Born:
May 7, 1840; his parents were Ilya Tchaikovsky and Alexandra Assier. He was the second child in a brood of six.
Birthplace:
Votkinsk, Russia
Died:
November 6, 1893 in St. Petersburg due to cholera.
Also Known As:
He is also known by the names Chaikovsky, Chaikovskii, or Tschaikowsky. Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky is considered the greatest Russian composer of his time.
Type of Compositions:
He wrote ballets, operas, symphonies, concertos, suites, overtures, string quartet and sextet, cantatas, choral works, songs and pieces for the piano.
Influence:
Tchaikovsky showed interest in music early in his life. He used to play on a small keyboard, called an orchestrina in his home. Later on he began piano lessons with a local tutor. During his teenage years he was taught by Rudolph Kündinger, a professional teacher. He was also influenced by a singing teacher named Luigi Piccioli, an Italian. He was also a student at the Russian Musical Society and St. Petersburg Conservatory. Among his teachers there were Nikolay Zaremba and Anton Rubinstein.
Notable Works:
Among his most famous works are his musical scores for ballet - Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty; his fantasy overture "Romeo and Juliet," "Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor, Opus 23" and "Symphony No. 6 in B Minor."
Interesting Facts:
Before he became a full-fledged composer, he was a clerk at the Ministry of Justice. His engagement with Désirée Artôt was a failure and his marriage to Antonina Milyukova was short-lived. A widow named Nadezhda von Meck became his patroness but they only corresponded through letters.
Music Sheet:
Music sheet of Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy."