Peter Tchaikovsky was born in Votinsk, in the district of Viatka, Russia on May 1, 1840. "His father, Lieutenant colonel Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky (a well-to-do engineer who was the principle inspector of Government Mines and Metallurgical works), and mother, Alexandra Andreuevna (of French ancestry) had seven children, of whom Peter was third" (Cross and Ewen, 1027). Peter's first musical expression came whine he was three, upon hearing one of Mozart's great aria's, Don Giovanni. He demonstrated extaordinary sensitivity for music early in life. As a child he was fascinated y a little mechanical instrument called an "orchestrion". When he was five he took piano lessons form Kundnges. Life passed and when he was ten he and his family moved to St. Petersburg where he was enrolled in preparatory cl

He eventually finished his first masterwork in 1870. It was the orchestral Fantasy-Overture Romeo and Juliet, written on the advice of Balakirev. I was introduced in Moscow on March16, 1870, it was received apathetically. Tchaikovsky wrote: "My overture had no success at all here, and was wholly ignored...During the whole evening no one spoke a word to me a word about it" (Cross and Ewen, 1030). He then rewrote the fantasy completely in 1870 and revised it again in 1879 to produce the now familiar version. In the fall of 1868 Tchaikovsky fell in love with a rather unattractive opera singer named Desiree Artot. "Desiree Artot has conquered hearts by her charm rivaling the great beauties.' He wrote his father, 'and mutual declarations to that to that effect were exchanged. Naturally, the question of marriage came up. We both desire it very much, and if nothing interfaces we will be married in the summer" (Cross and Ewen, 2030). This never happen though. Desiree Artot married the Spanish baritone Mariono Padillo. There were seceral other women Tchaikovsky's life. One was Antonina Miluikova, a highly emotional in-balanced student, during which she fell to her knees and asks him if she could serve him for the rest of her life. He married her on July 18, 1877. The marriage didn't last very long. He soon ran out on her to live his own life. After, leaving he was soon drawn toward another person who played a very important and curious role in his life: the patroness Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck. He learned of Tchaikovsky and his works through Rubinstein and became an immediate enthusiast. She wrote him a letter expressing how much she liked him, and he wrote her a formal letter of thanks. This was the beginning of a great relationship between the two. She supported him for thirteen years, the two never met. Why the two never asked to meet is beyond me. Why would von Meck have tried to contact her because she was a friend and that she was taking care of all expenses? Von Meck sent him 6,000 rubles a year with whatever bonuses he could manage. It is surly no coincidence that he wrote some of the best and the most memorable pieces. To see a list, of Tchaikovsky's works see Appendix A.

asses for the school of jurisprudence. Nicholas Zaremba was a big inspiration, helping him to over come his natural tendencies toward indolence. And he worked hard and well. Another of Tchaikovsky's teachers was Gabriel Lomankin. Tchaikovsky's mother died of cholera when he was 14. He finished school when he was 19. For a year he worked as a clerk in the Ministry of Justice a job he hated, but devoted himself to completel

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