Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Birth date

May 7, 1840


Death date

Nov. 6, 1893



Biography


This year marks the 175th birthday of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of Russia's most beloved composers. The International Tchaikovsky Competition, which was named after the great composer, will commemorate the anniversary this year.

Born in 1840 in Votkinsk, a little town in the province of Vyatka in the Russian Empire, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is among the most iconic composers in the history of Russian music. A pupil of Anton Rubinstein at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, he was a teacher at the Moscow Conservatory and represents the great Russian musical tradition. Most of his works are among the world's most popular classical music pieces. His ballets Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, his operas Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades, his piano concerti and his Violin Concerto, his six symphonies... The great majority of Tchaikovsky's scores is now a monument in the Western cultural heritage. The year 2015 marks the composer's 175th birthday: a great opportunity for the Competition that bears his name to pay tribute to its great inspiration...


Some musical works