Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

The opus Six Romances was composed in 1878 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) for voice and piano, and was published as Opus 38 later that year. Of these six songs, "Don Juan's Serenade" was the most successful, becoming one of the best-known works among the approximately 100 romances that Tchaikovsky composed during his lifetime. At this point in his life, the composer was rebounding from a personal crisis, having married and quickly separated the year before. Tchaikovsky characterized the creation of this opus as "something between relaxation and work".

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, also known as the Pathétique Symphony, is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final completed symphony, written between February and August 1893. The composer titled it "The Passionate Symphony", employing a Russian word, Патетическая (Pateticheskaya), meaning "passionate" or "emotional", which was then translated into French as pathétique, meaning "solemn" or "emotive". Tchaikovsky led the first performance in Saint Petersburg on 28 October [O.S. 16 October] 1893, nine days before his death. The second performance, conducted by Eduard Nápravník, took place 21 days later, at a memorial concert on 18 November [O.S. 6 November]. It included some minor corrections that Tchaikovsky made after the premiere, and was thus the first performance of the work in the exact form in which it is known today. The first performance in Moscow was on 16 December [O.S. 4 December], conducted by Vasily Safonov. It was the last of Tchaikovsky's compositions premiered in his lifetime; his very last composition, the single-movement Third Piano Concerto, Op. 75, which was completed shortly before his death, received a posthumous premiere.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

The religious views of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky have been the subject of scholarly interest as a controversial topic. While Tchaikovsky's contemporaries did not place emphasis on his religious views, and during the Soviet era, the composer was classified as a materialist, modern musicological literature has produced numerous scholarly works that, based on documentary evidence, interpret Tchaikovsky's views on religion in various ways. The composer was raised an Orthodox Christian. Tchaikovsky's childhood poems in Russian and French were addressed to God. Doubts began to emerge after the death of his mother. By the 1860s, the composer no longer felt the need for prayer or fasting. Tchaikovsky's religious sentiments began to intensify in the mid-1870s, linked to his awareness of the unnaturalness of his sexual orientation. By the 1880s, he found spiritual support in faith and overcame the spiritual contradictions that had troubled him. Tchaikovsky became engrossed in the "practice of religious life": he frequently discussed worship and church music, compared Orthodox services with other Christian denominations, and deeply studied Holy Scripture. Among Tchaikovsky's spiritual compositions from this period are the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (1878), the All-Night Vigil (1881), Nine Sacred Musical Pieces (1884–1885), and The Angel Cried Out (1887). In his final years, Tchaikovsky focused solely on the moral aspects of Christ's teachings, unable to overcome his doubts about dogma and moved away from Orthodoxy. Tchaikovsky began to lean toward a religious position similar to that of Ernest Renan and the pantheistic views of Baruch Spinoza. In letters from his final years, Tchaikovsky mentioned his dream of composing a secular Passion of Jesus. He also made several attempts to create poetic texts based on the gospels for a future musical work.

The religious views of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky have been the subject of scholarly interest as a controversial topic. While Tchaikovsky's contemporaries did not place emphasis on his religious views, and during the Soviet era, the composer was classified as a materialist, modern musicological literature has produced numerous scholarly works that, based on documentary evidence, interpret Tchaikovsky's views on religion in various ways. The composer was raised an Orthodox Christian. Tchaikovsky's childhood poems in Russian and French were addressed to God. Doubts began to emerge after the death of his mother. By the 1860s, the composer no longer felt the need for prayer or fasting. Tchaikovsky's religious sentiments began to intensify in the mid-1870s, linked to his awareness of the unnaturalness of his sexual orientation. By the 1880s, he found spiritual support in faith and overcame the spiritual contradictions that had troubled him. Tchaikovsky became engrossed in the "practice of religious life": he frequently discussed worship and church music, compared Orthodox services with other Christian denominations, and deeply studied Holy Scripture. Among Tchaikovsky's spiritual compositions from this period are the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (1878), the All-Night Vigil (1881), Nine Sacred Musical Pieces (1884–1885), and The Angel Cried Out (1887). In his final years, Tchaikovsky focused solely on the moral aspects of Christ's teachings, unable to overcome his doubts about dogma and moved away from Orthodoxy. Tchaikovsky began to lean toward a religious position similar to that of Ernest Renan and the pantheistic views of Baruch Spinoza. In letters from his final years, Tchaikovsky mentioned his dream of composing a secular Passion of Jesus. He also made several attempts to create poetic texts based on the gospels for a future musical work.

Leopold Anthony Stokowski (UK: stə-KOF-skee, US: stə-KAWF-skee, stə-KOW-skee; 18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was especially noted for his free-hand conducting style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristic sound from the orchestras he directed. Stokowski was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony of the Air and many others. He was also the founder of the All-American Youth Orchestra, the New York City Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra. Stokowski conducted the music for and appeared in several Hollywood films, most notably Disney's Fantasia, and was a lifelong champion of contemporary composers, giving many premieres of new music during his 60-year conducting career. He was well known for his orchestral arrangements of Johann Sebastian Bach. Stokowski, who made his official conducting debut in 1909, appeared in public for the last time in 1975 but continued making recordings until June 1977, a few months before his death at the age of 95.

Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое озеро) is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular ballets of all time. The scenario, initially in two acts, was based on Russian and German folk tales, telling a story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The choreographer of this original production was Julius Reisinger (Václav Reisinger). Most ballet companies now base their performances on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet on 15 January 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by Riccardo Drigo.

"Legend" (Russian: Легенда, Legenda), Op. 54, No. 5 (also known as "The Crown of Roses" in some English-language sources) is a composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Originally written in 1883 as a song for solo voice and piano, it was subsequently arranged by Tchaikovsky for solo voice and orchestra (1884), and then for unaccompanied choir (1889).

The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Russian: Литургия святого Иоанна Златоуста, Liturgiya svyatogo Ioanna Zlatousta) is an a cappella choral composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his Op. 41, composed in 1878. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the most celebrated of the eucharistic services of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Tchaikovsky's setting constitutes the first "unified musical cycle" of the liturgy.

The Piano Concerto No. 1 in B♭ minor, Op. 23, was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between November 1874 and February 1875. It was revised in 1879 and in 1888. It was first performed on October 25, 1875, in Boston by Hans von Bülow after Tchaikovsky's desired pianist, Nikolai Rubinstein, criticised the piece. Rubinstein later withdrew his criticism and became a fervent champion of the work. It is one of the most popular of Tchaikovsky's compositions and among the best known of all piano concerti. From 2021 to 2022, it served as the sporting anthem of the Russian Olympic Committee as a substitute of the country's actual national anthem as a result of the doping scandal that prohibits the use of its national symbols.

King Claudius is a fictional character and the main antagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle and later stepfather to Prince Hamlet. He obtained the throne of Denmark by murdering his brother with poison and then marrying the late king's widow. He is loosely based on the Jutish chieftain Feng who appears in Chronicon Lethrense and in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. There has never been an actual Danish king of that name.

The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Russian: Литургия святого Иоанна Златоуста, Liturgiya svyatogo Ioanna Zlatousta) is an a cappella choral composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his Op. 41, composed in 1878. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the most celebrated of the eucharistic services of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Tchaikovsky's setting constitutes the first "unified musical cycle" of the liturgy.

Moscow (Russian: Москва, romanized: Moskva) is a cantata composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1883 for the coronation of Alexander III of Russia, to a Russian libretto by Apollon Maykov. It is scored for mezzo-soprano, baritone, mixed chorus (SATB), 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, harp and strings.

Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое озеро) is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular ballets of all time. The scenario, initially in two acts, was based on Russian and German folk tales, telling a story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The choreographer of this original production was Julius Reisinger (Václav Reisinger). Most ballet companies now base their performances on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet on 15 January 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by Riccardo Drigo.

Richard Collins St. Clair (born September 21, 1946) is an American composer, pedagogue, poet and pianist.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( chy-KOF-skee; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire, including the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, the Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, the opera Eugene Onegin, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. Although musically precocious, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant as there was little opportunity for a musical career in Russia at the time and no public music education system. When an opportunity for such an education arose, he entered the nascent Saint Petersburg Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1865. The formal Western-oriented teaching Tchaikovsky received there set him apart from composers of the contemporary nationalist movement embodied by the Russian composers of The Five, with whom his professional relationship was mixed. Tchaikovsky's training set him on a path to reconcile what he had learned with the native musical practices to which he had been exposed from childhood. From that reconciliation, he forged a personal but unmistakably Russian style. The principles that governed melody, harmony, and other fundamentals of Russian music diverged from those that governed Western European music. There seemed to be little potential for using Russian music in large-scale Western composition or for forming a composite style, and this caused personal antipathies that dented Tchaikovsky's self-confidence. Russian culture exhibited a split personality, with its native and adopted elements having drifted apart increasingly since the time of Peter the Great. That resulted in uncertainty among the intelligentsia about the country's national identity, an ambiguity mirrored in Tchaikovsky's career. Despite his many popular successes, Tchaikovsky's life was punctuated by personal crises and depression. Contributory factors included his early separation from his mother for boarding school followed by her early death, the death of his close friend and colleague Nikolai Rubinstein, his failed marriage to Antonina Miliukova, and the collapse of his 13-year association with the wealthy patroness Nadezhda von Meck. Tchaikovsky's homosexuality, which he kept private, has traditionally also been considered a major factor, though some scholars have downplayed its importance. His dedication of his Sixth symphony to his nephew Vladimir Davydov and the feelings he expressed about Davydov in letters to others have been cited as evidence for romantic love between the two. Tchaikovsky's sudden death at the age of 53 is generally ascribed to cholera, but there is an ongoing debate as to whether cholera was indeed the cause and whether the death was intentional. While his music has remained popular among audiences, critical opinions were initially mixed. Some Russians did not feel it sufficiently represented native musical values and expressed suspicion that Europeans accepted the music for its Western elements. In an apparent reinforcement of that claim, some Europeans lauded Tchaikovsky for offering music more substantive than exoticism, and said he transcended the stereotypes of Russian classical music. Others dismissed Tchaikovsky's music as deficient because it did not stringently follow Western principles.

The common nightingale is a songbird found in Eurasia. Nightingale may also refer to:

The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, also known as the Pathétique Symphony, is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final completed symphony, written between February and August 1893. The composer titled it "The Passionate Symphony", employing a Russian word, Патетическая (Pateticheskaya), meaning "passionate" or "emotional", which was then translated into French as pathétique, meaning "solemn" or "emotive". Tchaikovsky led the first performance in Saint Petersburg on 28 October [O.S. 16 October] 1893, nine days before his death. The second performance, conducted by Eduard Nápravník, took place 21 days later, at a memorial concert on 18 November [O.S. 6 November]. It included some minor corrections that Tchaikovsky made after the premiere, and was thus the first performance of the work in the exact form in which it is known today. The first performance in Moscow was on 16 December [O.S. 4 December], conducted by Vasily Safonov. It was the last of Tchaikovsky's compositions premiered in his lifetime; his very last composition, the single-movement Third Piano Concerto, Op. 75, which was completed shortly before his death, received a posthumous premiere.

Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita; Chess (with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA); Aida (with Elton John); and, for Disney, Aladdin (with Alan Menken), The Lion King (with Elton John), and the stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (with Menken). He also wrote lyrics for the Alan Menken musical King David, and for DreamWorks Animation's The Road to El Dorado (with John). Rice was knighted by Elizabeth II for services to music in 1994. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is a 1999 inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and is the 2023 recipient of its Johnny Mercer Award, is a Disney Legend recipient, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. In addition to his awards in the UK, he is one of twenty-one artists to have won an Emmy, Oscar, Grammy, and Tony in the US. Rice twice hosted the Brit Awards (in 1983 and 1984). The 2020 Sunday Times Rich List values Rice's wealth at £155m; the 21st-richest music millionaire in the UK.

The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Russian: Литургия святого Иоанна Златоуста, Liturgiya svyatogo Ioanna Zlatousta) is an a cappella choral composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his Op. 41, composed in 1878. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the most celebrated of the eucharistic services of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Tchaikovsky's setting constitutes the first "unified musical cycle" of the liturgy.

Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое озеро) is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular ballets of all time. The scenario, initially in two acts, was based on Russian and German folk tales, telling a story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The choreographer of this original production was Julius Reisinger (Václav Reisinger). Most ballet companies now base their performances on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet on 15 January 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by Riccardo Drigo.

ClassicaLoid (クラシカロイド, Kurashikaroido) is a 2016 Japanese musical comedy anime television series produced by Sunrise and NHK. The series premiered on October 8, 2016, on NHK E, and aired until April 1, 2017. A second season began airing on October 7, 2017, and aired until March 24, 2018.

Manfred is a "Symphony in Four Scenes" in B minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his Opus 58, but unnumbered. It was written between May and September 1885 to a program based upon the 1817 poem of the same name by Byron, coming after the composer's Fourth Symphony and before his Fifth. Like the fantasy-overture Romeo and Juliet, Tchaikovsky wrote Manfred at the behest of the nationalist composer Mily Balakirev, who provided him the program, which has a long history. Critic Vladimir Stasov had written it and sent it to Balakirev in 1868 hoping the latter would write such a symphony. But Balakirev felt unable to carry out the project and instead at first forwarded the program to French composer Hector Berlioz, whose programmatic works impressed him. Berlioz in turn declined the project claiming old age and ill health and returned the program, after which it had remained with Balakirev until he reestablished contact with Tchaikovsky in the early 1880s. Manfred is the only programmatic symphonic work by Tchaikovsky in more than one movement and is larger than any of his numbered symphonies both in length and instrumentation. He initially considered the work one of his best, and in a typical reversal of opinion later considered destroying all but the opening movement. The symphony was greeted with mixed reviews, some finding much to laud in it, and others feeling that its programmatic aspects only weakened it. Manfred remained rarely performed for many years, due to its length and complexity. It has been recorded with increasing frequency but is still seldom heard in the concert hall.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote many works well-known to the general classical public, including Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. These, along with two of his four concertos, three of his symphonies and two of his ten operas, are among his most familiar works. Almost as popular are the Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, the Capriccio Italien, and the Serenade for Strings.

Phos Hilaron (Koine Greek: Φῶς Ἱλαρόν, romanized: Fōs Ilaron) is an ancient Christian hymn originally written in Koine Greek. Often referred to in the Western Church by its Latin title Lumen Hilare, it has been translated into English as O Gladsome Light. It is one of the earliest known Christian hymns recorded outside of the Bible that is still in use today. The hymn is part of vespers in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Byzantine Rite of the Catholic Church, and also included in some Anglican liturgies and Lutheran hymnals.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( chy-KOF-skee; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire, including the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, the Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, the opera Eugene Onegin, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. Although musically precocious, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant as there was little opportunity for a musical career in Russia at the time and no public music education system. When an opportunity for such an education arose, he entered the nascent Saint Petersburg Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1865. The formal Western-oriented teaching Tchaikovsky received there set him apart from composers of the contemporary nationalist movement embodied by the Russian composers of The Five, with whom his professional relationship was mixed. Tchaikovsky's training set him on a path to reconcile what he had learned with the native musical practices to which he had been exposed from childhood. From that reconciliation, he forged a personal but unmistakably Russian style. The principles that governed melody, harmony, and other fundamentals of Russian music diverged from those that governed Western European music. There seemed to be little potential for using Russian music in large-scale Western composition or for forming a composite style, and this caused personal antipathies that dented Tchaikovsky's self-confidence. Russian culture exhibited a split personality, with its native and adopted elements having drifted apart increasingly since the time of Peter the Great. That resulted in uncertainty among the intelligentsia about the country's national identity, an ambiguity mirrored in Tchaikovsky's career. Despite his many popular successes, Tchaikovsky's life was punctuated by personal crises and depression. Contributory factors included his early separation from his mother for boarding school followed by her early death, the death of his close friend and colleague Nikolai Rubinstein, his failed marriage to Antonina Miliukova, and the collapse of his 13-year association with the wealthy patroness Nadezhda von Meck. Tchaikovsky's homosexuality, which he kept private, has traditionally also been considered a major factor, though some scholars have downplayed its importance. His dedication of his Sixth symphony to his nephew Vladimir Davydov and the feelings he expressed about Davydov in letters to others have been cited as evidence for romantic love between the two. Tchaikovsky's sudden death at the age of 53 is generally ascribed to cholera, but there is an ongoing debate as to whether cholera was indeed the cause and whether the death was intentional. While his music has remained popular among audiences, critical opinions were initially mixed. Some Russians did not feel it sufficiently represented native musical values and expressed suspicion that Europeans accepted the music for its Western elements. In an apparent reinforcement of that claim, some Europeans lauded Tchaikovsky for offering music more substantive than exoticism, and said he transcended the stereotypes of Russian classical music. Others dismissed Tchaikovsky's music as deficient because it did not stringently follow Western principles.

A number of researchers, based on the memoirs of Nikolai Kashkin, a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, suggest that in 1877, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky made a suicide attempt and attribute it to the composer's stay in Moscow between September 11 (September 23) and September 24 (October 6), 1877. He went into the cold water of the Moskva river with the firm intention of falling ill with a severe cold or pneumonia. The circumstances of this event are described in the memoirs of Nikolai Kashkin, the composer's colleague and friend, which were written shortly after the composer's death. The publication of their journal version in the Russkoye Obozreniye began in September 1894 and was completed in December 1895 (issues 29-36). In 1920, in the collection The Past of Russian Music. Materials and Studies, Nikolai Kashkin's article From Memories of P. I. Tchaikovsky was published. In it, he described in detail the circumstances under which Tchaikovsky himself, according to Kashkin's assertion, described the circumstances of an attempted suicide. Kashkin's story attracted the attention of several publicists. The scene of the composer's suicide attempt appears in the two-part feature film Tchaikovsky, directed by Soviet director Igor Talankin in 1969, and in British director Ken Russell's 1971 film The Music Lovers.

Aleko (Russian: Алеко) is the first of three completed operas by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The Russian libretto was written by Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and is an adaptation of the 1827 poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin. Written in 1892 as a diploma work at the Moscow Conservatory, it won the highest prizes from the conservatory judges that year and was premiered in Moscow on 9 May 1893.