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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильич Чайковский (help·info), tr. Pëtr Il'ič Čajkovskij, IPA [ˈpʲɵtr ɪlʲˈjitɕ tɕɪjˈkofskʲɪj]; May 7, 1840 [O.S. April 25] – November 6, 1893 [O.S. October 25]), often called Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky (pronounced /ˈpiːtər ˈɪlɨtʃ tʃaɪˈkɒvski/) in English, was a...
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Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, (Russian: Евгений Онегин, Yevgény Onégin) is an opera ("lyrical scenes") in 3 acts (7 scenes), by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based...
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The Queen of Spades
The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 (Russian: Пиковая дама, Pikovaya dama) is an opera in 3 acts (7 scenes) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story of the same name by Alexander...
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The Enchantress
The Enchantress (or The Sorceress, Russian: Чародейка, Charodéyka) is an opera in four acts by Pyotr Tchaikovsky based on the libretto by Ippolit Shpazhinsky usng his drama with the same title. The opera was composed between September 1885 and May...
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The Oprichnik
The Oprichnik or The Guardsman (Russian: Опричник, Oprichnik) is an opera in 4 acts, 5 scenes, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893) to his own libretto after the tragedy The Oprichniks (Russian: Опричники) by Ivan Lazhechnikov (1792 – 1869). The...
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Mazeppa
Mazeppa, properly Mazepa (Russian: Мазепа), is an opera in 3 acts (6 scenes) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Victor Burenin and is based on Pushkin's poem Poltava.
Mazeppa is a blood-thirsty tale of crazy love, abduction,...
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Cherevichki
Cherevichki (Russian: Черевички, Cherevichki, Čerevički, The Slippers) [alternative renderings are The Little Shoes, The Tsarina's Slippers, Les caprices d'Oxane, and Gli stivaletti] is a comic-fantastic opera in 4 acts, 8 scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich...
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The Sorceress
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The Maid of Orleans
The Maid of Orleans (Russian: Орлеанская дева, Orleanskaja deva) is an opera in 4 acts, 6 scenes, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It was composed during 1878–1879 to a Russian libretto by the composer, based on several sources: Friedrich von Schiller’s The...
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Vakula the Smith
Vakula the Smith (Russian: Кузнец Вакула, Kuznets Vakula, Smith Vakula), is an opera in 3 acts, 8 scenes by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, his Opus 14. The libretto was written by Yakov Polonsky, and is based on Nikolai Gogol's story Christmas Eve (Russian:...
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Iolanta
Iolanta, Op. 69, (sometimes Iolanthe) (Russian: Иоланта) is a lyric opera in one act by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, and is based on the Danish play Kong Renés Datter (King René’s Daughter...
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Undina
Undina (sometimes Undine or Ondine) (Russian: Ундина) is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The work was composed in 1869. The libretto was written by Vladimir Sollogub, and is based on Vasily Zhukovsky's translation of Friedrich de la Motte...
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The Voyevoda
The Voyevoda, Op. 78, is a "symphonic ballad" for orchestra, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1891. It is based on Alexander Pushkin's translation of Adam Mickiewicz's poem of that name.
Tchaikovsky started work on the symphonic ballad in...
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Date completed:
- 1891
Swan Lake
Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое Озеро, Lebedinoye Ozero) is a ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, by Vladimir Begichev and Vasiliy Geltser was fashioned from Russian folk tales as well...
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1812 Overture
The Year 1812, Festival overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture (French: Ouverture Solennelle, L'Année 1812, Russian: Торжественная увертюра 1812-ого года, Toržestvennaja uvertjura tysjača vosem'sot dvennadstovo goda,...
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The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker (German: Der Nussknacker, Russian: Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik), Op. 71, is a fairy tale-ballet in two acts and three scenes. Alexandre Dumas père's adaptation of the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E. T. A. Hoffmann was...
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Violin Concerto
The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1878, is one of the best known of all violin concertos. It is also considered to be among the most technically difficult works for violin.
The concerto is scored for 2...
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- 1878
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Symphony No. 6
The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Pathétique, Op. 74 is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final symphony, written between February and the end of August 1893. The composer led the first performance in St. Petersburg on October 28 of that year, nine days...
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- 1893
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Piano Trio
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Trio in A minor, Op. 50 for piano, violin, and cello was written in Rome between December 1881 and late January 1882. It is subtitled In memory of a great artist, in reference to Nikolai Rubinstein, his close friend and...
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- 1882
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Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a musical work by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, subtitled Overture-Fantasy, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. Like other composers such as Berlioz and Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky was deeply inspired by Shakespeare, and he also...
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- Sep 10, 1880
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Piano Concerto No. 1
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between November 1874 and February 1875. It was revised in the summer of 1879 and again in December 1888. It is considered one of the most popular of...
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- Feb 1875
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Slavonic March
The Slavonic March in B-flat minor, Op. 31 (also commonly known by its French title Marche Slave), is an orchestral composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
In June 1876, following incidents in which Turkish soldiers killed a large number of...
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Manfred Symphony
The Manfred Symphony in B minor, Op. 58 is a programmatic symphony composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between May and September 1885. It is based on the poem Manfred written by Lord Byron in 1817. It is the only one of Tchaikovsky's symphonies he...
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- 1885
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Variations on a Rococo Theme
The Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, for cello and orchestra was the closest Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ever came to writing a full concerto for cello and orchestra. The style was inspired by Mozart, Tchaikovsky's role model, and makes it clear...
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Danse des petits cygnes
Danse des petits cygnes is a famous dance from the ballet Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, from the ballet’s second or fourth act, but has become synonymous with the choreography by Lev Ivanov. The name, translated from French, means "Dance of the Little...
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Symphony No. 4
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, was written between 1877 and 1878. The symphony's first performance was at a Russian Musical Society concert in Saint Petersburg on February 10 (Old Style)/February 22 (New Style) 1878,...
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- 1878
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Symphony No. 5
The Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was composed between May and August 1888 and was first performed in St Petersburg at the Hall of Nobility on November 6 of that year with Tchaikovsky conducting.
A typical performance...
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- 1888
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Francesca da Rimini
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini: Symphonic Fantasy after Dante, Op. 32 was composed in less than three weeks during his visit to Bayreuth in the autumn of 1876.
In this fantasia, Tchaikovsky presents a symphonic...
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- 1876
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String Quartet No. 1
String Quartet No. 1 in D major was the first of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's three string quartets, and his Opus 11.
The quartet has 4 movements:
The melancholic Andante cantabile movement has become famous, and was founded on a folk-song the...
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The Sleeping Beauty
The Sleeping Beauty (Russian: Спящая Красавица, Spyashchaya Krasavitsa) is a ballet in a prologue and three acts, first performed in 1890. The music was by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (his Opus 66). The score was completed in 1889, and is the second of his...
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Symphony No. 3
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 29, was written in 1875. He began it at Vladimir Shilovsky's estate at Ussovo on 5 June and finished it on 1 August at Verbovka. It is dedicated to Shilovsky.
The Symphony No. 3 is unique in...
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- 1875
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The Seasons
The Seasons, Op. 37a (also seen as Op. 37b; published with the French title Les Saisons) is a set of twelve short character pieces for solo piano by the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Each piece is the characteristic of a different month...
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The Tempest
The Tempest (Burya), Symphonic Fantasia after Shakespeare, Op. 18 is a symphonic poem in F minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed in 1873. It was premiered in December 1873, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein.
It is based on the play The Tempest by...
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- 1873
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Serenade for Strings
Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48, premiered in 1880. It remains one of the late Romantic era's most definitive compositions.
In his score, Tchaikovsky supposedly wrote, "The larger the string orchestra, the better will the...
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Symphony No. 1
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote his Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Winter Daydreams (Russian: Зимние грёзы, Zimniye gryozy), Op. 13, in 1866, just after he accepted a professorship at the Moscow Conservatory. The composer's brother Modest claimed this...
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- 1866
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Capriccio Italien
The Capriccio Italien, op. 45 is a fantasy for orchestra composed between January and May of 1880 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The Capriccio was inspired by a trip Tchaikovsky took to Rome, during which he saw the Carnival in full swing, and is...
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- May 1880
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Piano Concerto No. 2
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 44, was written in 1879-1880. It was dedicated to Nikolai Rubinstein, who had insisted he be allowed to perform it at the premiere as a way of making up for his harsh criticism of...
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- 1880
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String Quartet No. 3
The String Quartet No. 3 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 30, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was composed in 1876, and is the last of his three String Quartets. It was written as a memorial for Ferdinand Laub. (The date upon the manuscript is early February 1876...
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Symphony No. 2
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17 in 1872. One of Tchaikovsky's very joyous compositions, it was successful upon its premiere; it also won the favor of the group of nationalistic Russian composers known as "The...
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- 1872
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Cello Concerto
The Cello Concerto of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is a conjectural work based in part on a 60-bar fragment found on the back of the rough draft for the last movement of the composer's Sixth Symphony, the Pathétique. In 2006, Ukrainian composer and...
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Piano Concerto No. 3
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. post. 75, was begun as a symphony in E flat. The symphony was abandoned, only to become a a single-movement Allegro brillante when published posthumously. Controversy remains,...
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Andante and Finale
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Andante and Finale for piano and orchestra was initially intended as the slow movement and finale of the Symphony in E flat, a work he started in 1892 but eventually abandoned. Tchaikovsky began reworking the sketches for...
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Pezzo Capriccioso
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his Pezzo capriccioso, op. 62, for cello and orchestra in a single week in August 1887. Belying its title, this work is written in the somber key of B minor, the same key as the Pathetique symphony. The Pezzo is not...
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- Aug 1887
Souvenir de Florence
The String Sextet in D Minor "Souvenir de Florence", Op. 70, is a string sextet scored for 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos composed in 1890 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky dedicated the work to the St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society in...
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Concert Fantasia
The Concert Fantasia in G, Op. 56, for piano and orchestra, was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between June and October 1884. It was premiered in Moscow on 6 March [O.S. 22 February] 1885, with Sergei Taneyev as soloist and Max Erdmannsdörfer...
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- Oct 1884
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Symphony in E flat
Tchaikovsky's Symphony in E flat, op. posthumous, was commenced after the Symphony No. 5, and was intended initially to be the composer's next (i.e., sixth) symphony. Tchaikovsky abandoned this work in 1892, only to reuse much of it in the Third...
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Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem
During his time at the Moscow Conservatoire, around September 1866 the school's principal, Nikolay Rubinstein commissioned Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to compose a Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem to be played for the visit of the...
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Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed a Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op. 41, in 1880. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the primary worship service of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
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- 1880
Souvenir de Hapsal
Souvenir de Hapsal is a suite of three pieces for piano by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was his first cycle of piano pieces and it was composed in 1867.
The Souvenir de Hapsal was written during Tchaikovsky's stay in Hapsal, then in the Russian...
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Orchestral Suite No. 4
The Orchestral Suite No. 4 Op. 61, more commonly known as Mozartiana, is an orchestral suite by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, written in 1887 as a tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the 100th anniversary of that composer's opera Don Giovanni. Because...
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Date completed:
- 1887
None but the lonely heart
Tchaikovsky composed a set of six romances for voice and piano, Op. 6, in late 1869. The last of these songs, the melancholy None but the lonely heart (Russian: Нет, только тот, кто знал, Net, tolko tot, kto znal), is Tchaikovsky's most famous song,...
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Orchestral Suite No. 2
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his Orchestral Suite No. 2 in C major, Op. 53, in 1883. It was premiered on February 16, 1884 at a Russian Musical Society concert in Moscow, conducted by Max Erdmannsdörfer. The piece was well enough received to be...
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- 1883
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Orchestral Suite No. 3
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his Orchestral Suite No. 3 in G, Op. 55 in 1884, writing it concurrently with his Concert Fantasia in G, Op. 56, for piano and orchestra. Its first performance was in St. Petersburg on January 24, 1884, under the...
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- 1884
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Orchestral Suite No. 1
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his Orchestral Suite No. 1 in D minor, Op. 43 between 1878 and 1879. It was premiered on December 20, 1879 at a Russian Musical Society concert in Moscow, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein. The piece is dedicated to...
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Date completed:
- 1879
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Scherzo a la russe
"Scherzo à la russe", Op. 1, No. 1, is part of the first published work of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Two Pieces for Piano, Op. 1.
It is based on a Ukrainian folk tune in B-flat major. It was first called Capriccio (Italian, "whim") but was later...
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The Life Guardsman
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Oxana's Caprice
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The Storm
The Storm, Op. posth. 76, is an overture (in the context of a symphonic poem) in E minor composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between June and August 1864. The work is inspired by the play The Storm by the Russian playwright Aleksandr Ostrovsky....
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- Aug 1864
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Hamlet
Hamlet provided material for two works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his overture-fantasia Hamlet, Op. 67a, and the incidental music he composed for Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Op. 67b.
Tchaikovsky wrote the Hamlet overture-fantasia, Op. 67a, between June...
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Souvenir d'un lieu cher
Souvenir d’un lieu cher (Memory of a dear place; Russian: Воспоминание о дорогом месте), Op. 42, for violin and piano, was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between March and May 1878. It consists of three movements:
The Méditation was written...
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Date completed:
- 1878
Fatum
Fatum, Op. 77, is a symphonic poem by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Tchaikovsky started the symphonic poem Fatum between late September and early October 1868. He put the work aside to devote his attention to the touring Belgian soprano Désirée Artôt,...
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Date completed:
- 1868
