P. I. Tchaikovsky: through thorns to the stars

    A long time ago, on the southwestern borders of Russia, in the steppes of Ukraine, there lived a freedom-loving Cossack family with a beautiful surname Chaika. The history of this family goes back centuries, when Slavic tribes developed fertile steppe lands and were not yet divided into Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians after the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar hordes.

    The Tchaikovsky family loved to remember the heroic life of their great-grandfather Fyodor Afanasyevich Chaika (1695-1767), who, with the rank of centurion, actively participated in the defeat of the Swedes by Russian troops near Poltava (1709). In that battle, Fyodor Afanasyevich was seriously wounded.

Around the same period, the Russian state began to assign each family a permanent surname instead of nicknames (non-baptismal names). The composer’s grandfather chose the surname Tchaikovsky for his family. These kinds of surnames ending in “sky” were considered noble, as they were given to families of the noble class. And the title of nobility was awarded to the grandfather for “faithful service to the Fatherland.” During the Russian-Turkish war, he performed the most humane mission: he was a military doctor. Pyotr Ilyich’s father, Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky (1795-1854), was a famous mining engineer.

     Meanwhile, from time immemorial in France there lived a family bearing the surname Assier. Who’s on earth Franks might then have thought that centuries later in cold, distant Muscovy their descendant would become a world-famous star, will glorify the Tchaikovsky and Assier family for centuries.

     Mother of the future great composer, Alexandra Andreevna Tchaikovskaya, maiden name bore the surname Assier (1813-1854), often told her son about her grandfather Michel-Victor Assier, who was a famous French sculptor, and about his father, who in 1800. came to Russia and stayed here to live (taught French and German).

Fate brought these two families together. And April 25, 1840 in the Urals in a then small village Peter was born at the Kama-Votkinsk plant. Now this is the city of Votkinsk, Udmurtia.

     My parents loved music. Mom played the piano. Sang. My father loved to play the flute. Amateur musical evenings were held at home. Music entered the boy’s consciousness early, captivated him. A particularly strong impression on little Peter (his family name was Petrusha, Pierre) was made by the orchestra purchased by his father, a mechanical organ equipped with shafts, the rotation of which produced music. Zerlina’s aria from Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni” was performed, as well as arias from operas by Donizetti and Rossini. At the age of five, Peter used themes from these musical works in his fantasies on the piano.

     From early childhood, the boy was left with an indelible impression of lingering sad folk tunes that could be heard on quiet summer evenings in the surrounding area Votkinsk plant.

     Then he fell in love with walks with his sister and brothers, accompanied by his beloved governess Frenchwoman Fanny Durbach. We often went to the picturesque rock with the fabulous name “The Old Man and the Old Woman.” There was a mysterious echo there… We went boating on the Natva River. Perhaps these walks gave rise to the habit of taking multi-hour walks every day, whenever possible, in any weather, even in rain and frost. Walking in nature, the already adult, world-famous composer drew inspiration, mentally composed music, and found peace from the problems that had haunted him all his life.

      The connection between the ability to understand nature and the ability to be creative has long been noted. The famous Roman philosopher Seneca, who lived two thousand years ago, said: “Omnis ars naturae imitatio est” – “all art is an imitation of nature.” A sensitive perception of nature and refined contemplation gradually formed in Tchaikovsky the ability to see what was not accessible to others. And without this, as we know, it is impossible to fully comprehend what is seen and materialize it in music. Because of the child’s special sensitivity, impressionability, and fragility of his nature, the teacher called Peter “the glass boy.” Often, out of delight or sadness, he came into a special exalted state and even began to cry. He once shared with his brother: “There was a minute, an hour ago, when, in the middle of a field of wheat adjacent to the garden, I was so overwhelmed with delight that I fell to my knees and thanked God for the entire depth of the bliss I experienced.” And in his mature years, there were often cases similar to what happened during the composition of his Sixth Symphony, when, while walking, mentally constructing, drawing significant musical fragments, tears welled up in his eyes.

     Preparing to write the opera “The Maid of Orleans” about a heroic and dramatic fate

Joan of Arc, while studying historical materials about her, the composer admitted that “… experienced too much inspiration… I suffered and tormented for three whole days that there was so much material, but so little human strength and time! Reading a book about Joan of Arc and reaching the process of abjuration (renunciation) and the execution itself… I cried terribly. I suddenly felt so terrible, it hurt for all of humanity, and I was overcome with inexpressible melancholy!”

     When discussing the prerequisites for genius, one cannot help but note such a characteristic of Peter as violence fantasies. He had visions and sensations that no one else felt except himself. The imaginary sounds of music easily conquered his entire being, captivated him completely, penetrated his consciousness and did not leave him for a long time. Once in childhood, after a festive evening (perhaps this happened after listening to the melody from Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni”), he was so imbued with these sounds that he became very overexcited and cried for a long time at night, exclaiming: “Oh, this music, this music!” When, trying to console him, they explained to him that the organ was silent and “has been sleeping for a long time,” Peter continued to cry and, clutching his head, repeated: “I have music here, here. She doesn’t give me peace!”

     In childhood, one could often observe such a picture. Little Petya, deprived opportunity to play the piano, for fear that he would become overexcited, he melodiously tapped his fingers on the table or other objects that came to his hand.

      His mother taught him his first music lessons when he was five years old. She taught him music literacy At the age of six he began to confidently play the piano, although, of course, at home he was taught to play not quite professionally, but “for himself,” to simply accompany dances and songs. From the age of five, Peter loved to “fantasize” on the piano, including the themes of melodies heard on the home mechanical organ. It seemed to him that he began composing as soon as he learned to play.

     Fortunately, Peter’s development as a musician was not hindered by some underestimation of him. musical abilities, which occurred in early childhood and adolescence. Parents, despite the child’s obvious craving for music, did not recognize (if a layman is even capable of doing so) the full depth of his talent and, in fact, did not contribute to his musical career.

     Since childhood, Peter was surrounded by love and care in his family. His father called him his favorite the pearl of the family. And, of course, being in a home greenhouse environment, he was not familiar with harsh reality, the “truth of life” that reigned outside the walls of my home. Indifference, deception, betrayal, bullying, humiliation and much more were not familiar to the “glass boy.” And suddenly everything changed. At the age of ten, the boy’s parents sent him to boarding school, where he was forced to spend more than a year without his beloved mother, without his family… Apparently, such a turn of fate dealt a heavy blow to the child’s refined nature. Oh, mom, mom!

     In 1850 immediately after boarding school, Peter, at the insistence of his father, entered the Imperial School jurisprudence. For nine years he studied jurisprudence there (the science of laws that determine what can be done and what actions will be punished). Received a legal education. In 1859 After graduating from college, he began working at the Ministry of Justice. Many may be confused, but what about music? Yes, and in general, are we talking about an office worker or a great musician? We hasten to reassure you. The years of his stay at the school were not in vain for the musical young man. The fact is that this educational institution had a music class. Training there was not mandatory, but optional. Peter tried to make the most of this opportunity.

    Since 1852, Peter began to study music seriously. At first he took lessons from an Italian Piccioli. Since 1855 studied with pianist Rudolf Kündinger. Before him, music teachers did not see talent in young Tchaikovsky. Kündinger may have been the first to notice the pupil’s outstanding abilities: “… Amazing fineness of hearing, memory, excellent hand.” But he was particularly impressed by his ability to improvise. The teacher was amazed by Peter’s harmonious instincts. Kündinger noted that the student, not being familiar with music theory, “several times gave me advice on harmony, which in most cases was practical.”

     In addition to learning to play the piano, the young man participated in the school’s church choir. In 1854 composed the comic opera “Hyperbole”.

     In 1859 He graduated from college and began working at the Ministry of Justice. Many people believe that the efforts spent on acquiring knowledge that had nothing to do with music were completely in vain. We can probably agree with this with only one caveat: legal education contributed to the formation of Tchaikovsky’s rationalistic views on the social processes taking place in Russia in those years. There is an opinion among experts that a composer, artist, poet, willingly or unwillingly, reflects in his works the contemporary era with special, unique features. And the deeper the artist’s knowledge, the broader his horizons, the clearer and more realistic his vision of the world.

     Law or music, duty to family or childhood dreams? Tchaikovsky in his I stood at a crossroads for twenty years. To go to the left means to be rich. If you go to the right, you will take a step into an alluring but unpredictable life in music. Peter realized that by choosing music, he would go against the will of his father and family. His uncle spoke about his nephew’s decision: “Oh, Petya, Petya, what a shame! Traded jurisprudence for the pipe!” You and I, looking from our 21st century, know that father, Ilya Petrovich, will act quite prudently. He will not reproach his son for his choice; on the contrary, he will support Peter.

     Leaning towards music, the future composer rather carefully drew his future. In a letter to his brother, he predicted: “I may not be able to compare with Glinka, but you will see that you will be proud to be related to me.” Just a few years later, one of the most famous Russian music critics will call Tchaikovsky “the greatest talent Russia “.

      Each of us also sometimes has to make a choice. We are, of course, not talking about simple everyday decisions: eat chocolate or chips. We are talking about your first, but perhaps the most serious choice, which can predetermine your entire future fate: “What should you do first, watch a cartoon or do your homework?” You probably understand that the correct determination of priorities in choosing a goal, the ability to rationally spend your time will depend on whether you achieve serious results in life or not.”

     We know which path Tchaikovsky took. But was his choice random or natural. At first glance, it is not clear why the soft, delicate, obedient son committed a truly courageous act: he violated the will of his father. Psychologists (they know a lot about the motives of our behavior) claim that a person’s choice depends on many factors, including personal qualities, a person’s character, his passions, life goals, and dreams. How could a person who had loved music since childhood, breathed it, thought about it, act otherwise? allegories, sounds? His subtle sensual nature hovered where it did not penetrate materialistic understanding of music. The great Heine said: “Where words end, there the music begins”… The young Tchaikovsky subtly felt generated by human thought and feelings of peace of harmony. His soul knew how to talk to this largely irrational (you can’t touch it with your hands, you can’t describe it with formulas) substance. He was close to understanding the secret of the birth of music. This magical world, inaccessible to many, beckoned him.

     Music needed Tchaikovsky – a psychologist who is able to understand the inner spiritual the human world and reflect it in works. And, indeed, his music (for example, “Iolanta”) is full of psychological drama of the characters. In terms of the degree of penetration of Tchaikovsky into the inner world of a person, he was compared with Dostoevsky.       The psychological musical characteristics that Tchaikovsky gave to his heroes are far from a flat display. On the contrary, the images created are three-dimensional, stereophonic and realistic. They are shown not in frozen stereotypical forms, but in dynamics, in exact accordance with plot twists.

     It is impossible to compose a symphony without inhuman hard work. Therefore the music demanded Peter, who admitted: “Without work, life has no meaning for me.” Russian music critic G.A. Laroche said: “Tchaikovsky worked tirelessly and every day… He experienced the sweet pangs of creativity… Not missing a day without work, writing at set hours became a law for him from a young age.” Pyotr Ilyich said about himself: “I work like a convict.” Not having time to finish one piece, he began work on another. Tchaikovsky stated: “Inspiration is a guest that does not like to visit the lazy.”     

Tchaikovsky’s hard work and, of course, talent can be judged, for example, by how much he responsibly approached the task given to him by A.G. Rubinstein (he taught at Conservatory of Composition) write contrapuntal variations on a given theme. Teacher expected to receive ten to twenty variations, but was pleasantly surprised when Pyotr Ilyich presented more than two hundred!” Nihil Volenti difficile est” (For those who wish, nothing is difficult).

     Already in his youth, Tchaikovsky’s work was characterized by the ability to tune in to work, for a “favorable state of mind”, that work became “sheer pleasure.” Tchaikovsky, the composer, was greatly helped by his fluency in the allegory method (allegorical, figurative depiction of an abstract idea). This method was used especially vividly in the ballet “The Nutcracker”, in particular, in the presentation of the holiday, which began with the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Divertimento – suite includes the Chocolate dance (an energetic, fast Spanish dance), the Coffee dance (a leisurely Arabic dance with lullabies) and the Tea dance (a grotesque Chinese dance). The divertissement is followed by a dance – the delight “Waltz of the Flowers” – an allegory of spring, the awakening of nature.

     Pyotr Ilyich’s creative rise was helped by self-criticism, without which the path to perfection practically impossible. Once, already in his mature years, he somehow saw all his works in a private library and exclaimed: “Lord, how much I have written, but all this is still not perfect, weak, not masterfully done.” Over the years, he radically altered some of his works. I tried to admire other people’s works. Evaluating himself, he showed restraint. Once, to the question “Peter Ilyich, are you probably already tired of praise and are simply not paying attention?” the composer replied: “Yes, the public is very kind to me, maybe even more than I deserve…” Tchaikovsky’s motto was the words “Work, knowledge, modesty.”

     Strict with himself, he was kind, compassionate, and responsive to others. He never was indifferent to the problems and troubles of others. His heart was open to people. He showed a lot of care for his brothers and other relatives. When his niece Tanya Davydova fell ill, he was with her for several months and left her only when she recovered. His kindness was manifested, in particular, in the fact that he gave away his pension and income when he could, relatives, including distant ones, and their families.

     At the same time, during work, for example, at rehearsals with the orchestra, he showed firmness, exactingness, achieving a clear, precise sound of each instrument. The characterization of Pyotr Ilyich would be incomplete without mentioning several more of his personal qualities His character was sometimes cheerful, but more often he was prone to sadness and melancholy. Therefore in his work was dominated by minor, sad notes. Was closed. Loved solitude. Strange as it may seem, loneliness contributed to his attraction to music. She became his friend for life, saved him from sadness.

     Everyone knew him as a very modest, shy person. He was straightforward, honest, truthful. Many of his contemporaries considered Pyotr Ilyich a very educated person. In rare In moments of relaxation, he loved to read, attend concerts, and perform works by his favorite Mozart, Beethoven and other musicians. By the age of seven he could speak and write in German and French. Later he learned Italian.

     Possessing the personal and professional qualities necessary to become a great musician, Tchaikovsky made the final turn from a career as a lawyer to music.

     A direct, albeit very difficult, thorny path to the top opened before Pyotr Ilyich musical skill. “Per aspera ad astra” (Through thorns to the stars).

      In 1861, in the twenty-first year of his life, he entered music classes at the Russian musical society, which three years later were transformed into the St. Petersburg conservatory. He was a student of the famous musician and teacher Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein (instrumentation and composition). The experienced teacher immediately recognized an extraordinary talent in Pyotr Ilyich. Under the influence of the enormous authority of his teacher, Tchaikovsky for the first time truly gained confidence in his abilities and passionately, with tripled energy and inspiration, began to comprehend the laws of musical creativity.

     The dream of the “glass boy” came true – in 1865. received a higher musical education.

Pyotr Ilyich was awarded a large silver medal. Was invited to teach at the Moscow conservatory. Received a position as a professor of free composition, harmony, theory and instrumentation.

     Moving towards his cherished goal, Pyotr Ilyich was ultimately able to become a star of the first magnitude on the world’s musical firmament. In Russian culture, his name is on a par with the names

Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky. On the world musical Olympus, his creative contribution is comparable to the role of Bach and Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert, Schumann and Wagner, Berlioz, Verdi, Rossini, Chopin, Dvorak, Liszt.

     His contribution to world musical culture is enormous. His works are especially powerful imbued with the ideas of humanism, faith in the high destiny of man. Pyotr Ilyich sang the victory of happiness and sublime love over the forces of evil and cruelty.

     His works have enormous emotional impact. The music is sincere, warm, prone to elegance, sadness, minor key. It is colorful, romantic and unusual melodic richness.

     Tchaikovsky’s work is represented by a very wide range of musical genres: ballet and opera, symphonies and program symphonic works, concerts and chamber music instrumental ensembles, choral, vocal works… Pyotr Ilyich created ten operas, including “Eugene Onegin”, “The Queen of Spades”, “Iolanta”. He gave the world the ballets “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “The Nutcracker”. The treasury of world art includes six symphonies, overtures – fantasies based on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, and the orchestral play Solemn Overture “1812”. He wrote concertos for piano and orchestra, a concerto for violin and orchestra, and suites for symphony orchestra, including Mocertiana. Piano pieces, including the “Seasons” cycle and romances, are also recognized as masterpieces of world classics.

     It’s hard to imagine what a loss this could have been for the world of musical art. turn back the blows of fate dealt to the “glass boy” in his childhood and adolescence. Only a person infinitely devoted to art can withstand such tests.

Another blow of fate was dealt to Pyotr Ilyich three months after the end of conservatory. Music critic Ts.A. Cui undeservedly gave a bad assessment of Tchaikovsky’s abilities. With an unscrupulous word that loudly sounded in the St. Petersburg Gazette, the composer was wounded to the very heart… A few years earlier, his mother passed away. He received the hardest blow from the woman he loved, who, soon after her engagement to him, left him for money for another…

     There were other tests of fate. Perhaps that is why, trying to hide from the problems that haunted him, Pyotr Ilyich led a wandering lifestyle for long periods of time, often changing his place of residence.

     The last blow of fate turned out to be fatal…

     We thank Pyotr Ilyich for his dedication to music. He showed us, young and old, an example of perseverance, endurance, and determination. He thought about us young musicians. Being already an adult famous composer, surrounded by “adult” problems, he gave us priceless gifts. Despite his busy schedule, he translated Robert Schumann’s book “Life Rules and Advice to Young Musicians” into Russian. At the age of 38, he released a collection of plays for you called “Children’s Album”.

     “The Glass Boy” encouraged us to be kind and to see the beauty in people. He bequeathed to us a love of life, nature, art…