Peter Tchaikovsky
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Peter Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. While not part of the nationalistic music group known as "The Five", Tchaikovsky wrote music which was distinctly Russian: plangent, introspective, with modally-inflected melody and harmony.Tchaikovsky considered himself a professional composer. He felt his professionalism in combining skill and high standards in his musical works separated him from his colleagues in "The Five." He shared several of their ideals, including an emphasis on national character in music. His aim, however, was linking those ideals with a professional standard high enough to satisfy European criteria. His professionalism also fueled his desire to reach a broad public, not just nationally but also internationally, which he would eventually do.
Peter Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, a small town in present-day Udmurtia (at the time the Vyatka Guberniya of Imperial Russia). His father, Ilya Petrovitch, was the son of a government mining engineer. His mother, Alexandra, was a Russian woman of partial French ancestry and the second of Ilya's three wives. Peter began piano lessons at age five with a local woman. Musically precocious, he could read music as well as his teacher within three years. He was sent to a preparatory school in order to become a civil servant. While music was not considered a high priority at the Institite, Tchaikovsky was taken to the theater and the opera with classmates regularly. He was fond of works by Rossini, Bellini, Verdi and Mozart. A piano manufacturer, Franz Becker, made occasional visits as a token music teacher and gave lessons. This was the only music instruction Tchaikovsky received at school. In 1855, Ilya Tchaikovsky funded private studies outside the Institute for his son with Rudolph Kündinger, a well-known piano teacher from Nuremberg. Ilya also questioned Kündinger about a musical career for his son. He replied that nothing suggested a potential composer or even a fine performer. Tchaikovsky was told to finish his course work, then try for a post in the Ministry of Justice In 1854 his mother died of cholera. He reacted to the death of his mother by turning to music and within a month of her death, began composing a waltz in her memory. As his career advanced, Tchaikovsky increasingly became the embodiment of the artistic values cherished by the aristocracy. For Tchaikovsky, there was no conflict between the artist and his public. Highly sensitive to external circumstances and expectations, he searched constantly for new ways of reaching the public. He saw no harm in playing on the tastes of particular audiences. The patriotic themes and stylization of 18th-century melodies in his works lined up with the values of the Russian aristocracy; and using the polonaise, the musical symbol of Russian patriotism, as a finale was one of Tchaikovsky's recipes for success. Tchaikovsky may have best summed his perception of music himself to von Meck: "It alone clarifies, reconciles, and consoles. But it is not a straw just barely clutched at. It is a faithful friend, protector, and comforter, and for its sake alone, life in this world is worth living." Tchaikovsky died on November 6, 1893, nine days after the premiere of his Sixth Symphony, the Pathétique. His death has traditionally been attributed to cholera, most probably contracted through drinking contaminated water several days earlier. During his career, he created a large body of work, seven symphonies, six operas, three ballets, and chamber music.
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