Tchaikovsky was a Romantic composer from Russia, whose music has become beloved worldwide
Today, we celebrate a great composer's birthday. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on 7 May 1840, in Votkinsk, Russia.
I have always loved Tchaikovsky's ballet music. I remember dancing around to the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and feeling the romance and tragedy of Swan Lake. I also got hold of a book of sheet music for The Nutcracker to play on the piano myself. 15 years later, it is still painful to me that I cannot master it, but his music continues to capture my imagination because of the wonderful stories it depicts.
Facts about Tchaikovsky
Did you know...
Tchaikovsky loved Mozart, found Wagner boring and hated Brahms (with whom he shared a birthday!).
As a child, Tchaikovsky complained that he could not sleep because of the music in his head.
Music did not become Tchaikovsky's life until age 23 when he left his clerk's job at the Ministry of Justice.
Tchaikovsky on Europeana
Europeana holds hundreds of recordings of Tchaikovsky's music, lots of videos related to him, and some of his sheet music, such as this handwritten and signed example of a song called 'Romance'.
How about a twist on a Tchaikovsky classic by another great composer? Claude Debussy arranged 'Le lac des cygnes' as a duet on piano (four hands - one piano!).
Costume designs for Tchaikovsky ballets
Tchaikovsky's music inspired wonderful sets and costumes in its productions.
Here's a souvenir programme from a 1921 production of 'The Sleeping Princess' (otherwise known as 'Sleeping Beauty') at the Alhambra Theatre, London. It contains a synopsis of the story as well as an article by Leon Bakst, producer and designer, about his passion for Tchaikovsky's ballets and a nervous first encounter with the man himself when Bakst was just a young student.
Flick through the programme to see a range of wonderful costume and set designs, as well as letter from composer Igor Stravinksy, expressing his delight at the new production of Tchaikovsky's work.
