TODAY 128 YEARS AGO, Peter Tchaikovsky died in St Petersburg, shortly after his Symphony No. 6 had been premiered to great acclaim. He was born in 1840 in a small Russian town near the Ural Mountains. Although his musical talent was evident at an early age, he initially pursued a career as a civil servant. At the age of 23, he began to study composition, flute and organ in St. Petersburg. From 1866, he composed his own works: operas, orchestral works and chamber music. In 1877, his composition for Swan Lake, choreographed by Wenzel Reisinger, was premiered and failed with both the public and the critics. It was only after Tchaikovsky's death that the ballet, choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, became the success it is today. Tchaikovsky and Petipa were only able to work directly together for The Sleeping Beauty and in this way created one of the most brilliant collaborations the dance world has ever seen. After years of struggling to make a living, at the time of his death he was respected worldwide. Tchaikovsky became especially famous for his ballet compositions The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, with which he set new standards for the genre.

Photo: Rocio Aleman and Martí Fernández Paixà surrounded by the ensemble in Marcia Haydée‘s The Sleeping Beauty © Ulrich Beuttenmüller