Tchaikovsky: Letters to His Family (An Autobiography) [Paperback]

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

The great Russian composer Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was a compulsive letter writer. The 681 pieces contained in this volume offer unique and intimate insights into the composer's life. They range from two months before his 21st birthday in 1861 to six weeks before his death. In vivid, informative detail Tchaikovsky discusses both his own music and that of his contemporaries, as well as European literature, art, and, in a long missive, his reactions to the New World. The fascination and importance of these letters lie in the light that they throw on the social and political climate in which Tchaikovsky lived. He also has much to say about patriotism, censorship, the conditions of the peasantry, the place of the Orthodox Church, and attitudes toward foreign countries. This is the definitive work on Tchaikovsky—by Tchaikovsky.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Painfully honest, extraordinary, and touching.... A most praiseworthy enterprise. (Los Angeles Times Book Review )

An invaluable contribution to our understanding of the musical and social milieu in which Tchaikovsky worked. (Symphony Magazine )

Vivid and informative. (Library Journal )

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 612 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press; 1st Cooper Square Press ed edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815410875
• ISBN-13: 978-0815410874
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #650,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Composers & Musicians > Classical