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• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer and conductor. While his works reflected his Russian heritage stylistically, he did not consider himself in the same faction as the intentionally nationalistic "Five": Mily Balakirev, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Alexander Borodin.

• Fast Facts

  1. Born: May 7, 1840
  2. Died: November 6, 1893
  3. Origin: Votkinsk, Udmurtia, Russia
  4. Active: 1865 - 1893

• Life

  Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky first seriously turned his attention to musical composition following the death of his mother from cholera, when he wrote a waltz to her memory. Many of his later works, including Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake, would also focus on suffering women.

  Much of Tchaikovsky's music served as an outlet for frustration and tension dealing with his homosexuality. The quality of intense emotion, usually absent in Russian music, made his compositions unique and appealing.

  Tchaikovsky's musical output was subsidized by the patronage of Nadezhda von Meck, with whom he developed a very close relationship that was almost entirely conducted through correspondence.

  Nine days after the debut of his Sixth Symphony, Tchaikovsky died, it is believed, from cholera contracted from contaminated drinking water.

• Notable Works

  • 1876: Op. 20 Swan Lake
  • 1880: Op. 49 Festival Overture in E-flat The Year 1812
  • 1889: Op. 66 The Sleeping Beauty
  • 1892: Op. 71 The Nutcracker

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Robert Schumann | Johannes Brahms | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Johann Sebastian Bach | Ludwig van Beethoven | Joseph Haydn | Ballet | Franz Schubert | Antonio Vivaldi

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