Introduction to Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), a Russian composer, was born into an aristocratic family. He began learning piano at the age of 5 and was sent to school at the age of 10. Went to law school and worked in the Department of Justice after graduation. However, he himself did not like this profession. He later entered the Petersburg Conservatory of Music to study composition with Ann Rubinstein. After graduation, he went to teach at the Moscow Conservatory of Music. Later, with the support of Mrs. Meck, he got rid of the heavy teaching work and concentrated on creation. Among the works he created are the familiar dance dramas "Swan Lake", "Sleeping Beauty", "The Nutcracker" and the symphonic poems "Romeo and Juliet" and "Pathetique". His music is full of inner emotion and dramatic power, and is not only loved by professional musicians, but also appreciated by the general public.

Sensitive Mind

If Peter Ilya Tchaikovsky was a brave general or soldier, we would not be surprised. He must have inherited some of the skills of his ancestors. Martial arts genes. His ancestors were Cossack nobles, and his family wore the coat of arms of the blue sky and white gulls. Several generations of his family had served the Tsar. If Tchaikovsky became one of the few Russian technicians of that era, we could still barely find the source of his work from his father. His father, Ilya Tchaikovsky, was a mine engineer. By the time Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840, he was already a prominent figure in the mining city of Voltkinsk. Inquiring into Tchaikovsky's career as a composer based on his family background would inevitably be suspected of being far-fetched and exaggerated. Indeed, Tchaikovsky did not have a musical family background like his favorite Mozart. He is not a child prodigy like Mozart.

If there was anything about him that was different from ordinary people when he was a child, it should be his particularly fragile and sensitive nature. His childhood governess, Miss Fanny Dubach, recalled the student, saying: "Peter was so sensitive that he had to be treated with great care. The smallest thing could hurt him. He was a fragile child. ." This budding artistic trait may have some explanation from his mother's family. In 1833 Ilya married for the second time, to Alexandra Arcier. The daughter of French immigrants, she had some of the piano-playing and singing skills required by her social class, which were commonplace at the time. As for the immigrant, Tchaikovsky's grandfather, what people know is that he was born a little nervous and easily excited. It is said that Alexandra's family has a history of epilepsy. Tchaikovsky suffered from a sensitive nature throughout his life and was a neurotic. However, some of the most personal and touching movements he composed later reflected precisely this nature of his. I think only an extremely sensitive person can grasp the deepest desires and rhythms in the heart and express them euphemistically and sincerely through music.

Love of Music

Tchaikovsky showed a keen interest in music at an early age. This was somewhat surprising in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century. When little Peter told Fanny that he wanted to be a musician like Mozart, the French female teacher's thought was "How strange! To the French and Germans, thinking like this is nothing, but the Russians He doesn't know anything about music." She was surprised to find that music often excited the child. One day, after the family evening, Fanny saw little Tchaikovsky sitting on the bed, his eyes shining with a strange light, saying, "Ah, listen to this music, listen to this music, save me, it is in my head, I Can't get rid of it!" It is impossible to know how true this anecdote is, but through it, we have an insight into the unstoppable love for music in young Tchaikovsky's heart.

The family was noncommittal about Peter's musical interest, but gave in to his childish enthusiasm. Shortly after Tchaikovsky's fifth birthday, his family hired a piano teacher for him to give him more formal training. In less than three years, Tchaikovsky could read music at a glance as well as the young teacher. The passion in his childish playing is astonishing. But that's all. Little Peter showed no extraordinary musical talent. Anyone who has tried to predict through Little Peter that he will become the leading musician in Russian history is somewhat fanciful, if not considered nonsense. It seems that the family and the composer himself wanted to follow the path of life at that time. After his father retired, he settled in Petersburg, the capital, and Tchaikovsky entered the local law school. After graduation, he became a first-class clerk in the Ministry of Justice.

However, Tchaikovsky always persisted in his interest in music: he used his free time to participate in chorus, performed popular opera excerpts at the request of his aunt, and took lessons with the famous German pianist Quentinge who settled in Petersburg... It was a natural fit. The closeness of music finally made Tchaikovsky no longer satisfied with being just an amateur music lover. He applied for the Petersburg Conservatory of Music and submitted his resignation to the ministry. From then on, he devoted himself completely to music, and found the anxiety and joy of his existence and expression in music.

Natural Reverie

The setting sun, the melting ice river, the dim early spring, in Levitan's paintings, in Turgenev's pen, in the Russian jungle pastoral The scenery is full of vitality, echoing with the mysterious and unpredictable sound of the intersection of sky and earth. Tchaikovsky is one of the artists who used his soul to feel the vastness and beauty of Russian nature in the 19th century. In addition to music, Tchaikovsky's happiness mainly came from his contemplation of nature. Just like music requires sensitive people to appreciate it, the beauty of nature also requires a delicate mind to capture and appreciate it well. What runs through music, nature, and soul is the concern and expression of life. Tchaikovsky liked everything about nature - the various expressions of nature, whether it is a clear sky or overcast clouds; the colorful children of nature, such as the various flowers blooming in the wind, he even wrote a poem A beautiful little poem praising the lily of the valley.

Time has not cast its magic net of melancholy and misery, and Tchaikovsky spent his childhood comfortably like most children with a privileged family environment. The beauty of nature delighted him. It is said that once, he walked alone into a sorghum field, "thumped" on his knees, and thanked God for the joy he felt in nature. The love of nature continued throughout the composer's life. Although there is no definite evidence, we can indeed believe that Tchaikovsky listened to the broadness and delicacy of life from nature and composed sentimental romantic movements; and when the self was conflicting and divided, the composer looked for inspiration from nature. To peace of mind and peace.

Whenever you visit Tchaikovsky’s former residence, you may be able to feel more deeply the composer’s sensitive heart’s love and reverie for music and nature.