This month we will be talking about Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (often anglicized as Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky). He is one of the most loved
composers of all-time and his music is still widely played the world over. Every year at Christmas time The Nutcracker fills our hearts with Christmas spirit, Swan Lake is a staple in the repertoire of all major ballet companies, Sleeping Beauty was adapted by Disney to bring to life the story of Princess Aurora, and military bands often give spectacular performances of his 1812 Overture. Tchaikovsky’s music is instantly recognizable and cherished over 100 years after his death!
Tchaikovsky was a deeply sensitive person, pouring his feelings into his music (a Romantic composer through and through!). He once said, “Truly there would be reason to go mad were it not for music.” While listening to his music you can often sense the feelings running through his soul… His music can be uplifting and joyful at times and at others, very sad and full of anguish. He spent most of his life fighting between the callings of his heart and the pressures of society.
During our lesson time we will be talking a little bit about Tchaikovsky. Our homework will be to color the Tchaikovsky coloring page while enjoying some of his music (some suggestions and a short biography are given below). After listening to his music fill in the three blank lines on the coloring page with answers to the prompt: “Tchaikovsky’s music makes me think of…”
SUGGESTED VIDEOS FOR LISTENING HOMEWORK:
Swan Lake, Ballet Suite Op. 20, Act II No. 10 – Swan Lake tells the story of Odette, a princess who has been turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. She turns back into her human form only at night and can only be freed from the curse if a man, pure of heart, declares his love for her. It was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on March 4, 1877 in Moscow and to this day is one of the most popular ballets, being performed by numerous ballet companies around the world every year. In the clip below you can hear the most famous theme from the ballet, in which the oboe’s sorrowful melody is joined by the entire orchestra when Von Rothbart appears in the forest and Odette is transformed back into a swan after meeting Prince Siegfried. This is one of my favorite pieces ever!
Sleeping Beauty Waltz – As you listen you can’t help but imagine Disney’s Princess Aurora dancing and singing “Once Upon a Dream” in the forest with her woodland friends. Disney arranged and adapted Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty for the 1959 animated movie of the same name.
1812 Overture – Things can get very exciting in classical music, especially when a composer decides to use real cannons in one of his pieces! Tchaikovsky loved to experiment with unexpected combinations of instruments and unusual things to make exciting and interesting sounds in his music. He composed the 1812 Overture to commemorate Russia’s 1812 victory over Napoleon. It is one of the loudest pieces of classical music ever composed!
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy – From The Nutcracker, this piece uses an unusual keyboard instrument called a Celeste. Hammers inside the Celeste strike metal plates, like those of a glockenspiel, instead of strings, which give the instrument a heavenly and delicate sound. For more on the Celeste, check out the video further down the post.
A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840 in the Russian town of Votkinsk. From a young age he showed signs of great musical talent and started taking piano lessons at age five. His parents, however, saw music as a hobby and not a serious profession. In Russia at that time, the only careers in music available to someone of Tchaikovsky’s rank in society were as an instructor at an academy of music or as an instrumentalist in one of the Imperial Theaters. Becoming a composer was unheard of since the Russians thought that serious classical music only came from Italy, France, Austria, Germany, and other parts of Europe.
Tchaikovsky’s parents enrolled him in the Imperial School of Jurisprudence in St. Petersburg to study the law, which they thought would provide him with a stable career. Tchaikovsky graduated at age 19 and began working as a civil servant. However, things were slowly starting to change in Russia. Tsar Alexander II wished that Russia would have classical music and composers of its own. So in 1859, the Russian Musical Society (RMS) was founded by the tsar’s aunt, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, and the great pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein. The RMS hosted regular concerts and offered basic music training. Soon after, in 1862, the Saint Petersburg Conservatory was opened. Tchaikovsky was able to convince his father to fund his studies at the conservatory and immediately left his job. He studied with Anton Rubinstein and Nikolai Zaremba. Upon completing his studies, Anton’s brother, Nikolai Rubinstein, offered Tchaikovsky a position as a Professor of Music Theory at the soon-to-be opened Moscow Conservatory.
During this time, his fame was starting to grow as many artists began performing his compositions. By 1877 he had composed three operas, three symphonies, one ballet, and a multitude of smaller pieces. That same year, he decided to marry former student Antonina Miliukova. The marriage was a disaster from the start… and only two months and a half after the wedding, Tchaikovsky left his wife. He was emotionally distraught and suffering from severe writer’s block.
Around this time, Tchaikovsky was contacted by a rich widow, Madam Nadezhda von Meck, who loved his music. She offered him a stipend so he could dedicate himself completely to composing. The only condition was that they never meet in person. Tchaikovsky accepted her offer and they ended up becoming very close friends by writing letters to each other. Madam von Meck was one of the Tchaikovsky’s greatest emotional supports during their 13 year relationship. He dedicated his Symphony no. 4 in F Minor to her.
In 1884 he received the Order of St. Vladimir from Tsar Alexander III. His fame as a composer was firmly cemented and in 1885 he was awarded a lifetime annual pension. With all the honors bestowed upon him and with no need to worry about money, he felt it was his duty to promote Russian music throughout Russia and Europe. He started conducting his own work which helped him slowly overcome his stage-fright and shyness.
His conducting brought him to America in 1891. He led the New York Music Society’s orchestra at the inaugural concert of Carnegie Hall. The kindness and hospitality he was shown during his visit to the United States left a significant impression on him. He once remarked, “In other countries, if somebody comes up to you and they’re nice, you suspect, ‘What do they want?’ Here in America, they don’t want anything. They just want to be nice.” Everywhere he went he was surrounded by fans requesting his autograph. He remarked, “People in the United States know my work better than they do in Russia, in my own home.”
In 1893, during an outbreak of cholera in St. Petersburg, Tchaikovsky contracted the disease after drinking unboiled water at a local restaurant. Nine days after presenting his Symphony no. 6 in B Minor, the ‘Pathetique’, to rapturous applause and reviews, he died at age 53. He was buried in Tikhivin Cemetery near the graves of fellow composers Alexander Borodin, Mikhail Glinka, and Modest Mussorgsky. Later Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Mily Balakirev were also buried there.
Tchaikovsky was a soft-spoken, polite, extremely sensitive, and troubled man. He suffered from depression and would openly weep when criticized or at the slightest sign of conflict. He was a hypochondriac and had many phobias… believe it or not, he thought that his head would fall off when he conducted. So, in order to keep his head in place, he would hold his chin or beard with his left hand while conducting with his right!
He loved to travel. He would sometimes give concerts in the cities he visited and was always on the look out for interesting sounds he could use in his music. On a trip to Paris, he came across a newly invented instrument called a celeste. He loved the bell-like sound it made and arranged to have one smuggled back to Russia. For more information about the celeste, check out this video:
REFERENCES AND FURTHER INFORMATION:
CHILDREN’S BOOKS:
- “Peter Tchaikovsky” by Mike Venezia, ISBN-10: 0516445375
- “Piotr Iliych Tchaikovsky – First Discovery Music” by Stephane Ollivier, ISBN-10: 1851034374
- “Ella Ballerina and Swan Lake” by James Mayhew, ISBN-10: 0764164074 (This version has the happy ending)
- “Swan Lake” by Margot Fonteyn, ISBN-10: 0152006001 (This version has the tragic ending)
- “The Nutcracker” by New York City Ballet, ISBN-10: 1481458299
- “Mary Engelbreit’s Nutcracker” by Mary Engelbreit, ISBN-10: 0062224174
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