On this day in 1893, composer of the romantic period, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in Saint Petersburg at the age of 53. Born on 7 May 1840 [O.S. 25 April] in Votkinsk, a small town in Vyatka Governorate (present-day Udmurtia) in the Russian Empire. His works are among the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, bolstered by his appearances as a guest conductor in Europe and the United States.
Although musically precocious, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant. There was scant opportunity for a musical career in Russia at that time and no system of public music education. 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 he 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 this reconciliation he forged a personal but unmistakably Russian style.
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 his mother’s early death, the death of his close friend and colleague Nikolai Rubinstein, and the collapse of the one enduring relationship of his adult life, which was his 13-year association with the wealthy widow Nadezhda von Meck who was his patron even though they never actually met each other. His homosexuality, which he kept private, has traditionally also been considered a major factor, though some musicologists now downplay its importance. Tchaikovsky’s sudden death at the age of 53 is generally ascribed to cholera; there is an ongoing debate as to whether cholera was indeed the cause of death, and whether his death was accidental or self-inflicted.
While his music has remained popular among audiences, critical opinions were initially mixed. Some Russians did not feel it was sufficiently representative of native musical values and expressed suspicion that Europeans accepted the music for its Western elements. In an apparent reinforcement of the latter claim, some Europeans lauded Tchaikovsky for offering music more substantive than base exoticism and said he transcended stereotypes of Russian classical music.
Tchaikovsky’s sudden death is generally ascribed to cholera, but there is an ongoing debate as to whether cholera was the cause, or whether his death was accidental or self-inflicted.
The Final Footprint
From 16/28 October 1893, Tchaikovsky conducted the premiere of his Sixth Symphony, the Pathétique, in Saint Petersburg. Nine days later, Tchaikovsky died. While Tchaikovsky’s death has traditionally been attributed to cholera from drinking unboiled water at a local restaurant, there has been much speculation that his death was suicide. He was interred in Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. Other notable final footprints at Tikhvin include; Alexander Borodin, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
On this day in 1991, Academy Award-nominated actress, Gene Tierney, died of emphysema in Houston, Texas at the age of 70. Born Gene Eliza Tierney on 19 November 1920 in Brooklyn, New York. “Undeniably the most beautiful woman in movie history” – Darryl F. Zanuck, former chief of production and founder of 20th Century Fox. She met Howard Hughes, who reportedly tried to seduce her but she was not impressed by his wealth. They did become lifelong friends, and ironically, are interred in the same cemetery (see below). She married twice; fashion designer Oleg Cassini (1941 – 1952 divorce) and Texas oil baron W. Howard Lee (1960 – 1981 his death). During her separation from Cassini, Tierney allegedly had an affair with John F. Kennedy.
The Final Footprint – Tierney is interred in the Lee Family Private Estate in Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. One of the offices I worked in when I worked in Houston had a great view of Glenwood Cemetery. Other notable Final Footprints at Glenwood include; Maria Franklin Prentiss Langham Gable, Oveta Culp Hobby, William P. Hobby, Howard Hughes, Anson Jones, and Glenn McCarthy.
And on this day in 2007, singer songwriter Hank Thompson died from lung cancer in Keller, Texas at the age of 82. Born Henry William Thompson on 3 September 1925 in Waco, Texas. Perhaps his best known hit was his version of the Arlie Carter and William Warren song “The Wild Side of Life”. The 1987 novel Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb was apparently inspired by Thompson’s life. In 2009 Cobb’s novel was turned into a successful film directed by Scott Cooper and starring Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges.
The Final Footprint – Thompson requested that no funeral be held. On November 14, a “celebration of life,” open to both fans and friends, took place at Billy Bob’s Texas, a Fort Worth, Texas nightclub that bills itself as The World’s Largest Honky Tonk. Thompson is interred in Waco Memorial Park in Waco.
Have you planned yours yet?
Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF
