Born on May 7, 1840 during the Romantic Period, Tchaikovsky was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally.
Growing up with education for a civil servant career, Tchaikovsky was able to find an opportunity for music education and entered the nascent Saint Petersburg Conservatory.
Despite his popular successes in composing Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, First Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, Romeo and Juliet and many more, Tchaikovsky’s life was punctuated by personal crises and depression. Contributory factors included his early separation from his mother for boarding school followed by his mother’s early death, the death of his close friend and colleague Nikolai Rubinstein, his failed marriage with Antonina Miliukova, and the collapse of his 13-year association with the wealthy patroness Nadezhda von Meck. Tchaikovsky’s homosexuality, which he kept private, has traditionally also been considered a major factor though some scholars have played down its importance.