Peter Tchaikovsky
1840-1893
Period of Music: Romantic
Instruments he played: piano
Major compositions: 1812 Overture, Symphony No.6 (Pathetique),
The Nutcracker (ballet), Sleeping Beauty (ballet), Swan Lake (ballet)
The Nutcracker (ballet), Sleeping Beauty (ballet), Swan Lake (ballet)
Interesting Facts:
-Tchaikovsky was very sensitive which helped him to write expressive
and emotional music, a characteristic of the Romantic era in music.
-He began his career as a lawyer, not a composer.
-The first time Tchaikovsky conducted in front of an audience, he was
so nervous he thought his head might fall off. He held onto his beard
the whole time he conducted!
-He had a celesta secretly smuggled out of Paris, France so he could
be the first composer to use it in his famous "Nutcracker Suite." You
can hear the celesta's bell like sound in Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the
Sugar Plum Fairy."
-Tchaikovsky wrote "The 1812 Overture" which called for church
bells, live cannon fire, and fireworks. It was finally performed the way
he intended
in 1990, long after his death.
-Tchaikovsky traveled to America where he was invited to conduct
the New York Symphony at the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891. He
received a standing ovation!
- A wealthy Russian widow named Mrs. Von Meck provided a salary
for Tchaikovsky so that he could spend all of his time composing.
- His famous "Violin Concerto in D" was so technically difficult to
play that the violinist he dedicated it to refused to perform it.
-Tchaikovsky was very sensitive which helped him to write expressive
and emotional music, a characteristic of the Romantic era in music.
-He began his career as a lawyer, not a composer.
-The first time Tchaikovsky conducted in front of an audience, he was
so nervous he thought his head might fall off. He held onto his beard
the whole time he conducted!
-He had a celesta secretly smuggled out of Paris, France so he could
be the first composer to use it in his famous "Nutcracker Suite." You
can hear the celesta's bell like sound in Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the
Sugar Plum Fairy."
-Tchaikovsky wrote "The 1812 Overture" which called for church
bells, live cannon fire, and fireworks. It was finally performed the way
he intended
in 1990, long after his death.
-Tchaikovsky traveled to America where he was invited to conduct
the New York Symphony at the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891. He
received a standing ovation!
- A wealthy Russian widow named Mrs. Von Meck provided a salary
for Tchaikovsky so that he could spend all of his time composing.
- His famous "Violin Concerto in D" was so technically difficult to
play that the violinist he dedicated it to refused to perform it.
