Category Archives: Musicological Perspectives

Aníbal Acevedo How many composers have been influenced by Tchaikovsky’s Works? It is perhaps a silly question to ask, knowing it may have no accurate answer, but  think about all performers who  had spent time with his music:  singers staging his operas, pianists playing sonatas, conductors with those amazing symphonies, and pretty much every oneContinue reading “Tchaikovsky’s simple life.”

By Preston Griffith Could Tchaikovsky’s work have been taken from his own lived experience?  To make a direct connection from his life experience to his compositions would be considered a biographical fallacy.  Craig White, professor of Literature at University of Houston Clear Lake, defines the Biographical Fallacy as “the belief that a work of fictionContinue reading “Did Tchaikovsky’s Music Come From Experience?”

Andrea Davis Tchaikovsky was a prolific writer. Years of his correspondence and diary entries have given scholars insight into his life and mind. While his personal writings communicate his thoughts and moods (and even occasionally his approach to composition), they do not necessarily present a lens through which his works can be understood. It isContinue reading “Biographical Fallacy in Music Analysis”

With some bias and fallacies in certain literature and media, people could get the wrong impression regarding a certain topic. These fallacies, especially biographical ones, can explicate the meaning of a work of literature by asserting that it is really about events in its author’s life. With that in mind, when artists present their workContinue reading “Tchaikovsky’s Diary No. 3”

In 1876, Nadezhda von Meck wrote to Nikolai Rubinstein with the hope that he could recommend a violinist who would join her household. She was willing to pay handsomely for the position, which also included travel and ample private practice time. Iosif Kotek, a student of Tchaikovsky’s at the conservatoire, was the violinist to acceptContinue reading “Yours, P. Tchaikovsky”

by Preston Griffith The relationship between Nadezhda von Meck and Pyotr Tchaikovsky began with correspondence in 1876. Tchaikovsky was age 36 and unmarried and had reached a turning point in his career.  He was becoming dissatisfied with his job at the Moscow Conservatory, and had previously composed his first three symphonies and orchestral works likeContinue reading “Nadezhda von Meck and Pyotr Tchaikovsky”

By Aníbal Acevedo Besides his mother, there were two other important women in Tchaikovsky’s life; (1) his short-term wife Antonina and (2) Nadezhda, his best friend in the world. It all started with a request she made to him about violin and piano arrangements, and in the same letter she acknowledges how she felt, almostContinue reading “Relation and Correspondence, Tchaikovsky to von Meck”

Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Nadezdha Von Meck had shared lots of correspondence between the years of 1866 and 1868. What originally started as letters asking for commissions evolved into much more. As the letters kept going back and forth, this relationship went from a composer-client negotiation to a very close friendship. While still asking for commissionsContinue reading “Von Meck’s and Tchaikovsky’s Correspondence”

Picture: Getty Drawing by a Viennese caricaturist of Paganini “fiddling devilishly, surrounded by symbols of black magic- in the background a swooning woman, vague supernatural beasts, and a ring of dancing skeletons.” In an article written in 1939 by The Musical Times, Joanne Holbrook concludes that “We are unable today to offer any more adequateContinue reading “The Myth of Paganini and the Devil”

Andrea Davis When studying history, one often assumes they are dealing with the truth—facts as they have actually happened. However, to gain a clear and more accurate picture of the details surrounding people and events, one must be more discerning. Personal bias, political agendas, financial gain, and even stereotypes may all serve to color aContinue reading “Historical Narratives: Fact or Fiction?”