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Tchaikovsky
Excerpt from Tchaikovsky
The task of giving the children their first instruction fell to a young governess, Fanny Durbach. When she was engaged in November 1844 Peter was only four and a half years old, and it was not intended to give him his first lessons until later; but he was so upset, and begged so pitifully to be allowed to join the others, that no further objections were made. He appears to have been an affectionate and sensitive child, and any reproaches or fault-finding had such an exaggerated effect upon him, that it would not have been surprising if he had been spoilt; but Mdlle. Durbach, although quite captivated by her pupil, was too good a teacher to allow any preference to appear. He studied with great facility, and as the work expected of him consequently did not absorb all the time at his disposal, he soon Occupied himself with the piano.
Votkinsk was not a musical town. There were few opportunities for hearing any music, and Peter Ilyich himself was wont to say that the first impetus was given him, not by any human agency, but by a large musical-box which his father brought home from St Petersburg. His great delight was to play by ear on the piano the repertoire of the instrument. His favourite piece at this time was an aria from Don Giovanni, so that the great admiration he had all his life for Mozart may be said to have manifested itself at a very early age. When he was about six years old, his parents judged the leanings be displayed towards music sufficiently pronounced for him to be taught the piano.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The task of giving the children their first instruction fell to a young governess, Fanny Durbach. When she was engaged in November 1844 Peter was only four and a half years old, and it was not intended to give him his first lessons until later; but he was so upset, and begged so pitifully to be allowed to join the others, that no further objections were made. He appears to have been an affectionate and sensitive child, and any reproaches or fault-finding had such an exaggerated effect upon him, that it would not have been surprising if he had been spoilt; but Mdlle. Durbach, although quite captivated by her pupil, was too good a teacher to allow any preference to appear. He studied with great facility, and as the work expected of him consequently did not absorb all the time at his disposal, he soon Occupied himself with the piano.
Votkinsk was not a musical town. There were few opportunities for hearing any music, and Peter Ilyich himself was wont to say that the first impetus was given him, not by any human agency, but by a large musical-box which his father brought home from St Petersburg. His great delight was to play by ear on the piano the repertoire of the instrument. His favourite piece at this time was an aria from Don Giovanni, so that the great admiration he had all his life for Mozart may be said to have manifested itself at a very early age. When he was about six years old, his parents judged the leanings be displayed towards music sufficiently pronounced for him to be taught the piano.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
- GenresMusic
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 17, 2022
Edwin Evans’s Master Musicians book on Tchaikovsky was published in 1906. A contemporary reader needs to reflect on this date both before reading the book and probably repeatedly as the text unfolds. The book’s publication came just thirteen years after the composer died. In today’s terms, in 2022, we might be talking about a critical biography of a composer who died in 2009. And when viewed in this way, the author’s achievement seems much greater. One wonders if a contemporary author describing so recent work would ever aspire to the forensic detachment that Evans achieves. His criticism, though clearly of its own time and expressed using the phraseology of a century ago, is, however, both fair and informed, his opinion always grounded in more than statements of mere preference.
Dent & Co’s The Master Musician series is still in print and indeed Evan’s own text was republished as late as 1948. Works in the series have, of course, been updated. In our times, their content would probably be better placed in an online encyclopaedia, rather than within the boards of a hard-back edition with uncut pages. The book itself has physically stood up to time’s test quite well. I bought the book about fifty years ago on a second and market in the north of England and have just completed my first ever cover to cover read of its text, though I have regularly consulted the list of the composer’s works in its appendix, thus using it more as a reference than a text. But this work is undoubtedly a rewarding and enlightening read.
This is not a biography, nor is it a critical analysis of Tchaikovsky’s work, the author tells us. This Master Musician edition is like a guidebook to the composer and his work. First there is a biographical sketch and then follows a short appraisal of the composers work by genre.
In spite of the author’s repeated admission that his aim is not to explore detail, this short text is surprisingly comprehensive. What is lacking, of course, since the publication date remains 1906, is any discussion of the composer sexuality, which one feels would form the larger part of the discussion of this life if the book had been published a century later. Edwin Evans refers to ‘incompatibility’, to Tchaikovsky’s ‘sensitive nature’ and hints at the composer’s unwillingness to compromise. Here the lines of the text seem to be very well spaced, presumably to allow contemporary readers to insert their own interpretation.
What is refreshingly interesting about reading such a book, however, is the insight it brings as to how contemporaries received works that now are obscured by reputation and celebrity. Clearly every age remakes its own aesthetic judgment according to its own contemporary needs. But here we already have the author describing the three last symphonies of Tchaikovsky as enduring masterpieces. The operas are criticized, however, chiefly for the lack of consistency, whether it be the drama or the libretto. But generally, Tchaikovsky’s music is praised, despite the fact that the author is not reticent about labelling certain passages as below par for the composer.
What is surprising is how much criticism the composer received from his contemporaries, especially Cesar Cui, whose own compositional achievements rarely trouble concert audiences nowadays. The dominance of the Germanic tradition, however, which meant that English-speaking audiences tended to undervalue Tchaikovsky’s work, does not seem to be present in this near contemporary account of the composer’s achievements. And that alone was interesting and could not have been gleaned from a more recent work
Dent & Co’s The Master Musician series is still in print and indeed Evan’s own text was republished as late as 1948. Works in the series have, of course, been updated. In our times, their content would probably be better placed in an online encyclopaedia, rather than within the boards of a hard-back edition with uncut pages. The book itself has physically stood up to time’s test quite well. I bought the book about fifty years ago on a second and market in the north of England and have just completed my first ever cover to cover read of its text, though I have regularly consulted the list of the composer’s works in its appendix, thus using it more as a reference than a text. But this work is undoubtedly a rewarding and enlightening read.
This is not a biography, nor is it a critical analysis of Tchaikovsky’s work, the author tells us. This Master Musician edition is like a guidebook to the composer and his work. First there is a biographical sketch and then follows a short appraisal of the composers work by genre.
In spite of the author’s repeated admission that his aim is not to explore detail, this short text is surprisingly comprehensive. What is lacking, of course, since the publication date remains 1906, is any discussion of the composer sexuality, which one feels would form the larger part of the discussion of this life if the book had been published a century later. Edwin Evans refers to ‘incompatibility’, to Tchaikovsky’s ‘sensitive nature’ and hints at the composer’s unwillingness to compromise. Here the lines of the text seem to be very well spaced, presumably to allow contemporary readers to insert their own interpretation.
What is refreshingly interesting about reading such a book, however, is the insight it brings as to how contemporaries received works that now are obscured by reputation and celebrity. Clearly every age remakes its own aesthetic judgment according to its own contemporary needs. But here we already have the author describing the three last symphonies of Tchaikovsky as enduring masterpieces. The operas are criticized, however, chiefly for the lack of consistency, whether it be the drama or the libretto. But generally, Tchaikovsky’s music is praised, despite the fact that the author is not reticent about labelling certain passages as below par for the composer.
What is surprising is how much criticism the composer received from his contemporaries, especially Cesar Cui, whose own compositional achievements rarely trouble concert audiences nowadays. The dominance of the Germanic tradition, however, which meant that English-speaking audiences tended to undervalue Tchaikovsky’s work, does not seem to be present in this near contemporary account of the composer’s achievements. And that alone was interesting and could not have been gleaned from a more recent work
February 23, 2013
This fine biography of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky devotes more than half its thirteen chapters to a discussion of his musical compositions. These include the whole panoply of potential musical works comprising Operas, Symphonies, ballets, concertos, chamber works, piano music, and songs. The first five chapters provide a brief overview of the life, friendships, family, and his unsuccesful marriage. Throughout the author demonstrates the way Tchaikovsky's character--shy, sensitive, yet possessing inner strength--imbues his music with an essential essence that has resulted in his consistent popularity over more than a century since his death. The inclusion of appendices, bibliography, and index augment the value of this short (less than two hundred pages) biography. There has undoubtedly been additional scholarship since this book was first published, but it is still a worthwhile introduction to one of the great Romantic composers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews