Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)

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To My Best Friend : Correspondence Between Tchaikovsky and Nadezhda Von Meck 1876-1878 by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, Nadezhda Von Meck, Nigel Gotteri (Editor)  

Tchaikovsky dedicated his original and emotionally vibrant Fourth Symphony to his newly found correspondent Nadezhda von Meck. This correspondence started at the end of 1876, when Tchaikovsky was in need of funds. On the recommendation of Nikoli Rubinstein, Director of the Moscow Conservatoire where Tchaikovsky was a professor, Nadezhda before the other, Nadezhda von Meck sincerely and increasingly gushingly, Tchaikovsky less sincerely to begin with, but much more so before the elapse of many months. Each was determined never to meet the other in the flesh for fear of destroying their very special relationship. The years covered by the present book are by far the most important in the correspondence. They cover the period of Tchaikovsky's tempestuously abortive marriage, about which he is surprisingly candid; in addition to the Fourth Symphony, the compositions of the period include his finest and most sensitive opera, Eugene Onegin, and the ever popular Violin Concerto, as well as numerous other smaller works. Their views on many musical, literary, philosophical, and other matters are stated frankly and, though they are often in accord, they are not afraid to agree to differ either. Not only giving a unique insight into Tchaikovsky the composer, these letters are perhaps as fascinating as any ever printed. Many are published in English for the first time. The translations, by a native-born Russian who lived the latter part of her life in England, and edited by a music scholar who reads Russian and a Slavist who is qualified in music, are as close to the letter and spirit of the original as it is possible to get. The correspondence will be of interest both to musicians and music lovers, and to all who are interested in the arts and culture of the nineteenth century.

Tchaikovsky's Last Days : A Documentary Study by Alexander Poznansky

What or who killed the famous Russian composer Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky? Was it cholera, as his doctors recorded at his death in 1893 and most historians have since believed? Or was it self-administered poison, the enforced exit from a scandalous homosexual affair with a member of the Russian royal family? Versions of this latter account, which began as a swirl of rumors immediately after the composer's death, have had a long and curious afterlife, through the Czarist and Soviet periods into the heated sexual-political debates of our own time.

In an attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery, Alexander Poznansky's Tchaikovsky's Last Days shifts carefully through a wealth of documentary evidence, including Russian archival material formerly inaccessible to scholars. His conclusion comes by way of a fascinating look at the sexual life of 19th-century Russia and a reflected glance at the sexual mythmaking impulses of the present.

Commentary on Tchaikovsky

Excerpt:

"UNBRIDLED EMOTION" would perhaps best describe the music of Tchaikovsky. His deep-sensitivity saturated his music producing lush melodies that have enamored listeners for over a century.

Yet, Tchaikovsky's personal life was in turmoil from the very beginning. As a youth Tchaikovsky faced the hardship of losing his mother at age 14 and was forced to deal with the cold atmosphere of a military boarding school. As such, he shied away from the harsh and brutal world and found solice in music. It was upon hearing Mozart's Don Giovanni that Tchaikovsky decided to dedicate his life to music.

Previously he held a civil service position which he abandoned to enter the St. Petersburg Conservatory to study under Anton Rubinstein. Fortunately Tchaikovsky had a father who although not pleased with his decision for a musical career didn't interfere with his son's wishes. As a student he wrote The Storm 1864 and later in 1868, under the direction of Mily Balakirev, he composed Fatum..  This work pleased Tchaikovsky but not Balakirev- the leader of the "Mighty Five." He bluntly criticized the work for its lack of continuity and natural flow and pointed to Liszt's Les Préudes as a successful model. Tchaikovsky respecting his judgment discarded the work. The famous Romeo & Juliet  would follow within a years time, again under the nurturing counsel of Balakirev.

On a deeper and more personal level Tchaikovsky's neuroses, which in part stemmed from his homosexuality, often lead him to be depressed and insecure in the presence of people. Entering into a marriage in 1877 with a young student it naturally proved disastrous . Whether it was to appease his overly infatuated wife or conceal his secret all that Tchaikovsky was left with after nine short weeks of marriage was a suicide attempt and nervous breakdown.

Tchaikovsky - Catalogue of Works

A detailed and comprehensive list of all Tchaikovsky's works.

Ballet in the Letters of Tchaikovsky

Material prepared by Olga Gerdt

Introduction:

In the huge literary heritage of the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - which includes articles on music and musical criticism, a vast amount of correspondence and detailed diary entries - the ballet theme occupies a rather modest place compared to, for example, opera.

 

 But, in spite of the laconicism and restraint which distinguish Tchaikovsky's opinions about music of his own ballets, a brevity of communication about work on them and even silence, during the period of a premiere, the letters of Tchaikovsky present an unusual interest from the standpoint of the evolution of the composer's view on this art. These letters give us the possibility of observing how, gradually - from «Lake of the Swans» («Lake of the Swans» was the original title of «Swan Lake») to «The Nutcracker», Tchaikovsky's skeptical attitude towards (what he considered) a «lowly» genre is ousted by an attentive interest in its unused creative possibilities. Little by little, ballet begins to take a steady position, finding an equally right place - not only in the artistic life at the end of the 19th century, but in the composer's consciousness. Ballet met Tchaikovsky halfway, and Tchaikovsky met ballet halfway. Given Tchaikovsky's unusual thinking which created dancing poetry, his tendency to portray action in musical-scenic works, a desire to embody real and eternal feelings in the world of art this could not but find an outlet in the genre of ballet music.
     

 Includes extracts from the composer's letters.

 

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