The Life and Works of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky at Music Hills.com

Music CD 1

Tchaikovsky In Early Childhood
Music: Glinka: Overature To A Life For The Tsar
Enforced Separation From His Mother
Music: Tchaikovsky: Dumka, Op. 59
Death Of His Mother
Music: Reverie Du Soir
Early Manhood: The Spendthrift Civil Servant
Music: Minuet From Mozartina
Dismissive Opinions Of Other Composers
Music: The Storm
Journey To A Breakdown
Music: First Symphony
Abortive Engagement
The Advent Of Balakirev
Music: Romeo And Juliet
Travels And A Wounded Friendship
Music: First Piano Concerto

Music CD 2

Reforming The Ballet
Music: The Rose Adagio From The Sleeping Beauty
Bizet's Carmen Has A Major Effect On Tchaikovsky's Music
Music: Francesca Da Rimini
A Compositional Paradox
Music: Rococo Variations
The Struggle Of Despair And Hope: He Decides To Marry
Music: The Tempest
The Advent Of Nadezhda Von Meck
Music: The Sleeping Beauty Waltz
The Disastrous Road To Matrimony
Music: Romeo And Juliet
Marriage, Trauma, And A Fairy Tale Annuity
Letter To Mme Von Meck
Music: Romeo And Juliet

Music CD 3

Recorvery And Creativity
Music: Fourth Symphony
The Creation Of His Favorite Opera
Music: Lensky's Aria From Eugene Onegin
The Return To Compositional Health
Music: Violin Concerto In D
He Experiences Distressing Relapses
Music: Capriccio Italien
Psychological Disturbances And A Long Fallow Period
Music: Piano Trio In A Minor
Sufferings For Mme Von Meck; He Decides To Settle Down
Music: Manfred Symphony
Conducting Tours And Domestic Bliss
Music: Fifth Symphony
More Conducting Tours, And A Working Holiday In Italy
Music: Souvenir De Florence

Music CD 4

The Rift With Mme Von Meck
Music: Sixth Symphony (Second Movement)
His Obsession With 'Bob' Davydov; Adventures In America
Music: Fifth Symphony
Further American Adventures
A Trip To Niagara
Music: Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker)
A Darker Episode
Music: Voyevode
Portrait Of A Conductor
A Hero's Return
Music: Sixth Symphony
The Mystery Surrounding His Death
Music: First Piano Concerto

Music reviews of The Life and Works of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky

Music Review: A fascinating look at a tortured genius
Rating: 5 Stars

Now we have two more entries in this amazing series, again written and narrated by Jeremy Siepmann: "Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky" (8.558036-39) with a playing time of 4 hrs. 5 min. and "Johann Sebastian Bach" (8.558051-54) with a playing time of 4 hrs. 34 minutes. (Please see my comments on the Bach set on its webpage.)

Was there ever a sadder composer than Tchaikovsky? Siepmann practically introduces us to the child in his cradle and covers his 53 or so years of torment over his music, his sexuality, his impossibly hopeless marriage his strange relationship with Mme von Meck, and above all his music.

To make the recording more vivid, the producers have assigned professional actors the roles of the composer himself (Malcolm Sinclair), the women in his life (Karen Archer and Teresa Gallagher) and the men (Stephen Thorne and David Timson). There are many music examples (drawn, of course, from Naxos recordings), some of them considerably longer than necessary. For example, the "Sugar Plum Fairy" is heard at length to represent all of the "Nutcracker" score when several shorter samplings would have served the purpose better. But this has been true for the entire series, and perhaps the producers will rethink this aspect.