MAY 7

Though Tchaikovsky showed early talent, his parents wanted him to become a civil servant. At the time, there were not many opportunities for musicians, and his family wanted Pyotr to have a good life and a stable job. For three years, Tchaikovsky worked as a low-ranking counselor in the Ministry of Justice.

Like so many stories of success, timing is everything. When Tchaikovsky was born and growing up in Russia, there were no major outlets for musicians. Lucky for us, The Russian Musical Society (now the Saint Petersburg Conservatory) was founded in 1859. Two years later Pyotr quit his job and started attending the school in 1861. Tchaikovsky graduated in 1865, and a few months later in 1866, The Moscow Conservatory opened. He was offered a job as a Professor of Music Theory, which provided a salary and the opportunity to work on his music.

Had Tchaikovsky been born just a few years earlier, we may never have seen his beautiful ballets or heard his memorable melodic music. All three of his ballets are in the top-ten of all time, with Swan Lake taking the number one spot. It is also the most frequently performed ballet in the world.

Nintendo's video game Tetris included Tchaikovsky's 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' from The Nutcracker as a music option. This was meant to be a cultural connection to the video game designer, Alexey Pajitnov, who was also from Russia.

Tchaikovsky died in 1893 at the age of 53. The Moscow Conservatory, where he was first a professor, is now named The P. I. Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory.

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