The Life and Works of Tchaikovsky

By: Jeremy Siepmann

Narrated by: Jeremy Siepmann, Malcolm Sinclair, Karen Archer, Teresa Gallagher, Stephen Thorne, David Timson

Tchaikovsky is one of the most popular composers of all time. His melodies are known to many people who may never have heard his name. They crop up on mobile telephones, alarm clocks and answering machines as often as on records and concert programs. Like his music, the man himself was widely loved, but his inner life was fraught with sufferings, confusions and a deep vein of self-doubt. The drama of his emotional life is vividly reflected in his music, letters and diaries, all of which play a major part in this intimate portrait-in-sound. Who was the man behind some of the most intensely emotional music ever written? Who were the influential figures in his life? In this production packed full of biographical detail and poignant musical extracts we are led through the course of Tchaikovsky’s eventful life. Jeremy Siepmann narrates throughout and Malcolm Sinclair portrays with sincerity this much-loved composer.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2002 Naxos AudioBooks (P)2002 Naxos AudioBooks

Great flow of story with music

I have enjoyed all of Siepmann’s Life & Works about the great composers. I have just two more left to hear. Well done!

These are masterpieces

Read them all. Concise, hilarious, informative, narrative, dramatic, and full of the actual music. They've given me completely different relationships with every composer, many of whom I already knew quite well

Wonderful

Wonderful story and wonderful life. I have loved his music my whole life and now I know the Man behind the music.

Loved this audible book

This clearly chronicles the conductors personal and professional life with recordings of his works during each phase. A much more enjoyable experience than I ever anticipated. Worth listening again and sharing. I will look for other composers done in this manner. A very complete experience and perfect for this format.

Comprehensive and Concise

What made the experience of listening to The Life and Works of Tchaikovsky the most enjoyable?

Musical examples were included in the audio, which made it very engaging and helped me understand the context of Tchaikovsky's compositions.

What other book might you compare The Life and Works of Tchaikovsky to and why?

As a Tchaikovsky biography, this one is rather short. Others are much longer and go more in depth, especially into musical analysis. This one is succinct enough for the average reader and sufficiently whets the appetite of someone wishing to study further.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

The British gentleman who narrated did so clearly and as though he was talking to a friend, not reading a biography.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. In fact, it's so short I listened to it in just a few sittings.