Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky was the author of some of the most
popular themes in all of classical music. He founded no school,
struck out no new paths or compositional methods, and sought few
innovations in his works. Yet the power and communicative sweep
of his best music elevates it to classic status, even if it
lacks the formal boldness and harmonic sophistication heard in
the compositions of his contemporaries, Wagner and Bruckner. It
was Tchaikovsky’s unique melodic charm that could, whether in
his Piano Concerto No. 1 or in his ballet The Nutcracker or in
his tragic last symphony, make the music sound familiar on first
hearing. Tchaikovsky was born into a family of five brothers and
one sister. He began taking piano lessons at age four and showed
remarkable talent, eventually surpassing his own teacher’s
abilities. By age nine, he exhibited severe nervous problems,
not least because of his overly sensitive nature. The following
year, he was sent to St. Petersburg to study… read more