Release Date: 12 January 1999
Label: Naxos - Nxc / Naxos Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 636943435724
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: TCHAIKOVSKY
Description
Pyotr ll'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Songs, Volume 1 Pyotr ll'yich Tchaikovsky retains his position as the mostpopular of all Russian composers. His music offers obvious charms in itswinning melodies and vivid orchestral colours. At the same time his achievementis deeper than this, however tempting it may be to despise what so many peopleenjoy. Born in Kamsko-Votkinsk in 1840, the second son of amining engineer, Tchaikovsky had his early education, in music as in everythingelse, at home, under the care of his mother and of a beloved governess. Fromthe age of ten he was a pupil at the School of Jurisprudence in St Petersburg,completing his studies there in 1859, to take employment in the Ministry of Justice.During these years he developed his abilities as a musician and it must haveseemed probable that, like his near contemporaries Mussorgsky, Cui,Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin, he would keep music as a secondary occupation,while following his official career. For Tchaikovsky matters turned out differently. The foundationof the new Conservatory of Music in St Petersburg under Anton Rubinsteinenabled him to study there as a full-time student from 1863. In 1865 he movedto Moscow as a member of the staff of the new Conservatory established there byAnton Rubinstein's brother Nikolay. For over ten years he continued in Moscow, befOrefinancial assistance from a rich widow, Nadezhda von Meck, enabled him to leavethe Conservatory and devote himself entirely to composition. The same period inhis life brought an unfortunate marriage to a self-proclaimed admirer of his work,a woman who showed early signs of mental instability and could only add furtherto Tchaikovsky's own problems of character and inclination. His homosexualitywas a torment to him, while his morbid sensitivity and diffidence, coupled withphysical revulsion for the woman he had married, led to a severe nervousbreakdown. Separation from his wife, which was immediate, still leftpractical and personal problems to be solved. Tchaikovsky's relationship with Nadezhdavon Meck, however, provided not only the money that at first was necessary forhis career, but also the understanding and support of a woman who, so far frommaking physical demands of him, never even met him face to face. This curiouslyremote liaison and patronage only came to an end in 1890 when, on the falseplea of bankruptcy, she discontinued an allowance that was no longer of importanceand a correspondence on which he had come to depend. Tchaikovsky's sudden death in St Petersburg in 1893 gaverise to contemporary speculation and has given rise to further posthumous rumours.It has been suggested that he committed suicide as the result of pressure froma court of honour of former students of the School of Jurisprudence, when anallegedly erotic liaison with a young nobleman seemed likely to cause an openscandal even in court circles. Officially his death was attributed to cholera,contracted after drinking undistil
Tracklisting
Dariia Lytvishko
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Alice Di Piazza; Basel Sinfonietta; NDR Bigband; Titus Engel
Anna Alas i Jove; Miquel Villalba
David Childs; Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs
Yaqi Yang; Margarita Parsamyan; Robynne Redmon; Minghao Liu; Frank Ragsdale; Kim Josephson; Kevin S
Vilmos Csikos; Olivier Lechardeur; Manon Lamaison
Tomas Cotik; Martingale Ensemble; Ken Selden
