Pyotr “Peter” Ilyich Tchaikovsky was one of the greatest and popular Russian
composers of all time. Even though he died very mysteriously at the age of 53. His
musical talent was so stellar, which led him to composing numerous symphonies,
chamber compositions, vocal compositions, and dramatic works. With great musical
ability comes great struggles within his personal life, much like other composers.
Depression and love affairs were a constant struggle, but his music helped overcome
those issues.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7th, 1840 in the small town of
Kamsko-Votkinsk, roughly about 600 miles east of Moscow. Tchaikovsky’s father,
Ilya Petrovich, was the director of a factory which gave him great income, and a high
social standing within their community. Petrovich was married twice, the first
marriage ending when his wife had passed. Petrovich had a daughter in that
marriage. His second marriage, Tchaikovsky’s mother, Alexandra Andreyevna
d’Assier, was in 1833. From that marriage, Tchaikovsky was born. He was the
second child born of six children. Tchaikovsky’s mother later passed away in 1854.
Tchaikovsky started studying the piano at age five. At such an early stage, he
was showing incredible talents playing piano. At the age of ten, him and his family
lived in St. Petersburg where Tchaikovsky studied the piano at the School of
Jurisprudence.
Tchaikovsky attended his first ballet in 1848. Ever since his first ballet,
Tchaikovsky fell in love with music composition. He described his memories of
attending Mozart’s Don Giovanni as the first piece of music that totally enthralled
him.(Tchaikovsky, Roland John Wiley 2009) That opera alone was the reason why
Tchaikovsky deci...
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...but later the court said that he committed suicide. To this day, no one knows exactly
how he died.
Even though Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died at such a young age, he has been
known as the greatest Russian composer ever. He has had many struggles
throughout his life like the death of his mother, his depression struggles, and love
affairs, but these factors led him to compose the greatest pieces in history. He was
very talented, though some didn’t feel like he was. If he lived longer than 53 years,
he could’ve been even more influential than he is today.
Works Cited
Koolbergen,Jeroen. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. London: Tiger Books International,
1995. Print.
Wiley, Roland John. Tchaikovsky. Oxford. 2009. Print.
Grove, Sir George D.C.L, Fuller, J.A. M.A. A Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London:
Macmillan And Co. and New York. 1890. Print.
...d 10 years later in prison of complications from cirrhosis. In the meantime, he had attacked a girlfriend at her house. He stabbed her in the stomach and dragged her into the backyard to rape her and then kill her before the girlfriend’s sons chased him off. He also was arrested for threatening neighbors and dealing heroin. When he died, his mother thought so little of him that she pocketed the money that the state provided for burial expenses and let her son be buried in a potter’s field.
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