Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky

"And may his soul rest with the souls of all the saints."

- Symphony # 6 : Tchaikovsky

Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky was born, a Russian citizen is 1840. His father was a mining and his mother was Russian but also of French decent. He was an older brother of one, Modest Ilych, who was a dramatist, librettist, and also worked as a translator.

Peter attended the school of Jurisprudence, where he studied music. His classmates recall him as "capable, well-liked, absent-minded, and compliant with rules and regulations, although he picked up smoking at the age of 14." While Peter was attending school, his mother, Alexandria, died of cholera in 1854. Peter wasn't present when his mother died, which allegedly put him on the brink of madness, as accounted by his brother. At the age of 14, he composed and dedicated a waltz to his deceased mother.

When Peter was outside of school, his aunt took opportunities to influence his musical talent by studying operas and ballet, including "Don Giovanni". Tchaikovsky graduated from Jurisprudence in 1859, and was immediately assigned to the ministry of justice. Later he applied to the Russian Music Society's new "music school", and ended up graduating in 1865. Peter studied piano, flute, and organ, in school, as well as music theory and composition.