Happy Pianist 4: Tchaikovsky in C Major (Original Import)

Author: (Russia) Tchaikovsky
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer. Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840, in Votkinsk, Russia, and died on November 6, 1893, in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the age of 53. Tchaikovsky was not born into a musical family; he studied French and German from the age of 4 to 8. Despite this, he was still a child with exceptional musical sensitivity. At the age of 10, following his parents' advice, he attended the Law School in St. Petersburg. At 14, the death of his mother became the turning point that led him to infuse music into his work. Although he was engaged in legal work, he was determined not to give up music. At 21, he enrolled in a music school, and at 23, he abandoned his legal career to formally study composition with a music teacher. Tchaikovsky strengthened his connections with the "Mighty Handful," a group of Russian composers led by Balakirev, including Borodin, Grieg, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov. This was also the time when the center of ballet shifted from Italy to Russia. Between the ages of 28 and 38, Tchaikovsky composed famous works such as Swan Lake, Nocturne in E-flat Major, and Eugene Onegin. Afterward, he resigned from his position at the conservatory and spent half of each year abroad and the other half at his villa in Russia, composing works like The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. At the age of 53, just after the premiere of his Sixth Symphony, Tchaikovsky passed away. The cause of his death remains unknown.
Representative Works:
Sixth Symphony, Pathétique (1893)
Swan Lake (Ballet, 1875–1876)
Melancholy Waltz (1882)
The Sleeping Beauty (Ballet, 1888–1889)
The Nutcracker (Ballet, 1891–1892)