Transcript piotr ilyich tchaikovsky

A Biography of a Great Composer and History
Composition of Piano Concerto No. 1
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Born on May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia
The Tchaikovsky family in 1848. Left to right:
Piotr (nicknamed Petya), Alexandra
Andreyevna (mother), Alexandra (sister),
Zinaida (sister), Nikolay (brother), Ippolit
(brother), Ilya Petrovich (father)
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In September 1844, first attempt at
composition, "Our Mama in Petersburg”
Tchaikovsky turned to serious composition at
age 14
Among his early works were an opera,
Hyperbola, a waltz for piano, and his first
published work, the song Mezza notte
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Attended School of
Jurisprudence in St.
Petersburg from
1849 to 1861
Outside of school, he attended the performances of
very famous musicians, such as Clara Schumann,
and also frequented the Italian opera
On Sundays, he took music lessons from the
pianist, Rudolph Kundinger
At 19, he completed his studies and began working
as a clergy.
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In 1857, the Russian Musical Society was
formed and Tchaikovsky signed up for classes
taught by Nikolai Zaremba
Tchaikovsky quit his job to study music at age
23
Attended St. Petersburg Conservatory from
1862 to 1866
Studied with Anton Rubinstain.
Before graduating, Tchaikovsky
composed “Overture in F” and the
“String Quartet Movement in B flat”
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Anton Rubinstain brought “Character Dances” to
the attention of composer, Johann Strauss, who
conducted it 1865
After graduating, he was invited to teach at the
new Moscow Conservatory
From 1866 to 1878, he was appointed professor of
theory and harmony
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1866, he composed his first symphony, "Winter
Daydreams"
1868, he composed his first opera, The Voevoda
1869, he composed the symphonic fantasia,
"Fatum“
1869, he composed another opera, Undina
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1869, he composed an overture-fantasia,
"Romeo and Juliet"
1871, he composed String Quartet No. 1, as well
as some other piano pieces and songs
1872, he composed his third opera, The
Oprichnik , and also began work on his second
symphony, "Little Russian"
1874, Tchaikovsky composed his First Piano
Concerto as well as his third symphony
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1875-1876, he composed the first of his famed
trilogy of ballets, Swan Lake
1876, he composed a series of twelve piano
pieces, which became popularly known as The
Seasons for a music magazine, The Nuvellist
1876, he composed two symphonic fantasias,
Francesca da Rimini and The Tempest, as well
as incidental music for the play, The Snow
Maiden
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Tchaikovsky married his student, Antonina
Milyukova, in July of 1877
Lasted only two to
three months
Nadezhda von Meck, the widow of a wealthy
railway magnate, had heard of his marriage breakup and began to commission pieces from him
Left teaching position dedicate himself to his
creative work during the years of 1876 to 1890.
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1878, Tchaikovsky composed his fourth
symphony, another opera, Evgenii Onegin, as
well as his Violin Concerto
1879, he composed another opera, The Maid of
Orleans, his Second Piano Concerto, and the
Italian Capriccio
1880, he composed Serenade for String
Orchestra and the overture, 1812
1882, he composed a musical memorial
dedicated to Nikolai Rubinstein, Piano Trio
1883 he composed another opera, Mazepa
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1885, he revised Vakula the Smith (later
renamed Cherevichki), and composed a new
opera, The Enchantress, and a new symphonic
work, Manfred
1887, Cherevichki was performed, it was his
first time conducting his own work
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1887, he ventured on first European concert
tour as a conductor
He performed in Leipzig, Berlin, Prague,
Hamburg, Paris and London
Met several well-known composers and famous
musicians
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He was famous in Russia, in Europe and America
as well
1888, he composed his Fifth Symphony and a ballet,
The Sleeping Beauty
1890, he composed another opera, The Queen of
Spades, as well as the sextet, Souvenir de Florence.
1991, he composed a ballet, The Nutcracker, and a
one-act opera, Iolanta
1991, he orchestrated a symphonic ballad, The
Voevoda
In between his musical work, he had embarked on
other concert tours across Russia, Europe, and
America
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1892, returned from tour and began Symphony in E♭
major later becoming a part of Third Piano Concerto
after his death
1893, he composed Symphony No. 6 in B minor as well
as the Eighteen Pieces (Op. 72) for piano
1893, received an honorary
degree of Doctor of Music
from Cambridge University
Next projects were "Pathetique Symphony", his Third
Piano Concerto, and possibly a new opera.
October 1893, he was diagnosed with cholera in its
severe stage and he died on November 6, 1893 in St.
Petersburg
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Piano Concerto No. 1 was begun in November of 1874
January of 1875, Nikolai Rubinstein gave him a harsh evaluation
Tchaikovsky felt insulted and published it as it was
It was completed in February 1875 and dedicated to Hans von Bülow
It was first heard in Boston on October 25, 1875
It was also performed in Saint Petersburg on November 13, 1875 by pianist, Gustav
Kross, and conductor, Eduard Nápravník, as well as on December 3, 1875 in Moscow
by Sergei Taneev and conductor, Nikolai Rubinstein
Tchaikovsky was fond of his First Piano Concerto and included it in his concert tours
through Europe and North America in the 1880s and 1890s
The main theme of the first movement is inspired from a Ukrainian folk song
The second movement is inspired by a French song from the early 1870’s
The third movement is inspired by the Ukrainian song "Go on, go on Ivan"
It was first published by Petr Jurgenson in two parts, orchestral parts in 1875 piano
parts in 1876
The full score was published in August 1879 as a second edition with revisions
A third edition of the full score was revised and published in 1890
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Piotr il'ich tchaikovsky. (2001, May 13).
Retrieved from
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~boris/maha/music/tcha
ikovsky.html
Poznansky, A. (n.d.). Tchaikovsky: A life.
Retrieved from http://www.tchaikovskyresearch.net/
Pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.8notes.com/biographies/tchaikovsky.
asp