Pyotr Tchaikovsky
The whole world knows the name of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who is considered one of the greatest composers in the history of music. According to statistics, his works are played every 5 minutes in different parts of the world.
Tchaikovsky did not live a long life – 53 years – but he left a tremendous legacy: his works comprise a total of 62 volumes.
Tchaikovsky was the first Russian composer to receive a professional musical education, and he was the first Russian composer to achieve international fame during his lifetime. As a conductor of his works Pyotr Ilyich visited many countries of Europe and even America. The life of a musician in Russia in the 19th century was unenviable, but despite that Tchaikovsky dedicated his life to music as his heart dictated and achieved tremendous success: 10 operas, 3 ballets, 6 symphonies, and many symphonic and individual orchestral works. Tchaikovsky created works in almost all musical genres. Leo Tolstoy, sitting next to him in the hall and listening to his quartet, wept.
Tchaikovsky’s music covers a wide range of genres that reveal the profound psychological processes of the human soul through their acutely dramatic inner clashes. The composer’s phenomenon was that his music enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime in Russia, but also abroad, becoming a “vital necessity.” Today, interest in it does not fade, realizing the composer’s dream of a growing number of people who are not indifferent to his work.
Tchaikovsky’s legacy is represented by various genres: ten operas, three ballets, seven symphonies (six numbered and the Manfred Symphony), 104 romances, a number of program symphonic works, concertos and chamber instrumental ensembles, choral works, cantatas, piano miniatures and piano cycles. His work is an extremely valuable contribution to world music culture and, along with the work of his contemporaries – composers of the “Mighty Handful”, marks a new stage in the development music.