Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. His homosexuality, which he kept private, has traditionally also been considered a major factor. His sudden death at the age of 53 is generally ascribed to cholera; there is an ongoing debate as to whether cholERA was indeed the cause of his death.

About Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in brief

Summary Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. His training set him on a path to reconcile what he had learned with the native musical practices to which he had been exposed from childhood. His homosexuality, which he kept private, has traditionally also been considered a major factor though some musicologists now downplay its importance. His sudden death at the age of 53 is generally ascribed to cholera; there is an ongoing debate as to whether cholERA was indeed the cause of his death. His music has remained popular among audiences, but critical opinions were initially mixed. Some Russians did not feel it was sufficiently representative of native musical values and expressed suspicion that Europeans accepted the music for its Western elements. In 1844, the family hired the composer Fanny Davydov, whom he would become very close to, especially during his years of wandering as an adult, during which he would know little of his real life. He died in 1893, aged 53, and was buried in the Petropavlovskoye Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son, Lev Davyov, who would go on to become one of the world’s most famous pianists and conduct the Philharmonic Orchestra. He also leaves behind a daughter, Alexandra, and two sons, Vladimir and Modest, who went on to have a successful music career of their own.

His widow, Nadezhda von Meck, was his one enduring relationship of his adult life, his 13-year association with the wealthy widow, who was his patron even though they never actually met each other. His son Vladimir would become the very close composer and pianist known as ‘Bob’, and would become a very close friend of the family. His great-grandfather, a Zaporozhian Cossack named Fyodor Chaika, distinguished himself under Peter the Great at the Battle of Poltava in 1709. His grandfather, Pyotr Fedorovich Tchikovsky, was born in the village of Mikolayivka, Poltva Gubernia, Russian Empire, and served first as a physician’s assistant in the army and later as city governor of Glazov in Vyatka. His mother, Alexandra Andreyevna, was the second of Ilya’s three wives, her husband’s French and German on her side and husband’s Russian on her Russian side. Both Ilya and Alexandra were trained in the arts, including music, including a need for entertainment, whether at social gatherings or in a remote area of Russia. In 1884 by Tsar Alexander III and awarded a lifetime pension. He was honored by the Tsar for his services to Russia and for his contributions to the music industry. His son, Vladimir, would later become the only member of his family to survive into adulthood.