Born: 1840, Votkinsk, Russia
Died: 1893, St. Petersburg, Russia

“Music is not illusion, but revelation rather. Its triumphant power resides in the fact that it reveals to us beauties we find nowhere else.”

Tchaikovsky was a Romantic master who successfully merged nationalistic energies with the Classical tradition. His gift for the apt melodic expression of strong emotion and his sense of rhythmic character helped make masterpieces of theater works such as the opera Eugene Onegin and the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. The intensity of his music brought it immediate success and has kept it popular with every succeeding generation of music lovers.