Yes, this first piano concerto by Tschaikowsky still brings tears into my eyes.
Tchaikovsky (or Tschaikowsky) was the second of six surviving children of Ilya Tchaikovsky, a manager of the Kamsko-Votkinsk metal works, and Alexandra Assier, a descendant of French émigrés. He manifested a clear interest in music from childhood, and his earliest musical impressions came from an orchestra in the family home.
He had a few close friends that he held onto for his entire life, including his brother Modest. This shows a fiercely loyal and devoted side of his personality. Tchaikovsky was also a bit of a perfectionist, and was known to literally tear apart his own compositions if he found them unsatisfactory.
Peter Iljitsch Tschaikowsky was born on May 7, 1840 in Wotkinsk and passed away in Saint Petersburg / Russia. His father was technical director in Saint Petersburg. Tschaikowsky ignored his musical talent for a long time and got shattered when his beloved mother died so early because of cholera.
Tschaikowsky studied law and was employed in different public offices. But all those tasks had been unsuitable for him. At the age of 23, he started to study music. The overture "Romeo and Juliet" from 1869 made him popular. But the continuing popularity didn't ease his melancholy and depression. Tschaikowsky lived mostly in the province of Saint Petersburg as well as in France and Italy.
Tschaikowsky was terribly shy and afraid of his popularity. Main works have been his six symphonies as well as his incredible and unique "Piano Concerto in b-flat major" from 1875 and the "Violin Concerto in d-major" from 1878. Wonderful music treasures are also his "1812 Overture" (1880), the "Italian Capriccio" (1880) and the "String Serenade in c-major".
Tschaikowsky has been a fantastic ballet maestro - unbelievable and seldom reachable by other composers during that period. Up to now "Swan Lake", "Nutcracker" or "The Sleeping Beauty" have been unforgettable.
Tschaikowsky also composed nine operas, but only two are still known: "Eugene Onegin" (1877) and "Pique Dame" (1890).
It was a long time ago. November 1986. I have been invited by Radio Moscow, German Language Department to join a radio program. It was really difficult taking photos during that time as a tourist in Moscow. But, I did it.
Tschaikowsky was part of the then radio program. I was somehow honored to join that broadcasting then.
Back from Moscow. I tried to reshape my life. After Russian classics, I found myself back in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period.
Born in Salzburg, in the Holy Roman Empire, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty, embarking on a grand tour. At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position.
While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his early death at the age of 35. The circumstances of his death are largely uncertain, and have thus been much mythologized.
Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 600 works of virtually every genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. He is considered among the greatest classical composers of all time,[ and his influence on Western music is profound, particularly on Ludwig van Beethoven. His elder colleague Joseph Haydn wrote: "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years".
Mozart and his simple classical music yet deafening music fascinated me then. Simple? Well. Can you compare Mozart with Beethoven, Wagner, Chopin and other classical composers?
Why is Mozart music good for the brain?
The study found the subjects who listened to Mozart showed significantly increased spatial reasoning skills for at least 10-15 minutes. The finding led crèches in the United States to start playing classical music to children.
While studying during my high school time, I really found out that listening to Mozart was indeed a great help.
The Mozart effect is the theory that listening to Mozart's music can induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of cognitive tasks and processes. ... The researchers found that listening to Mozart's music did enhance word memory across positive, negative and neutral words.
One of the most tenacious myths in parenting is the so-called Mozart effect, which says that listening to music by the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart can increase a child's intelligence.
Claudia Hammond wrote about it in 2013: "It is said that classical music could make children more intelligent, but when you look at the scientific evidence, the picture is more mixed.
You have probably heard of the Mozart effect. It’s the idea that if children or even babies listen to music composed by Mozart they will become more intelligent. A quick internet search reveals plenty of products to assist you in the task. Whatever your age there are CDs and books to help you to harness the power of Mozart’s music, but when it comes to scientific evidence that it can make you more clever, the picture is more mixed".
Well, after a short period of time, I really looked "for more". And suddenly "Master" Ludwig van Beethoven stepped into my musical life". "Dadadadaan..."
I strongly agree with François Mai, who wrote: "Beethoven was the first of the romantic period composers who dominated classical music during the 19th century. He himself was a passionate man who carried his feelings on his sleeve. He had episodes of depression accompanied by suicidal ideas, and rarer episodes of elation with flights of ideas. The latter are reflected in some of his letters. He had a low frustration tolerance and at times would become so angry that he would come to blows with others such as his brother Carl, or he would throw objects at his servants. Although he never married, he had several affairs, including one with a married woman who has come to be known to posterity as ‘the Unknown Beloved’. To her he wrote three love letters that are filled with affection and feeling. He much enjoyed wine and this resulted in hepatic cirrhosis that caused his premature death at the age of 56.
This moodiness is reflected in his music. The ‘Marches Funébres’ of his Third Symphony (Eroica) and the Piano Sonata, op. 26, no. 12, are poignant and powerful portrayals of grief and bereavement. The final movement of the String Quartet, no. 6, op. 18 (La Malinconia) has sudden and alternating changes of tempo and rhythm that depict, in musical terms, the mood changes that occur in bipolar disorder. The pace and fortissimo dynamics of both his Rondo a Capriccio for piano, op. 129 and the storm movement of his Sixth Symphony (Pastoral Symphony) beautifully (or perhaps one should also say fearfully) display anger and agitation.
Beethoven's and my moodiness remain the same until today.
Well, during the last 60 years, I met most of my classical masters. This could be a never- ending story. My passion for music is a part of my life's part. Maybe, the main part.
The study found the subjects who listened to Mozart showed significantly increased spatial reasoning skills for at least 10-15 minutes. The finding led crèches in the United States to start playing classical music to children.
While studying during my high school time, I really found out that listening to Mozart was indeed a great help.
The Mozart effect is the theory that listening to Mozart's music can induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of cognitive tasks and processes. ... The researchers found that listening to Mozart's music did enhance word memory across positive, negative and neutral words.
One of the most tenacious myths in parenting is the so-called Mozart effect, which says that listening to music by the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart can increase a child's intelligence.
Claudia Hammond wrote about it in 2013: "It is said that classical music could make children more intelligent, but when you look at the scientific evidence, the picture is more mixed.
You have probably heard of the Mozart effect. It’s the idea that if children or even babies listen to music composed by Mozart they will become more intelligent. A quick internet search reveals plenty of products to assist you in the task. Whatever your age there are CDs and books to help you to harness the power of Mozart’s music, but when it comes to scientific evidence that it can make you more clever, the picture is more mixed".
Well, after a short period of time, I really looked "for more". And suddenly "Master" Ludwig van Beethoven stepped into my musical life". "Dadadadaan..."
I strongly agree with François Mai, who wrote: "Beethoven was the first of the romantic period composers who dominated classical music during the 19th century. He himself was a passionate man who carried his feelings on his sleeve. He had episodes of depression accompanied by suicidal ideas, and rarer episodes of elation with flights of ideas. The latter are reflected in some of his letters. He had a low frustration tolerance and at times would become so angry that he would come to blows with others such as his brother Carl, or he would throw objects at his servants. Although he never married, he had several affairs, including one with a married woman who has come to be known to posterity as ‘the Unknown Beloved’. To her he wrote three love letters that are filled with affection and feeling. He much enjoyed wine and this resulted in hepatic cirrhosis that caused his premature death at the age of 56.
This moodiness is reflected in his music. The ‘Marches Funébres’ of his Third Symphony (Eroica) and the Piano Sonata, op. 26, no. 12, are poignant and powerful portrayals of grief and bereavement. The final movement of the String Quartet, no. 6, op. 18 (La Malinconia) has sudden and alternating changes of tempo and rhythm that depict, in musical terms, the mood changes that occur in bipolar disorder. The pace and fortissimo dynamics of both his Rondo a Capriccio for piano, op. 129 and the storm movement of his Sixth Symphony (Pastoral Symphony) beautifully (or perhaps one should also say fearfully) display anger and agitation.
Beethoven's and my moodiness remain the same until today.
Well, during the last 60 years, I met most of my classical masters. This could be a never- ending story. My passion for music is a part of my life's part. Maybe, the main part.
