Image Source: Wikipedia

Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( chy-KOF-skee; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin.

Although musically precocious, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant as there was little opportunity for a musical career in Russia at the time and no system of public music education. When an opportunity for such an education arose, he entered the nascent Saint Petersburg Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1865. The formal Western-oriented teaching that Tchaikovsky received there set him apart from composers of the contemporary nationalist movement embodied by the Russian composers of The Five with whom his professional relationship was mixed.

Tchaikovsky's training set him on a path to reconcile what he had learned with the native musical practices to which he had been exposed from childhood. From that reconciliation, he forged a personal but unmistakably Russian style. The principles that governed melody, harmony, and other fundamentals of Russian music ran completely counter to those that governed Western European music, which seemed to defeat the potential for using Russian music in large-scale Western composition or for forming a composite style, and it caused personal antipathies that dented Tchaikovsky's self-confidence. Russian culture exhibited a split personality, with its native and adopted elements having drifted apart increasingly since the time of Peter the Great. That resulted in uncertainty among the intelligentsia about the country's national identity, an ambiguity mirrored in Tchaikovsky's career.

Despite his many popular successes, Tchaikovsky's life was punctuated by personal crises and depression. Contributory factors included his early separation from his mother for boarding school followed by his mother's early death, the death of his close friend and colleague Nikolai Rubinstein, his failed marriage with Antonina Miliukova, and the collapse of his 13-year association with the wealthy patroness Nadezhda von Meck. Tchaikovsky's homosexuality, which he kept private, has traditionally also been considered a major factor though some scholars have played down its importance. His dedication of his Sixth symphony to his nephew Vladimir "Bob" Davydov and his feelings expressed about Davydov in letters to others, especially following Davydov's suicide, have been cited as evidence for a romantic love between the two. Tchaikovsky's sudden death at the age of 53 is generally ascribed to cholera, but there is an ongoing debate as to whether cholera was indeed the cause and whether the death was accidental or intentional.

While his music has remained popular among audiences, critical opinions were initially mixed. Some Russians did not feel it was sufficiently representative of native musical values and expressed suspicion that Europeans accepted the music for its Western elements. In an apparent reinforcement of the latter claim, some Europeans lauded Tchaikovsky for offering music more substantive than base exoticism, and said he transcended stereotypes of Russian classical music. Others dismissed Tchaikovsky's music as deficient because they did not stringently follow Western principles.

Birth and Death Data: Born May 7, 1840 (Votkinsk), Died November 6, 1893 (Malaya Morskaya Street, 13)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1900 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 682 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-9058 10-in. 6/7/1910 Douce reverie Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor C-9366 12-in. 8/19/1910 Lenski aria Mischa Ferenzo Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-9453 12-in. 9/14/1910 Eugen Onegin : Aria Albert G. Janpolski Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-9968 10-in. 2/20/1911 Chant sans paroles Imperial Russian Balalaika Court Orchestra Balalaika orchestra composer  
Victor C-9995 12-in. 2/20/1911 Souvenir de Tschaikovski Imperial Russian Balalaika Court Orchestra Balalaika orchestra composer  
Victor C-10303 12-in. 5/9/1911 Fourth symphony : Finale Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor C-10314 12-in. 5/10/1911 Reminiscences of Tchaikowsky Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor B-10315 10-in. 5/11/1911 Casse noisette ballet suite Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor B-10400 10-in. 5/15/1911 Don Juan's serenade Reinald Werrenrath Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-10581 12-in. 6/22/1911 Marche slave Victor Herbert's Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor B-11219 10-in. 11/9/1911 Chanson sans paroles Boris Hambourg Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-11434 10-in. 1/5/1912 Ye who have yearned alone Elsie Baker Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-11639 10-in. 2/28/1912 Overture miniature Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor B-12314 10-in. 8/13/1912 Barcarolle Victor Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor B-12805 10-in. 1/17/1913 Pimpinella Enrico Caruso Tenor vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-12915 12-in. 2/14/1913 Adieu, forêts Mrs. Metzger Female vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-13038 10-in. 3/29/1913 Valse Efrem Zimbalist Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-13338 10-in. 5/20/1913 Danse Arabe Victor Herbert's Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor B-13339 10-in. 5/20/1913 Danse Chinoise Victor Herbert's Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor B-14355 10-in. 1/21/1914 Serenade de Don Juan Enrico Caruso Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-14900 10-in. 5/26/1914 Scherzo Flonzaley Quartet String quartet composer  
Victor C-14934 12-in. 6/4/1914 Second movement : Allegro con grazia Victor Concert Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor C-15669 12-in. 2/4/1915 Fifth symphony : Second movement (Andante) Victor Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor C-15772 12-in. 3/9/1915 Es dämmert Ema Destinnová ; Maria Duchêne Vocal duet (soprano and contralto), with orchestra composer  
Victor C-15773 12-in. 3/9/1915 Es geht auf Mitternacht Ema Destinnová Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
(Results 26-50 of 682 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilich," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102415.

Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilich. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102415.

"Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilich." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102415

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.