- Hardcover: 311 pages
- Publisher: Indiana University Press (1 Jun 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0253335450
- ISBN-13: 978-0253335456
- Product Dimensions: 16.5 x 3.1 x 24.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
1,314,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #88 in Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Classical Music > Composers > Tchaikovsky
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Review
"This is Poznansky's third book on Tchaikovsky in one decade and--like its two well-received predecessors, Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man (CH, Jun'92) and Tchaikovsky's Last Days (CH, Apr'97)--it deals not at all with the music but with the man and his milieu. Poznansky (Yale) divides the book into ten essentially chronological chapters, ranging from descriptions of the composer as a schoolboy to reactions to his untimely death. At the heart of each chapter are contemporaneous comments and journalistic writings; each chapter begins with an essay by Poznansky, in which he sets the scene for the era and describes the reliability--sometimes nonreliability--of those making the comments. Given the chronological order of presentation, the essays constitute a selective biography of the composer. This book serves as a companion to Alexandra Orlova's somewhat flawed compilation of writings by the composer himself (Tchaikovsky: A Self-Portrait, comp. by Alexandra Orlova, CH, Jun'91). Poznansky's project also benefits from the assistance of two experienced translators. Materials concerning Tchaikovsky have been subject to longstanding suppression, and documentation remains to published, especially in translation. Copious endnotes and a reliable index complete the volume, which this reviewer recommends to anyone interested in this composer." --R./P>--R. Stahura, Ripon College"Choice" (01/01/1999)
Product Description
This compilation of reminiscences about Tchaikovsky the man is unprecedented in English. The memoirs, diary entries, and interviews written and conducted by his contemporaries - friends, relatives, fellow musicians, journalists, and state officials - show us both the public and the private figure: the student at the School of Jurisprudence, the conductor, the professor at the Conservatory, the philanthropist and promoter of talent, the loving brother and uncle, the intrepid traveler, and the man who impressed a range of peopleNfrom servants to members of the Russian imperial family.Ten chronologically arranged chapters offer more than fifty documents - many laudatory, others not. Here Tchaikovsky's contemporaries speak of little-known facets of the composer's life: foibles and manners, politics and tastes, prejudices and preferences (sexual and otherwise). Alexander Poznansky prefaces each chapter with information on the relevant period of the composer's life and on the writers quoted; notes elucidate allusions to individuals and artifacts, and identify sources for further information. The result is a dynamic portrayal of the composer, with all the complexities and paradoxes of a real life. Thirty-two illustrations - many of them never before published - complement the text.
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First Sentence
The following recollections focus on the three last documented periods of Tchaikovsky's life: his childhood, school years, and the time immediately following his graduation from the School of Jurisprudence. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The following recollections focus on the three last documented periods of Tchaikovsky's life: his childhood, school years, and the time immediately following his graduation from the School of Jurisprudence. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a marvelous book about Tchaikovsky compiled of diary entries from his contemporaries with commentaries and analysis by Alexander Poznansky. It is the best kind of biography that makes him seem very real, coming to life off the page. It begins in his school years and continues with a variety of rare diaries and letters of people who came in contact with him and kept journals or notes. It covers the entire social range from princes to valets, so we get quite a variety of observations from the intellectual esoteric to the very "earthy." We see not only Tchaikovsky the great composer, but also the student, the philosopher, the scholar, the workman, the card player, the bon vivant, the unsuitable suitor. It also includes explanations and diaries of his ill-fated marriage and many details of his rich personal life. The conflicts and turning points of Tchaikovsky's career and life are well illustrated. Each chapter is chronologically organized with often the inclusion of several diarists, most of whom are included in the copious illustrations. Poznansky begins each chapter with a biographical essay describing the importance of the contributor and the events of Tchaikovsky's life. The comprehensive scholarship is impeccable and the style superb. Poznansky is one of the only serious scholars, who can put together a well researched biography with style, flair and clarity that will satisfy the most stringent musicologist, while also entertaining and moving any Tchaikovsky admirer.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
The best kind of biography. A scholar's delight.
27 July 1999
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a marvelous book about Tchaikovsky compiled of diary entries from his contemporaries with commentaries and analysis by Alexander Poznansky. It is the best kind of biography that makes him seem very real, coming to life off the page. It begins in his school years and continues with a variety of rare diaries and letters of people who came in contact with him and kept journals or notes. It covers the entire social range from princes to valets, so we get quite a variety of observations from the intellectual esoteric to the very "earthy." We see not only Tchaikovsky the great composer, but also the student, the philosopher, the scholar, the workman, the card player, the bon vivant, the unsuitable suitor. It also includes explanations and diaries of his ill-fated marriage and many details of his rich personal life. The conflicts and turning points of Tchaikovsky's career and life are well illustrated. Each chapter is chronologically organized with often the inclusion of several diarists, most of whom are included in the copious illustrations. Poznansky begins each chapter with a biographical essay describing the importance of the contributor and the events of Tchaikovsky's life. The comprehensive scholarship is impeccable and the style superb. Poznansky is one of the only serious scholars, who can put together a well researched biography with style, flair and clarity that will satisfy the most stringent musicologist, while also entertaining and moving any Tchaikovsky admirer.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
...suppressed by melancholy...
18 April 2007
Format:Hardcover
Tchaicovsky was highly melancholy and controversial figure; his personality -pessimist - appeared to be every bit less fascinating than the music he composed with consummate mastery.
Tchaicovsky mixed feelings towards his male and female lovers revealed profound dissatisfaction in him and remained in search of personal happiness that he never found (which made himself infirm of purpose, something of a miserable grasshopper jumping from adventure to another). His story does not fall within the scope of the sentiments, nostalgias or the occasions of pride prevalent among the other composers.
Tchaicovsky mixed feelings towards his male and female lovers revealed profound dissatisfaction in him and remained in search of personal happiness that he never found (which made himself infirm of purpose, something of a miserable grasshopper jumping from adventure to another). His story does not fall within the scope of the sentiments, nostalgias or the occasions of pride prevalent among the other composers.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Tchaikovsky Through Others' Eyes
9 July 2007
Format:Hardcover
This is a fascinating look at one of music's controversial composers seen through the eyes of his friends, his teachers, his classmates, etc. etc. Some of the articles have never been published before and lend a great look into Tchaikovsky's real life. An excellent book.
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