"This is the pearl of my family." The Presidential Library celebrates birthday of Pyotr Tchaikovsky

On May 7, 1840, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the great Russian composer, was born in the small town of Votkinsk. He will carry his love for his parents, father Ilya and mother Alexandra, through his whole life. The surprisingly warm relations that prevailed in this family are described in the publications posted on the portal of the Presidential Library.

"The composer's childhood years were spent in an atmosphere of family comfort and material prosperity," writes musicologist Grigory Bernandt in the essay "P. Tchaikovsky". – The education he received at home, according to the custom that existed in noble families, was infused with French culture. A kind, warm-hearted, extremely understanding and attractive boy was everyone's favorite. Already in his early years, his observation and extraordinary susceptibility attracted attention. Governess Fanny Durbach later recalled about her favorite student: “There were no limits to his impressionability, so it was necessary to treat him very carefully. Every little thing could offend and hurt him. It was a glass sculpted child."

The parents couldn't get enough of their son. "Oh, he is everyone's favorite," Ilya said proudly, stroking his son's curly head. "This is the pearl of my family." Everyone at home also treated him with special warmth. Nina Vladykina-Bachinskaya and Cecilia Ratskaya write about this in their book "P. Tchaikovsky".

The mother of the future composer had a wonderful voice: "... Petya had no better pleasure than sitting comfortably in a large armchair, listening to his mother's sincere singing. She loved to sing and knew a lot of arias and romances." Alexandra sang as if she wanted to put all the mighty power of maternal love into her singing. Unknowingly, she strengthened the child's deep attraction to music. Petya treated his mother with adoration: "... for the rest of his life, he remembered her tall, imposing figure, her extraordinarily attractive face, with the charming gaze of large black eyes and the gentle touch of beautiful white hands."

When the boy was in his tenth year, Alexandra brought him to St. Petersburg. It was time to think about boy's further education. The choice fell on the Law School. Petya "could not think without a shudder about the moment when he would have to part with his beloved "mamma". And when that moment did come, the boy sobbed and clung to his mother so convulsively that it was hard to tear the poor child away from her."

Being separated from his family, Tchaikovsky constantly wrote to his parents in Alapaevsk, where they lived at that time. His letters are filled with warmth and tenderness: "Dear Father and Mother. You cannot imagine how glad I was when I received your letter, my dear and beautiful angels. I have read and reread your letter many times and kissed your hands that wrote this letter. But soon the month that I am looking forward to will come, and I really will get the opportunity to see you; it seems that then I will be like in paradise." This correspondence can be found in the publication Letters to relatives.

Soon the Tchaikovsky family moved to a permanent place of residence in St. Petersburg. "The boy was happy. Now it was possible to see his beloved mother every week," tells the book P. Tchaikovsky. However, the happiness was short-lived. In 1854, Alexandra died of cholera. "Every minute of that terrible day I remember as if it were yesterday," Tchaikovsky writes 20 years later.

After the death of his mother, communication with his younger twin brothers Anatoly and Modest, who were born ten years later than the composer, began to occupy the first place in Tchaikovsky's family correspondence. He writes: "My affection for these little men is getting bigger and bigger every day. I am extremely proud of them and cherish this best feeling of my heart."

Tchaikovsky's work was widely accepted during his lifetime and became an integral part of the advanced Russian art culture. The composer created a number of the greatest works that have become world classics, among them the operas "The Enchantress", "The Queen of Spades", "Iolanthe", the ballets "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Nutcracker", the 5th and 6th ("Pathetic") symphonies, the symphony "Manfred", the fantasy overture "Hamlet", suite for orchestra "Mozartiana", 3rd Piano Concerto, string sextet "Memory of Florence", several cycles of piano pieces and romances. On October 25 (November 6), 1893, Tchaikovsky died suddenly of cholera in St. Petersburg and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

More information about the composer's life and career is presented on the Presidential Library's portal based on the materials of the collection Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). It includes digital copies of the composer's autographs, sheet music and photographs with his inscriptions, correspondence, books and articles.