Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Модест Ильич Чайковский, May 13 [OS May 1] 1850, Alapaevsk – January 15 [OS January 2] 1916, Moscow) was a Russian dramatist, opera librettist and translator. Modest Ilyich was the younger brother of the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He graduated from the School of Jurisprudence with a degree in law. In 1876, Modest became the tutor to a deaf-mute boy Nikolai (‘Kolia’) Hermanovich Konradi (1868-1922) and, ... more

Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Модест Ильич Чайковский, May 13 [OS May 1] 1850, Alapaevsk – January 15 [OS January 2] 1916, Moscow) was a Russian dramatist, opera librettist and translator. Modest Ilyich was the younger brother of the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He graduated from the School of Jurisprudence with a degree in law. In 1876, Modest became the tutor to a deaf-mute boy Nikolai (‘Kolia’) Hermanovich Konradi (1868-1922) and, using a special teaching method, helped him to talk, write, and read. Modest chose to dedicate his entire life to literature and music. He wrote plays, translated sonnets by Shakespeare into Russian and wrote librettos for operas by his brother, as well as for other composers such as Eduard Nápravník, Arseny Koreshchenko, Anton Arensky and Sergei Rachmaninov. Being the nearest friend of his brother, he became his first biographer, and also the founder of the Tchaikovsky Museum in Klin. Like his famous brother, he was a homosexual. Tchaikovsky,... less