Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer, conductor, and teacher.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on May 7, 1840 (April 25 according to the Julian calendar) in the village of Votkinsk in the Vyatka Governorate.
At the age of 14, he lost his mother, who died of cholera. After that, he was responsible for raising his younger brothers.
He received his education at the School of Law in St. Petersburg, from which he graduated in 1859.
At the same time, he studied music in the classes of the Russian Musical Society. In 1862, these classes became the foundation of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where Tchaikovsky studied composition under Anton Rubinstein. He completed his studies at the conservatory in 1865.
Career
1963 – 1980
After graduating from the academy, he worked at the Ministry of Justice until 1863.
In 1866, Tchaikovsky moved to Moscow after the virtuoso pianist Nikolai Rubinstein invited him to teach at the newly established Moscow Conservatory. There, the composer taught courses in composition, harmony, music theory, and orchestration.
During this period, he became actively involved in the city’s cultural life—he met the writer Leo Tolstoy and the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky, who later wrote the libretto for the opera *The Voivode*.
In 1868, Tchaikovsky met with the composers of the “Mighty Handful,” after which he became interested in program music. Among his works from that period are Symphony No. 1 and the overture-fantasy “Romeo and Juliet, ” written in 1869.
Throughout the 1870s, the composer worked in various genres. During this period, he composed the operas *Oprichnik* and *Vakula the Blacksmith*, the music for Ostrovsky’s play *The Snow Maiden*, the ballet *Swan Lake*, Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3, the fantasy *Francesca da Rimini*, the First Piano Concerto, and *Variations on a Rococo Theme*.
In 1876, Tchaikovsky visited Paris with his brother Modest. There, he saw Georges Bizet’s opera *Carmen*, which made a strong impression on him. On their way back, the brothers attended the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, where he met the composers Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner.
After that, he began working on the opera *Eugene Onegin*.
In October 1877, Tchaikovsky left his position at the Moscow Conservatory. Together with his brother Anatoly, he traveled to Switzerland. This trip was financed by the patroness Nadezhda von Meck, who provided the composer with an annual stipend of 6,000 rubles. The only condition was that they would never meet in person. They communicated exclusively through letters. Over the course of about 13 years, they wrote approximately 1,100 letters to each other.
In 1878, Tchaikovsky completed the opera *Eugene Onegin* and Symphony No. 4.
1880 – 1893
Over the next few years, Tchaikovsky traveled extensively—both within the Russian Empire and abroad. He usually traveled by train, and in 1886 he took a sea voyage by steamship from Batumi to Marseille.
In the mid-1880s, the composer returned to the music scene.
In 1885, he was elected director of the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society. In particular, Tchaikovsky began conducting.
From 1887 to early 1888, he undertook his first European tour. During his travels, he established creative connections with many renowned musicians, including Hans von Bülow, Edvard Grieg, Antonín Dvořák, Gustav Mahler, Arthur Nikisch, and Camille Saint-Saëns.
In the spring of 1891, Tchaikovsky visited the United States. There, he conducted his own works in New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.
Marital Status
In July 1877, Tchaikovsky married Antonina Milyukova, a former student at the conservatory. Before their marriage, she had written the composer numerous letters and even threatened to commit suicide if he refused to meet her.
Death/Fatalities
He spent the last years of his life in the town of Klin, near Moscow.
On October 16, 1893, the composer conducted the premiere of his new symphony in St. Petersburg. Nine days later, on November 6(October 25 according to the Julian calendar) 1893, he died suddenly.
