Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky(1840-1893)
Made By Samhitha Bellamkonda
Tchaikovsky's early life
Unlike Beethoven, Tchaikovsky had a great childhood. Pyotr Tchaikovsky was born on May 7th 1840 to Alexandra and Petrovich Tchaikovsky. He had a very large family that consisted of Zinaida, his half-sister, an older brother, Nikolay, a younger sister, Alexandra, and finally twin brothers Modest an Anatol. But he adored his mother over anything and anyone else. Sadly his mother did very little to earn that love and respect from him, she was a distant, and rather cold mother. Pyotr's nanny Fanny along with his mother both preferred that he read books rather than to listen to music. They considered it unhealthy for such a young child to have such a great obsession wit music. Sadly for the ladies though, all their efforts were to no avail, nothing could cause young Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky's love of music to cease.
Tchaikovsky's house in Votkinsk Russia
To Tchaikovsky, it wasn't exactly his old house that meant so much to him, but the country in which his house was located, Russia. Both as a child and an adult Tchaikovsky loved and adored Russia. One example that shows his love for Russia was when he was only a child, he had an open atlas in front of him and Fanny saw him kissing Russia and spitting on all the other countries around it. Once he was older he wrote the 1812 Overture to celebrate Russia's defeat of Napoleon. Which once again shows that he always held Russia higher than any other place on earth.
Lang Lang plays Tchaikovsky : Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Opus 23 [HD]
Tchaikovsky's piano concerto No.1
Unlike most composers, Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto was his most famous one. Since Tchaikovsky wasn't a virtuoso pianist, he asked his close friend Nikolay Rubinstein who was, to play his piece. At that time Tchaikovsky wanted to dedicate this piece to him, but that was a short lived idea. Rubinstein's response to the concerto was nothing like what Tchaikovsky expected it'd be. Nikolay commented that the music was very uneven, that he immensely disliked it , and that it was incredibly difficult to play. Infuriated by Rubinstein's response, Tchaikovsky no longer wished to dedicate this piece to him, he dedicated it to a German virtuoso pianist instead. Nowadays most people can agree that it truly was a masterpiece to be respected.
Other masterpieces by Tchaikosky
- Swan Lake
- Romeo and Juliet
- Nutcracker Suite
- The Fourth Symphony
- 1812 Overture
Tchaikovsky's legacy
Tchaikovsky didn't only leave a great legacy behind but also changed how we spend Christmas forever. Nowadays, millions people watch the nutcracker, the ballet. While thousands of others audition to get a par on the ballet. Some ballerinas spend spend up to four years practicing to get on the big nutcracker ballet productions. But that's only part of his grand legacy. Tchaikovsky also teaches us a lesson, especially for a an who has suffered so many tragedies. You have to look at everything in a positive way, live in the moment. Tchaikovsky might have gone mad if he didn't let himself be consumed by music. Overall Tchaikovsky is an out of this world composer who has changed many peoples lives. He achieved great achievements and suffered even greater tragedies. But no matter what nothing got in between him and the world of music.“To regret the past, to hope in the future, and never to be satisfied with the present: that is what I spend my whole life doing”- a quote by Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky.
Citations
- For the video
- Osomatsu, Mr. "Lang Lang plays Tchaikovsky : Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat
minor, Opus 23 [HD]." Youtube. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W1_shm7vdE>.
- "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), Russian composer. Portrait of Tchaikovsky
standing by a piano looking at a score on the music stand. Music Romantic
Musician." Britannica Image Quest. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
<http://quest.eb.com/search/tchaikovsky-portrait/1/300_2280323/
Peter-Ilich-Tchaikovsky-1840-1893-Russian-composer.>.
-For the image for the map
- "Pyotr Il'ych Tchaikovsky's house at Votkinsk where he was born." Britannica
Image Quest. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://quest.eb.com/search/
Votkinsk-Russia/1/113_909781/
Pyotr-Ilych-Tchaikovskys-house-at-Votkinsk-where-he-was>.
-For the quote in the legacy paragaph
- "Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky > Quotes." goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/
1672211.Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky>.