Tchaikovsky

Yet Dr. Brown observes, it is during this period that Tchaikovsky is perhaps at his most exposed: in his responses to ordinary situations we can most clearly see his idiosyncrasies and rapidly changing moods, his likes and dislikes, his kindness and compassion, his openhanded generosity and calculating deviousness, his gentle but constant envy of those whose sexual nature permitted them the experience of normal family life. Musically, these were the years of The Maid of Orléans and Mazepa, the second piano concerto, the three orchestral suites, the piano trio, the Italian Capriccio and the Manfred symphony. Once again a most valuable feature of this critical biography is Dr. Brown's detailed exposition and analysis of each of the new compositions. And on the human side the book is wholly absorbing. Once again, too, Dr. Brown has been able to draw upon the fullest text ever published of some of Tchaikovsky's particularly revealing letters, suppressed before publication in the Soviet Union but recently smuggled out of Russia.

David Brown learned Russian in the military and taught in secondary schools before becoming music librarian of London University. In 1962 he moved to Southampton University, retiring as Professor of Musicology in 1989. His books have often focused on the Russian composers, including his definitive biography of Tchaikovsky. As the official Soviet review acknowledges: "Frankly, we have nothing like it."