7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7

In the spring of 1891 Tchaikovsky was invited to visit

the United States on the occasion of the inauguration of

Carnegie Hall in New York City. He conducted before

enthusiastic audiences in New York, Baltimore, and

Philadelphia. Upon his return to Russia, he completed his

last two compositions for the stage—the one-act opera

Iolanta (1891) and a two-act ballet Nutcracker (1892). In

February 1893 he began working on his Symphony No. 6 in B

Minor (Pathétique), which was destined to become his most

celebrated masterpiece. He dedicated it to his nephew

Vladimir (Bob) Davydov, who in Tchaikovsky’s late years

became increasingly an object of his passionate love. His

world stature was confirmed by his triumphant European

and American tours and his acceptance in June 1893 of an

honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge.

On October 16 Tchaikovsky conducted his new sym-

phony’s premiere in St. Petersburg. The mixed reaction of

the audience, however, did not affect the composer’s belief

that the symphony belonged among his best work. On

October 21 he suddenly became ill and was diagnosed with

cholera, an epidemic that was sweeping through St.

Petersburg. Despite all medical efforts to save him, he died

four days later from complications arising from the disease.

Wild rumours circulated among his contemporaries con-

cerning his possible suicide, which were revived in the late

20th century by some of his biographers, but these allega-

tions cannot be supported by documentary evidence.

Giacomo Puccini

(b. Dec. 22, 1858, Lucca, Tuscany [Italy]—d. Nov. 29, 1924, Brussels, Belg.)

I

talian composer Giacomo Puccini (in full, Giacomo

Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini)

was one of the greatest exponents of operatic realism, who

virtually brought the history of Italian opera to an end.