Tchaikovsky: His Life and Music

Publisher: Naxos Books
Price: £12.99
Website: www.naxos.com

Rudolph Kündinger, Tchaikovsky's German piano teacher in the 1850s, wrote that nothing about the Russian's behaviour suggested a potential composer or even a decent performer. He was advised to enter the civil service. That alone should make any budding composer take heart.

This book is full of insights into the composer's (yes, reader, he made it in the end) life. He was a sensitive child, prone to fits and very clingy. His beloved mother died when he was 14 and he described her as 'the most beautiful person who I loved beyond words. My love for her burns as powerfully as ever.'

Homosexual with a core army of devoted female students (sound familiar?), Tchaikovsky's eventual death at the age of 53 remains a source of controversy. Did he commit suicide because of the Russian attitude towards homosexuality? Did he deliberately drink a glass of unboiled water to contract cholera or did he wade into the Moscow river to try and get pneumonia?

This book addresses Tchaikovsky's life, death and character, and offers a fantastic two-disc selection of his music, complete with annotations and featuring everything from Eugene Onegin and The Sleeping Beauty to Zemfira's Song. The book's exclusive website also offers full versions of some featured works.

This is a good, easy-to-read guide to one of history's greatest musical geniuses. Hazel Davis

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