• Peter was born in Votkinsk, Russia.

He became a lawyer at the age of 19.

• He began the study of music theory at a relatively late age: 21

• To make up for his late start, Peter composed furiously.

• He got married, but was very unhappy.

• Not knowing what to do, he tried to kill himself by wading in to the icy cold Moscow River.

• He got pneumonia but it didn’t kill him – he was in a coma for two days.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

• He separated from his wife, never to see her again.

• In the meantime, he entered into the service of a wealthy noble woman.

• In 1891, he traveled to New York, where he participated in the dedication ceremony of Carnegie Hall.

Carnegie Hall – New York

• Tchaikovsky’s music contains beautiful melodies that stretch and leap widely.

• His treatment of the orchestra is quite colorful.

• His music is full of contrasts.

• Tchaikovsky loved his family and would remain close to them throughout his life.

• It was a huge opportunity when he was asked compose the 1812 Overture in tribute to the defeat of Napoleon sixty years before this.

• This overture is a piece of “program music”. (A piece based on a storyline)

• Tchaikovsky confessed that he found this piece “very loud”.

• The beginning is a Russian chant called “Save Us, O Lord”.

• It starts very slowly.

• The symphony orchestra doubled in size during the Romantic era, achieving its present size of about 100 players.

• As it grew, and as improvements were made, the orchestra’s expressive qualities became the main focus of composers.

• Tchaikovsky often used the different sections of the orchestra against each other for contrast.

• After this solemn beginning, you can hear bits of the French National Anthem which are counterattacked by bits of the folk song “U vorot”.

• This is a musical fight! You can hear the different parts of the orchestra playing against each other.

• The theme of marching armies follows, carried out by the horns. The French national anthem reflects the French victories in the war and the capture of Moscow in September 1812.

• The Russian folk dance theme expresses the battle beating back Napoleon.

• The music dies away as the forces of Napoleon retreat from Russia.

• The firing of cannon reflects the military advances toward the French borders.

• With the end of the conflict over, we return to the peal of bells and fireworks for the victory and the liberation of Russia from the French.

• Below the cannon and the horns, we hear the Russian national anthem, “God Save the Tsar”.

• The actual cannon blasts used by Tchaikovsky are usually played by a bass drum.

• When this piece is performed, often it will use real cannon fire!

• Although the 1812 Overture was not his favorite or his best piece, Tchaikovsky is often remembered because of this piece.