in Schmelling School. Which was to Piotr's displeasure. The school was really hard on the brothers. In 1848 in February both brother's got measles. Nikolay was fastly recovered but Piotr was slower.Doctor's said it may have been a disease of the spinal cord. It was complete rest for him. After the measles he started have nervous disorders that were with him for the rest of his life. There was a lacking of self-confidence and distrust of people in Tchaikovsky. That is the misery of St.Petersburg.
P. I. Tchaikovsky - Ballet "Swan Lake" (excerpts), Op. 20 (Fedoseyev)
About Swan Lake
The premiere of Swan lake came out in 1877, and the start was not good. The score the dancers said was undanceable, the quality was poor. the ballet was not restored until Tchaikovsky died. Tchaikovsky though didn't get too see a acceptable piece of Swan lake before he died. The ballet ends with the passing of Odette and Siegfried. It is of german and Russian folk tales. The music is hauntingly beautiful!!!!!
Other Pieces of Music
Other pieces of music by Tchaikovsky other then swan lake is:
-Piano Concerto No.1
-Romeo and Juliet
-The Fourth Symphony
-Nutcracker Suite
-Variations on a Rococo theme for Cello and Orchestra and
-1812 Overture
Other Facts
Some other facts is Tchaikovsky had fallen in love with a opera singer named Desiree Artot who he made a song for her called Romance in F. But a Spanish Baritone beat him to something more then love and she got up and married him. Also, Tchaikovsky had a lady friend who lied about being bankrupt and rejected him as a friend.
Citations
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Russian composer.. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 16 Dec 2015.
http://quest.eb.com/search/300_2279844/1/300_2279844/cite
http://quest.eb.com/search/300_2279844/1/300_2279844/cite
TCHAIKOVSKY - House at Votkinsk where he was born.. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 16 Dec 2015.
http://quest.eb.com/search/113_916439/1/113_916439/cite
Map of St Petersburg, 1834. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 16 Dec 2015.
http://quest.eb.com/search/143_2071210/1/143_2071210/cite
"P. I. Tchaikovsky - Ballet "Swan Lake" (excerpts), Op. 20 (Fedoseyev)."YouTube. YouTube, 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 Dec. 2015.