Tchaikovsky through Others' Eyes

This compilation of reminiscences about Tchaikovsky the man is unprecedented in English. The memoirs, diary entries, and interviews written and conducted by his contemporaries - friends, relatives, fellow musicians, journalists, and state officials - show us both the public and the private figure: the student at the School of Jurisprudence, the conductor, the professor at the Conservatory, the philanthropist and promoter of talent, the loving brother and uncle, the intrepid traveler, and the man who impressed a range of peopleNfrom servants to members of the Russian imperial family.Ten chronologically arranged chapters offer more than fifty documents - many laudatory, others not. Here Tchaikovsky's contemporaries speak of little-known facets of the composer's life: foibles and manners, politics and tastes, prejudices and preferences (sexual and otherwise). Alexander Poznansky prefaces each chapter with information on the relevant period of the composer's life and on the writers quoted; notes elucidate allusions to individuals and artifacts, and identify sources for further information. The result is a dynamic portrayal of the composer, with all the complexities and paradoxes of a real life. Thirty-two illustrations - many of them never before published - complement the text.