Tchaikovsky's Empire: A New Life of Russia's Greatest Composer

By: Simon Morrison

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Synopsis: A thrilling new biography of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky—composer of some of the world&’s most popular orchestral and theatrical music &“A lively, argumentative and thoughtful reflection on one of the 19th century&’s most important musical figures.&”—Michael O&’Donnell, Wall Street Journal Tchaikovsky is famous for all the wrong reasons. Portrayed as a hopeless romantic, a suffering melancholic, or a morbid obsessive, the Tchaikovsky we think we know is a shadow of the fascinating reality. It is all too easy to forget that he composed an empire&’s worth of music, and navigated the imperial Russian court to great advantage. In this iconoclastic biography, celebrated author Simon Morrison re-creates Tchaikovsky&’s complex world. His life and art were framed by Russian national ambition, and his work was the emanation of an imperial subject: kaleidoscopic, capacious, cosmopolitan, decentred. Morrison reexamines the relationship between Tchaikovsky&’s music, personal life, and politics; his support of Tsars Alexander II and III; and his engagement with the cultures of the imperial margins, in Ukraine, Poland, and the Caucasus. Tchaikovsky&’s Empire unsettles everything we thought we knew—and gives us a vivid new appreciation of Russia&’s most popular composer.