Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Biography

May 7, 1840 – November 6, 1893 (53 years old)

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) is a famous Russian composer and conductor. One of the world's greatest composers, author of more than 80 musical works, including the famous ballets “The Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake”. One of the most performed composers in the world.

The material was prepared jointly with a teacher of the highest category, Kuchmina Nadezhda Vladimirovna.

Experience as a teacher of Russian language and literature - 27 years.

Education

Tchaikovsky received his initial education at home. Then Peter studied at a boarding school for two years, after which he studied at the St. Petersburg Law School. Tchaikovsky's creativity during this period was manifested in optional music classes. The death of his mother in 1862 greatly affected the vulnerable child. After graduating from college in 1859, Peter began serving in the Department of Justice.

In his free time, he often visited the opera house; he was especially impressed by the productions of operas by Mozart and Glinka.

Having shown a penchant for composing music, Tchaikovsky became a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Further studies in the life of Pyotr Ilyich with the excellent teachers N. Zaremba and A. Rubinstein greatly helped in the formation of a musical personality. After graduating from the conservatory, composer Tchaikovsky was invited by Nikolai Rubinstein (the teacher’s brother) to the Moscow Conservatory as a professor.

Personal life

In July 1877 Tchaikovsky married conservatory student Antonina Milyukova. Actually, it was rather “taken by storm”: the lover, 8 years younger, bombarded the composer with letters; threatening to commit suicide, she furiously sought meetings. Pyotr Ilyich gave up, and already two weeks before marriage he was ready to commit suicide - this married life turned out to be so unbearable. In October, Tchaikovsky decides to leave.

He also stops working at the Moscow Conservatory and goes to Switzerland with his brother Anatoly. The trip was made possible thanks to the patronage of Nadezhda von Meck.

Nadezhda von Meck - a strange novel by a great composer

It is worth mentioning separately about this woman and her role in the life of the great composer. At the age of 16, the daughter of a landowner, Nadezhda Frolovskaya, married a talented engineer, a descendant of an old German noble family, Karl von Meck, who was one of the first in the Russian Empire to design and build railways. 1868 The von Meck family acquired the estate of magnate Pototsky in the town of Brailov (now Vinnitsa region). And in 1876 Karl von Meck died. Nadezhda Filaretovna and her children (in total, 18 of them were born to the von Mecks, 11 lived to adulthood) received a large inheritance.

And so in 1877 Professor of the Moscow Conservatory P.I. Tchaikovsky received a letter from an unfamiliar woman. She announced her intention to send him 6 thousand rubles every year (very significant funds at that time!) so that he could create without being distracted by material problems. Correspondence began between the composer and Mrs. von Meck. Tchaikovsky talked about his plans, about working on the opera “Eugene Onegin” and suffering due to an unsuccessful marriage.

Nadezhda Filaretovna supported the composer in every possible way, and thanks to this support, inspiration and peace of mind returned to him. Nadezhda more than once emphasized in her letters that Tchaikovsky’s music is of great importance for her spiritual life. And he dedicated the Fourth Symphony to Nadezhda von Meck, but at her request he did not mention his last name. “Dedicated to a friend,” they both knew who they were talking about.

Over the course of 13 years of friendship, they wrote more than 1,100 letters to each other. And... we never saw each other - such was the will of Filaretovna’s hope. When Tchaikovsky visited the von Meck estate, she was never there.

Fragments of letters from Tchaikovsky and Nadezhda von Meck

The end of a platonic romance

The correspondence ended suddenly: in September 1890, Tchaikovsky received the last letter from the Baroness. Not a single reproach, not a single hint that the woman had stopped loving the composer. Somehow, even casually, Nadezhda Filaretovna informed Pyotr Ilyich about her financial difficulties and refused to continue to support him. This caused the maestro severe depression. And the reason for such an unexpected outcome of their tender feelings was simple. A wealthy patron is tired of looking for the love of a famous composer. She heard rumors about Tchaikovsky's unconventional sexual orientation. In addition, their own children demanded to stop throwing away family money. So, the “novel in letters” ended in nothing.

Three years later, the news of the composer's death will strike the Baroness. On November 6, 1893, the woman learned that the man to whom she had given the best years of her stormy life was no longer in the world. Tchaikovsky was taken away forever by the cholera epidemic. Nadezhda von Meck did not survive this terrible loss for her. She constantly suffered from insomnia and nostalgia, and at night she listened to the divine music of her “beloved”. Three months later, on January 26, 1894, the baroness died in Nice

Creative and personal life

Many of Tchaikovsky's concertos were written while working at the conservatory. The opera “Ondine” (1869) was not staged; the author destroyed it. Only a small part of it was later presented as Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake.

It is worth briefly noting that in 1877, in order to get rid of gossip about his unconventional orientation, Tchaikovsky decided to marry a conservatory student Antonina Milyukova. Having no feelings for his wife, a few weeks later he left her forever. Since then, the couple lived separately; they were never able to divorce due to various circumstances.

In 1878 he left the conservatory and went abroad. At the same time, Tchaikovsky communicates closely with Nadezhda von Meck, a wealthy fan of his music. She corresponds with him, supports him financially and morally.

During his two-year stay in Italy and Switzerland, new magnificent works by Tchaikovsky appeared: the opera “Eugene Onegin”, the Fourth Symphony.

In May 1878, Tchaikovsky made a contribution to children's musical literature: he wrote a collection of plays for children called “Children's Album”.

After financial assistance from Nadezhda von Meck, the composer travels a lot. From 1881 to 1888 he wrote many works. In particular, waltzes, symphonies, overtures, suites.

Finally, a calm creative period was established in the biography of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, at which time the author himself was able to conduct concerts.

short biography

Childhood

Tchaikovsky grew up in a large, intelligent family. His father, Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky, was an outstanding engineer, and his mother, Alexandra Andreevna Assier, was a simple housewife and took care of her children. Peter had an older brother Nikolai, a sister Alexandra, and younger brothers Ippolit, Anatoly and Modest. The family was not rich, but the children were raised to love music from childhood: their mother played the piano and sang every evening. In 1849, the family left Votkinsk for Alapaevsk, and the following year - for St. Petersburg.

Education

In 1852, Tchaikovsky entered the St. Petersburg School of Law. There began serious studies in music, which was taught as an elective at this educational institution. He studied with such masters of his craft as Luigi Piccioli and Rudolf Kündinger.

The beginning of a creative journey

After graduating from college, Tchaikovsky became a titular adviser and worked in the Ministry of Justice. However, the musical muse did not allow him to sleep peacefully, and in 1861 Pyotr Ilyich entered the Music Classes of the Russian Musical Society, which the following year were transformed into the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The talented student completed the conservatory course with a large silver medal.

After that, he went to Moscow, where he was offered to work at the conservatory. Here he first tried himself as a literary critic, made acquaintance with the composers of the “Mighty Handful” and created his first programmatic work - the fantasy overture “Romeo and Juliet”.

The 70s saw the rise of creativity and the release of incredibly beautiful masterpieces that captivated the whole world: music for Ostrovsky’s drama “The Snow Maiden”, the Second and Third Symphonies, the ballet “Swan Lake” and others. At that time he worked as a music critic for Russkie Vedomosti.

In the late 70s, Tchaikovsky went abroad, from where he maintained warm ties through correspondence with Baroness Nadezhda von Meck, who was selflessly in love with him.

Upon returning to Russia, Tchaikovsky again became actively involved in musical and social activities. He was the director of the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society, and acted as a conductor not only in Russia, but also abroad. In 1891, Tchaikovsky gave sensational concerts in New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

Personal life

In Moscow, at the end of the 60s, Pyotr Ilyich met the interesting French singer Desiree Artaud, to whom he dedicated many of his musical works. They even planned to get married, but Desiree unexpectedly married someone else.

At one time, there were a lot of rumors about the great composer’s unconventional orientation. His wife was Antonina Milyukova, but the marriage was largely only on paper: the couple separated a few weeks after the wedding and lived separately, although they never officially divorced.

Next to his name are often mentioned Sergei Kireev, Joseph Kotek, Vladimir Shilovsky - his school comrades, life hussar Pyotr Meshchersky, poet Alexei Apukhtin, cellist Anatoly Brandukov, Tchaikovsky's nephew Vladimir Davydov, Italian street singer Vittorio Siloti.

According to one version, Tchaikovsky had a passionate affair with a young man who was the nephew of Count Stenbock-Fermor, a politician and very close friend of Alexander III. Supporters of this version even claim that Tchaikovsky was forced to commit suicide precisely because of this connection, and the medical report after his death was falsified.

Death

Tchaikovsky died in St. Petersburg from cholera on November 6, 1893. He was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Brief biography of Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich (1840-1893), composer, conductor, teacher.

Born on May 7, 1840 in the village of the Kama-Votkinsk plant (now the city of Votkinsk, Udmurtia) in the family of a mining engineer. In 1850, the family moved to St. Petersburg, and Tchaikovsky entered the School of Law, from which he graduated in 1859.

He received the rank of titular councilor and a position in the Ministry of Justice. But his love for music turned out to be stronger - in 1862 the young man passed the exams at the then newly opened St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1863, he left the service, and after graduating with a silver medal from the Conservatory (1866), he was invited to take the position of professor at the Moscow Conservatory.

In 1866, Tchaikovsky wrote the First Symphony ("Winter Dreams"), in 1869 - the opera "The Voevoda" and the fantasy overture "Romeo and Juliet", in 1875 - the famous First Piano Concerto, in 1876 - the ballet "Swan Lake".

At the end of the 70s. the composer experienced a severe mental crisis associated with an unsuccessful marriage, and in 1878 he left teaching. Nevertheless, it was in this year that one of his best works was created - the opera “Eugene Onegin” based on the plot of A. S. Pushkin.

The real pinnacle was the opera “The Queen of Spades” (1890), also based on Pushkin’s story. In 1891, Tchaikovsky wrote his last opera, Iolanta. He also composed music for ballets: “The Sleeping Beauty”, 1889; “The Nutcracker”, 1892. The rise of Tchaikovsky as a symphonist is revealed in his Sixth Symphony (1893).

The composer constantly turned to small forms. He is the author of 100 romances, which are pearls of vocal lyrics, as well as more than 100 piano pieces (including the cycles “The Seasons,” 1876, and “Children’s Album,” 1878). Tchaikovsky's work was highly appreciated during his lifetime - in 1885 he was elected director of the Russian Musical Society, in 1892 he became a corresponding member of the French Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1893 - an honorary doctor of the University of Cambridge.

Pyotr Ilyich spent the last years of his life in Klin near Moscow, where in 1892 he purchased a house (since 1894 the composer’s museum).

Died on November 6, 1893 in St. Petersburg.

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - a short biography of the composer.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is known as one of the greatest composers not only in Russia, but throughout the world. During his 53 years of life, he wrote more than 80 pieces of music, including 10 operas and 3 ballets.

Brief biography of the composer

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840 in the Vyatka province of the Russian Empire (the modern city of Votkinsk in Udmurtia). His father is Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky, an outstanding Russian engineer. Mother - Alexandra Andreevna Assier, the daughter of a major customs official who was originally from France.

Pyotr Ilyich's parents loved music.
His mother played the piano and sang; there was a mechanical organ in the house - an orchestra, in the performance of which little Peter first heard Mozart's Don Giovanni . While the family lived in Votkinsk, they often heard melodic folk songs of factory workers and peasants in the evenings.

Tchaikovsky's childhood

The sensitivity of Pyotr Ilyich’s nature manifested itself in early childhood. The French governess Fanny Durbach, whom he adored, immediately noticed in the 7-year-old boy a gentle soul and a craving for everything beautiful . She opened up the world of art to him and talked about the lives of composers.

In my parents' house in Votkinsk there was a mechanical organ. Rollers with hooks were inserted into it, a spring was wound up, and excerpts from popular operas by Rossini, Bellini, and Mozart were played in the room.

Little Petya listened to the orchestra for hours. Fanny more than once found the boy in tears. Secretly from the adults, he sat down at the piano and repeated what he heard from memory.

Studies

In 1849 the family moved to the city of Alapaevsk, and in 1850 to St. Petersburg . There, his parents sent Tchaikovsky to the Imperial School of Law, located near the street now named after the composer.

Tchaikovsky spent 2 years abroad, 1300 km from his home, since the age for entering the school was 12 years old. For Tchaikovsky, separation from his mother was a very strong mental trauma. In 1852, having entered the school, he began to seriously study music , which was taught as an elective.

Tchaikovsky was known as a good pianist and improvised well. At the age of 16, he began to pay more attention to music, studying with the famous teacher Luigi Piccioli. Then Rudolf Kündinger became the mentor of the future composer.

After graduating from college in 1859, Tchaikovsky received the rank of titular councilor and began working in the Ministry of Justice. In his free time, he visited the opera house, where he was greatly impressed by productions of operas by Mozart and Glinka.

Musical activity of Pyotr Ilyich

In 1862, Pyotr Ilyich left his career as a lawyer and entered the conservatory in the composition class of Anton Rubinstein. He graduated from the course with a gold medal and soon moved to Moscow, becoming a professor at the newly opened conservatory.

After the first performance of the cantata he composed based on Friedrich Schiller's ode “To Joy,” fame and success came to him. Critics noted that an unusually talented composer had appeared in Russia. Following this, Tchaikovsky wrote his first symphony, Winter Dreams .

In 1868, Tchaikovsky unexpectedly fell in love with the Italian opera singer Desiree Artaud, who was touring in Russia. He dedicated a piano romance to her and proposed. But the marriage did not take place for various reasons. Desiree left Russia, and Tchaikovsky remained upset.

Musical works

Writing music saved the composer from the torment of unrequited love. He created the fantasy overture “Romeo and Juliet”, followed by the symphonic fantasy “The Tempest” based on Shakespeare, “Francesca da Rimini” based on Dante’s “Divine Comedy”.

In 1875, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky began working on the ballet Swan Lake , which premiered 2 years later at the Bolshoi Theater with great success. He continued to create fairy tales and fanciful fantasies in the world, and wrote new ballets - “The Sleeping Beauty”

,
"Nutcracker".

The 70s of the 19th century in Tchaikovsky’s work is a period of creative quest . He is attracted by the historical past of Russia, Russian folk life, and the theme of human destiny. At this time, he wrote such works as the operas “Oprichnik” and “Blacksmith Vakula”, music for Ostrovsky’s drama “The Snow Maiden”.

Personal life

Tchaikovsky's work was accompanied by success, which could not be said about his personal life. He committed a reckless act and married a girl who was completely alien to him in spirit , far from his music. He himself didn’t know why he did it. New experiences began. To escape his wife, he went abroad, then left the conservatory. He was looking for a way to himself. And I didn’t find it.

In 1876, Tchaikovsky began corresponding with another strange woman - the wealthy philanthropist Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck , a widow, mother of 18 children, 10 years older than him. She encouraged the composer’s creativity and supported him financially, but they never met, although both lived in Moscow.

last years of life

Until the end of his life, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed operas and symphonies, and traveled to other countries with concerts.

His music sounded throughout the civilized world.
In the last months of his life, he created the 6th Pathetique Symphony .
It turned out to be his will. Pyotr Ilyich died on November 6, 1893 at the age of 53 from cholera. All expenses for the burial of the great composer were borne by the emperor himself, Alexander III. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in the Necropolis of Art Masters.

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