Great
Classical Music
Composers

Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY

7 May 1840 - 6 November 1893 (age 53)

Portrait by Paul Helm ©
click on image for more info

Tchaikovsky is probably THE most popular classical composer of all time. Best known for his ballet music and symphonies.

Family

Father: Ilya Petrovich, Ukrainian descent, son of a mining engineer.
Mother: Alexandra, Russian of partial French ancestry and the second of Ilya's three wives
Siblings: 4 brothers, 1 sister
Wife: Antonina Ivanovana Milyukoff, on July 6, 1877. (Marriage didn't last long because of his homosexual nature)
Children: none.

Works

Operas:
10 operas including:
-Eugenen Onegin
-The Maid of Orleans
-Queen of Spades
-Iolanthe
Ballets:
-Swan Lake
-The Sleeping Beauty
-The Nutcracker
-Snow Maiden
-Hamlet
Orchestral:
-6 Symphonies
-Various overtures
-3 Piano Concertos
Other:
-Chamber works
-Piano works
-Songs
-Choral works

Quotes

- "I sit down to the piano regularly at nine-o'clock in the morning and Mesdames les Muses have learned to be on time for that rendezvous."

- “Truly there would be reason to go mad were it not for music.”

- “The creative process is like music which takes root with extraordinary force and rapidity”

- "A self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood."

- "What I have set down in a moment of ardour I must then critically examine. Sometimes I must do myself violence before I can mercilessly erase things thought out with love." <

Tchaikovsky on eBay

You will find lots of Tchaikovsky related items on eBay, some new, some used, some common, some rare. Always good for a browse - you never know what you may find!

Tchaikovsky on Benjamin Franklin's Glass Armonica

The Glass Armonica

This odd instrument in the above video was one of Benjamin Franklin's favourite inventions. Interesting. Find out more about it at the following sites.

GlassArmonica.com

Wikipedia entry