Tchaikovsky biography video on michael

Nine short days after the premiere of the Pathetique Symphony, Tchaikovsky died in Saint Petersburg at the age of The official cause of death? Cholera, which was endemic at the time mainly to lower-class citizens, but not unheard of in those with higher social standing. His funeral was on November 9, The cathedral his funeral was held at had a capacity of 6, people, but 8, people crammed in that day 60, applied for tickets.

Historians have been arguing about the cause of his death for decades — was it simply cholera? Or something more dramatic, like suicide?

Tchaikovsky biography video on michael

Tchaikovsky ordered a glass of water — however, no boiled water was apparently available at the time. Boiled water was the standard health practice at the time, due to the outbreak of cholera in the city. When no boiled water was available, Tchaikovsky supposedly asked for cold unboiled water. His friends told him not to drink it, but Tchaikovsky did anyway.

This was a strange thing for anyone to do, especially Tchaikovsky, who was known for having excellent personal hygiene. Tchaikovsky predictably got sick the next day, and died a week later. The unusual nature of this story is a major reason why people have questioned its validity. Choosing to drink unboiled water was strange. It was out of character.

Something else that caused suspicion was how his corpse was handled. Typically corpses of cholera victims are removed immediately in a closed coffin — you know, to avoid any contamination. Another common theory is that Tchaikovsky killed himself. The idea that Tchaikovsky committed suicide by drinking contaminated water is supported by his unusually potent and dark Sixth Symphony, which premiered tchaikovsky biography video on michael days before his death.

This symphony was so upsetting that the audience apparently cried instead of applauded, and the end of the performance was greeted with silence, save a few sobs. Many people considered it to sound like a requiem, a sort of musical suicide note. Perhaps Tchaikovsky was devastated about being unable to pursue relationships with the people he really loved.

Maybe it was something else. Sure he could be a bit antisocial. Sure he had ups and downs, and his own personal struggles. One theory which I find fairly convincing is that Tchaikovsky caught cholera, but not from drinking cold water at the restaurant. If this was true, then Tchaikovsky and his brother Modest would have tried really hard to conceal the truth.

They might have choreographed the whole scene at the restaurant — have Tchaikovsky drink cold water in front of a bunch of witnesses, so that any cholera could be attributed to that instead. The doctors might have even gone along with this ploy, since Tchaikovsky was such a well-respected figure. I just find this to be a decent explanation for the whole weirdness of the cold water incident.

Apparently Tchaikovsky rushed out of this meeting pale and agitated, and fell ill shortly after. Kamien, p. A far more influential woman in Tchaikovsky's life was a wealthy widow, Madame Nadezhda von Meckwith whom he corresponded from to At her insistence they never met; they did encounter each other on two occasions, purely by chance, but did not converse.

As well as financial support of rubles a year, she expressed her interest in his musical career and admiration for his music. However she abruptly cut off her support for the composer. It is widely believed that she did so because she found out about Tchaikovsky's sexual preference. It is possible she was planning to marry off one of her daughters to Tchaikovsky, as she also tried unsuccessfully to marry one of them to Claude Debussywho had lived in Russia for a time as music teacher to her family.

It was during this period that Tchaikovsky achieved success throughout Europe and as well as in the United States in PetersburgTchaikovsky died. Open Library American Libraries. Search the Wayback Machine Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Sign up for free Log in. It appears your browser does not have it turned on. Please see your browser settings for this feature.

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