Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Research Paper

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russia in the year 1840. Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky, his father, had served as a lieutenant colonel and engineer in the Department of Mines and managed the Kamsko-Votkinsk Ironworks. Tchaikovsky's mother, Alexandra Andreyevna née d'Assier, was 18 years younger than Ilya and the second of his three wives. Both Ilya and Alexandra were trained in the arts, including music, which was a necessity; living in a remote area of Russia posed a need for entertainment. Tchaikovsky began piano lessons at age five and within three years he had become as skilled at reading sheet music as his teacher. However, despite their initial support, in 1850 Pyotr’s parents decided to send him to the Imperial School of …show more content…
Regardless of talent, the only musical careers available in Russia at that were as a teacher in an academy or as an instrumentalist in one of the Imperial Theaters. Both were considered on the lowest rung of the social ladder, with the individuals in them having no more rights than peasants. Tchaikovsky's separation from his mother caused him emotional trauma that lasted the rest his life. This trauma was intensified when she died in 1854, from cholera, when he was fourteen. This loss provoked Tchaikovsky to make his first serious attempt at composition, a waltz in her memory.
On 10 June 1859, the 19-year-old Tchaikovsky graduated as a titular counselor. He was appointed to the Ministry of Justice. He became a junior assistant within six months and a senior assistant two months after that. He remained a senior assistant for the rest of his three-year civil service career. In 1861, Tchaikovsky attended RMS classes in music theory taught by Nikolai Zaremba at the Mikhailovsky Palace. He also studied harmony and counterpoint. Once Tchaikovsky graduated in 1865, he was offered the post of Professor of Music Theory at the soon-to-open Moscow