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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky  (1840-1893)

According to The New Penguin Dictionary of Music, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer, aloof from the overt nationalism of the "Mighty Handful" group, but nevertheless writing in a distinctively Russian style. A homosexual, left his wife a few weeks after marriage (1877); 1876-90, carried on an extensive correspondence with Nadezhda von Meck, a wealthy widow who made him a monetary allowance - but they hardly met. Visited USA, 1982; England, 1983 (D. Mus., Cambridge). Developed cholera after drinking unboiled water (perhaps deliberately?) in St Petersburg, and died there a few days after the first performance of his last symphony, the "Pathetic". His second symphony is nicknamed "Ukrainian" (or "Little Russian"), and his third "Polish"; his "Manfred symphony is unnumbered. Other works - notable for vivid, forceful scoring and for an often-expressed melancholy - includes 3 piano concertos (no. 1 the popular one, no. 3 unfinished), violin concerto; orchestral works; chamber works, songs.

Sheet Music:
Sheet music at SheetMusicPlus.com
Websites:
TCHAIKOVSKY, PYOTR ILYICH BIOGRAPHY by www.naxos.com.
Books:
[§] Complete Works : 18 Piano Pieces, Op. 72 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
[§] Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Composer's World) by Wendy Thompson
[§] Tchaikovsky by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
[§] To My Best Friend by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Recorder Music CDs:
 Michael Copley on "Handel with Care" 
 Michael Copley on "Micro Classics"