Page 675 - Aldeburgh Festival 2022 FINAL COVERAGE BOOK

Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, a small town in the Russian Empire,
and began composition lessons with Anton Rubinstein in 1861. His great
works include his ballets like Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The
Nutcracker, and his 1812 Overture.

He had a disastrous marriage to one Antonina Miliukova in 1877 and
attempted suicide. Tchaikovsky was gay at a time when it was illegal in
Russia. His marriage was designed to stop people gossiping about his love
life – but it turned into a source of misery and torment for both him and
Miliukova.

Tchaikovsky apparently fell in love with his own nephew Vladimir
Davydov, a complication that was cut short by the older man’s tragic
death from cholera – or another cause if other theories are to be believed
– in 1893.

Listen to a rare recording of Tchaikovsky's voice
The wax cylinder recording is from 1890
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5. George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

Handel’s choral and operatic compositions remain among the most
influential pieces ever written – from the enduringly popular Messiah, to
the operas Rinaldo and Agrippina – not to mention his fine orchestral,
chamber and instrumental works.

The great composer was born in Halle, Germany, and studied music from
a young age. He moved to England as an established composer, after
English audiences particularly took to his 1711 opera Rinaldo.

He was believed to have been gay, moving in circles in Italy and London
where same-sex desire was accepted. Music historian Ellen Harris leads
on the case for Handel’s homosexuality, arguing that his cantatas exhibit a
clear homosexual subtext in her book Handel as Orpheus.

Handel's Zadok the Priest – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Orchestra
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir perform at Classic
FM's 25th birthday concert
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6. Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)