Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyitch (1840—1893)—was Russian composer who is perhaps best known for his masterpiece The Nutcracker.

Tchaikovsky was the son of a mining inspector and studied music as a child. After entering the St. Petersburg Conservatory, he studied composition with Anton Rubinstein. An allowance from his wealthy patroness, Mme von Meck, made it feasible for him to devote himself entirely to composition. Tchaikovsky wrote 11 operas, four concertos, six symphonies, a great number of songs and short piano pieces, three ballets, three string quartets, suites and symphonic poems, and numerous other works. His work often sustained him during his incessant battle with his own nature. In 1877, Tchaikovsky made a catastrophic marriage in order to defeat the anguish of his homosexuality and to deny the rumors of it.

The most successful of his compositions are his orchestral works, notably his last three symphonies, the fantasies Romeo and Juliet (1869, rev. 1870 and 1879) and Francesca da Rimini (1876); Marche slave (1876); the Manfred Symphony (1886); the ballets Swan Lake (1877), The Sleeping Beauty (1890), and The Nutcracker (1892), and the Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor (1875) and the Violin Concerto in D (1881).

Tchaikovsky traveled around Europe as a conductor, performing his Marche solennelle at the opening concert in Carnegie Hall, New York City, in 1891. A few days, after he conducted the première of his Sixth Symphony, or Symphonie pathétique, he died, reportedly of cholera. However, some experts believe that the cause was actually suicide, possibly precipitated by the threatened revelation of a homosexual relationship.

“Tchaikovsky.” Encarta Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Seattle: Microsoft, 2001.

“Tchaikovsky.” Yahoo! Encyclopedia. January 2004. http://education.yahoo.com/referenc.../entry?id=11580