Tchaikovsky: The Man and His Music

In any language, it is definitive.-The Sunday Telegraph A magnificent achievement, and one which can only deepen our appreciation and understanding of this great composer.-The Sunday Times (London) This very distinctive new work on Tchaikovsky uniquely combines a lively biography of Russia's best-loved composer with a chronological guide to his music, ranging from the popular symphonies and concertos to his operas and ballets. David Brown skillfully guides the reader through Tchaikovsky's music within the context of his life, and the result is a book that will be of particular interest to those who, knowing little or nothing of classic music, might wish to become acquainted with some of the greatest and most moving music ever composed. As for Tchaikovsky himself, he emerges as a man dogged with bouts of depression but capable of great and sustained kindness, devoted to his family, and unstinting with his time and money, even on behalf of virtual strangers. It is no wonder, then, when he died he was given a state funeral, nor that the massive crowds lining the streets delayed the procession to the cemetery by five hours. David Brown, professor of musicology at Southampton University, is an international authority on both Russian and nineteenth-century music. He is the author of a previous four-volume biographical study on Tchaikovsky, which, taken with this new book, makes Brown arguably the most renowned expert on the composer in the world.