I. Viktoria Postnikova: Ruines d'un château 00:07 II. Viktoria Postnikova: Romance in F minor 06:04 III. Viktoria Postnikova: Nocturne in F major 12:19 IV. Alexandre Tharaud: Nocturne in C-sharp minor 17:04 V. Alexander Paley: March 20:40 VI. Vladimir Ashkenazy: June 23:20 VII. Khatia Buniatishvili: October 28:45 VIII. Viktoria Postnikova: The sick doll 33:40 IX. Viktoria Postnikova: The doll's funeral 35:48 X. Viktoria Postnikova: Marche funèbre 38:22 XI. Tristan Pfaff: Valse sentimentale in F minor 48:38 XII. Viktoria Postnikova: Dumka 53:13 XIII. Mikhail Pletnev: Meditation in D major 01:02:51 XIV. Mikhail Pletnev: Chant èlègiaque 01:08:04 Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich (1840-93) -composer For more of Tchaikovsky's music check out my playlists: "Songs of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky" "The art of Russian song: Glinka, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky..." Biography by Robert Cummings: Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky was the author of some of the most popular themes in all of classical music. He founded no school, struck out no new paths or compositional methods, and sought few innovations in his works. Yet the power and communicative sweep of his best music elevates it to classic status, even if it lacks the formal boldness and harmonic sophistication heard in the compositions of his contemporaries, Wagner and Bruckner. It was Tchaikovsky's unique melodic charm that could, whether in his Piano Concerto No. 1 or in his ballet The Nutcracker or in his tragic last symphony, make the music sound familiar on first hearing. Tchaikovsky was born into a family of five brothers and one sister. He began taking piano lessons at age four and showed remarkable talent, eventually surpassing his own teacher's abilities. By age nine, he exhibited severe nervous problems, not least because of his overly sensitive nature. The following year, he was sent to St. Petersburg to study at the School of Jurisprudence. The loss of his mother in 1854 dealt a crushing blow to the young Tchaikovsky. In 1859, he took a position in the Ministry of Justice, but longed for a career in music, attending concerts and operas at every opportunity. He finally began study in harmony with Zaremba in 1861, and enrolled at the St. Petersburg Conservatory the following year, eventually studying composition with Anton Rubinstein. In 1866, the composer relocated to Moscow, accepting a professorship of harmony at the new conservatory, and shortly afterward turned out his First Symphony, suffering, however, a nervous breakdown during its composition. His opera The Voyevoda came in 1867-1868 and he began another, The Oprichnik, in 1870, completing it two years later. Other works were appearing during this time, as well, including the First String Quartet (1871), the Second Symphony (1873), and the ballet Swan Lake (1875). In 1876, Tchaikovsky traveled to Paris with his brother, Modest, and then visited Bayreuth, where he met Liszt, but was snubbed by Wagner. By 1877, Tchaikovsky was an establis