Happy Birthday Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840 – November 6, 1893) was a Russian composer.

1893 Oil on Canvas by Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov

Tchaikovsky composed the music for three, famous ballets:

1. Swan Lake: first performed in 1877
2. The Sleeping Beauty: first performed in 1890
3. The Nutcracker: first performed in 1892

These are some of the most popular ballets of all time! Their reception was more mixed during Tchaikovsky’s lifetime. He had no idea of how they would endure. In fact, his death in 1893 was less than a year after The Nutcracker was first performed.

The melody for the Disney “Once Upon a Dream” song comes straight from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty score. In the ballet, the song is called the “Grande valse villageoise’” also known as “The Garland Waltz”.