Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
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 at the School of Jurisprudence. The loss of his mother in 1854 dealt a crushing blow to the young Tchaikovsky. In 1859, he took a position in the Ministry of Justice, but longed for a career in music, attending concerts and operas at every opportunity. He finally began study in harmony with Zaremba in 1861, and enrolled at the St. Petersburg Conservatory the following year, eventually studying composition with Anton Rubinstein. In 1866, the composer relocated to Moscow, accepting a professorship of harmony at the new conservatory, and shortly afterward turned out his First Symphony, suffering, however, a nervous breakdown during its composition. His opera The Voyevoda came in 1867-1868 and he began another, The Oprichnik, in 1870, completing it two years later. Other works were appearing during this time, as well, including the First String Quartet (1871), the Second Symphony (1873), and the ballet Swan Lake (1875). In 1876, Tchaikovsky traveled to Paris with his brother, Modest, and then visited Bayreuth, where he met Liszt, but was snubbed by Wagner. By 1877, Tchaikovsky was an established composer. This was the year of Swan Lake's premiere and the time he began work on the Fourth Symphony (1877-1878). It was also a time of woe: in July, Tchaikovsky, despite his homosexuality, foolishly married Antonina Ivanovna Milyukova, an obsessed admirer, their disastrous union lasting just months. The composer attempted suicide in the midst of this episode. Near the end of that year, Nadezhda von Meck, a woman he would never meet, became his patron and frequent correspondent. Further excursions abroad came in the 1880s, along with a spate of successful compositions, including the Serenade for Strings (1881), 1812 Overture (1882), and the Fifth Symphony (1888). In both 1888 and 1889, Tchaikovsky went on successful European tours as a conductor, meeting Brahms, Grieg, Dvorák, Gounod, and other notable musical figures. Sleeping Beauty was premiered in 1890, and The Nutcracker in 1892, both with success. Throughout Tchaikovsky's last years, he was continually plagued by anxiety and depression. A trip to Paris and the United States followed one dark nervous episode in 1891. Tchaikovsky wrote his Sixth Symphony, "Pathétique," in 1893, and it was successfully premiered in October, that year. The composer died ten days later of cholera, or -- as some now contend -- from drinking poison in accordance with a death sentence conferred on him by his classmates from the School of Jurisprudence, who were fearful of shame on the institution owing to an alleged homosexual episode involving Tchaikovsky.© TiVo Read more
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 at the School of Jurisprudence. The loss of his mother in 1854 dealt a crushing blow to the young Tchaikovsky. In 1859, he took a position in the Ministry of Justice, but longed for a career in music, attending concerts and operas at every opportunity. He finally began study in harmony with Zaremba in 1861, and enrolled at the St. Petersburg Conservatory the following year, eventually studying composition with Anton Rubinstein.
In 1866, the composer relocated to Moscow, accepting a professorship of harmony at the new conservatory, and shortly afterward turned out his First Symphony, suffering, however, a nervous breakdown during its composition. His opera The Voyevoda came in 1867-1868 and he began another, The Oprichnik, in 1870, completing it two years later. Other works were appearing during this time, as well, including the First String Quartet (1871), the Second Symphony (1873), and the ballet Swan Lake (1875).
In 1876, Tchaikovsky traveled to Paris with his brother, Modest, and then visited Bayreuth, where he met Liszt, but was snubbed by Wagner. By 1877, Tchaikovsky was an established composer. This was the year of Swan Lake's premiere and the time he began work on the Fourth Symphony (1877-1878). It was also a time of woe: in July, Tchaikovsky, despite his homosexuality, foolishly married Antonina Ivanovna Milyukova, an obsessed admirer, their disastrous union lasting just months. The composer attempted suicide in the midst of this episode. Near the end of that year, Nadezhda von Meck, a woman he would never meet, became his patron and frequent correspondent.
Further excursions abroad came in the 1880s, along with a spate of successful compositions, including the Serenade for Strings (1881), 1812 Overture (1882), and the Fifth Symphony (1888). In both 1888 and 1889, Tchaikovsky went on successful European tours as a conductor, meeting Brahms, Grieg, Dvorák, Gounod, and other notable musical figures. Sleeping Beauty was premiered in 1890, and The Nutcracker in 1892, both with success.
Throughout Tchaikovsky's last years, he was continually plagued by anxiety and depression. A trip to Paris and the United States followed one dark nervous episode in 1891. Tchaikovsky wrote his Sixth Symphony, "Pathétique," in 1893, and it was successfully premiered in October, that year. The composer died ten days later of cholera, or -- as some now contend -- from drinking poison in accordance with a death sentence conferred on him by his classmates from the School of Jurisprudence, who were fearful of shame on the institution owing to an alleged homosexual episode involving Tchaikovsky.
© TiVo
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Tchaikovsky: The Six Symphonies (Live)
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Symphonic Music - Released by Live from Orchestra Hall on Aug 28, 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky Symphony No.6 'Pathetique', Symphony No.4, Symphony No.3 'Polish'
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Jan 13, 2017
Gramophone Record of the Month24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: 'Winter Dreams' Symphony No. 1, 'Little Russian' Symphony No. 2 , Symphony No. 5
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Jun 10, 2016
The first volume of a survey of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky's symphonies, this two-fer from Onyx presents the Symphony No. 1 in G minor, "Winter Dreams, ...
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Opera - Released by Intermusic S.A. on Aug 26, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concertos No. 1 & 2
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Concertos - Released by Claves Records on Dec 4, 2015
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: The Seasons
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on Jan 1, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Nutcracker Suite
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Oct 21, 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, Romeo & Juliet Overture
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Channel Classics Records on Jan 1, 2004
Audiophiles may desire this CD of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 and the Romeo and Juliet Overture for its splendid sound quality, but music lovers may ...
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Works for String Orchestra, Vol. 3
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Claves Records on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky : Les Saisons, Roméo et Juliette, Adagio lamentoso de la 6e Symphonie
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Saphir Productions on Oct 29, 2012
4 étoiles ClassicaHi-Res Audio24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best of Romantic Music
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE on Sep 11, 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikowsky - Swan Lake - Sleeping Beauty - Nutcracker Ballet Suites
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Denon on Jan 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Best Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Armasi on Apr 30, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 3 - Grechaninov: String Quartet, Op. 2
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on Oct 10, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos No. 1, 2, 3 & Piano Sonata C-Sharp Minor, Op. 80
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on Oct 10, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1 : Piano Concerto No.2
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Sep 22, 2014
The world hardly needed another recording of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23, and it would seem hard for a young pianist to ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D, Symphony No. 4
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Past Classics on Aug 1, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Works for String Orchestra, Vol. 2
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Claves Records on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2, Op. 17 "Little Russian" & Symphony No. 3, Op. 29 "Polnish"
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Symphonic Music - Released by Tuxedo Music on Sep 16, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Peter Tchaikovsky. Suite No.4 (Mozartiana) in G Major Op. 61
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Bomba-Piter on Jul 6, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Highlights
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on Feb 11, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo