here he wrote his very popular Violin Concerto in D. He also completed his Symphony No.4, which was inspired by Russian folk songs, and dedicated it to a wealthy widow called Nadezhda von Meck.
Work and Collaboration with other Musician
Tchaikovsky played an important role in the artistic development of Sergei Rachmaninoff, a legendary Russian composer and pianist who emigrated after the Communist revolution of
1917, and became one of the highest paid concert stars of his time, and one of the most influential pianists of the 20th century. They met in 1886, when Rachmaninoff was only 13 years old, and studied the music of Tchaikovsky under the tutelage of their mutual friend, composer Aleksandr Zverev. Tchaikovsky was the member of the Moscow conservatory graduation board. He joined many other musicians in recommendation that Rachmaninoff was to be awarded the Gold Medal in 1892.
Later Tchaikovsky was involved in popularization of Rachmaninov\’s graduation work, opera \’Aleko\’. Upon Tchaikovsky\’s promotion Rachmaninov\’s opera \”Aleko\” was included in the repertory and performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
In 1888, Tchaikovsky and Grieg, a componist born on June 15, 1843, in Bergen, Norway, met in Leipzig. Grieg was struck by the sadness in Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky thought very highly of Grieg\’s music, praising its beauty, originality and warmth.
Tchaikovsky was also a friend of Antonín Dvorák, born on 8 September 1841, Nelahozeves, Bohemia, Austria (now Czech Republic). Tchaikovsky and Dvořák first met at the National Theatre in Prague in February 1888, during preparations for a production of Evgenii Onegin, which Dvořák described as \”such beautiful music as permeates the sole and cannot be forgotten\”. During this visit Tchaikovsky also attended rehearsals of Dvořák \’s Seventh Symphony, which he also admired.
In 1891, he went on a two months tour of America, where he gave concerts in New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia. In May of 1891 Tchaikovsky was the conductor on the official opening night of Carnegie Hall in New York.
In 1892 he heard Gustav Mahler, conducting his opera \’Eugene Onegin\’ in Hamburg. Gustav Mahler is largely considered one of the most talented symphonic composers of the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. It has been claimed that Gustav Mahler\’s Ninth Symphony was directly inspired by Tchaikovsky\’s Sixth.