Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 7 May 1840 [O.S. 25 April] – 6 November 1893 [25 October])was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. He wrote some of the most Популярное концерт and theatrical Музыка in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets лебедь Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Пианино Concerto, several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin.

Born into a middle-class family, Tchaikovsky's education prepared him for a career as a civil servant, despite the musical precocity he had demonstrated from an early age. Against the wishes of his family he chose to pursue...