This book is a charming account of Tchaikovsky's only visit to America--a trip he made to New York in 1891 to participate in the opening of Carnegie Hall. Told largely in Tchaikovsky's own words--making use of his letters and diary--it is at once a revealing psychological portrait of the great Russian composer and a rich picture of New York cultural life at the end of the last century.

Eleven-year-old Jenny, whose family came from Russia to America to start a new life, meets the famous Russian composer on his 1891 trip to the New World and writes about it in her diary.

A story about Tchaikovsky on a grand tour of America filled with exceprts of Tchaikovsky's music and a musical mosaic of well-known American music including ragtime, spirituals and popular folk classics.

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! • Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise—undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world—when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world. “I loved The Violin Conspiracy for exactly the same reasons I loved The Queen’s Gambit: a surprising, beautifully rendered underdog hero I cared about deeply and a fascinating, cutthroat world I knew nothing about—in this case, classical music.” —Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and Hour of the Witch Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream—he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music. When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself—and the world—that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.

The most popular of all Russian composers, Peter Tchaikovsky is probably best known for his ballets. Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and Nutcracker are still performed worldwide. But a good part of Tchaikovsky's career was spent writing operas. Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades are two of his better-known works. A precocious child, Peter could read French and German by the age of six. At seven, he wrote verses in French. In school, he studied to be a lawyer. It was not until he was twenty-one years old that he turned his focus to music. But this man who made such beautiful melodies was unhappy most of his life. He was terrified when he stood in front of an orchestra. He had an unrealistic fear that his head would fall off and he actually held his left hand under his chin to keep his head attached! However, he left a great legacy of beautiful music. From the diaries and letters he wrote, we know about the life of Peter Tchaikovsky. In this book, young adults are introduced to one of the greatest composers of all time.

Composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian comrades, worked together to bring a very different and new ballet to a Parisian audienceN"The Rite of Spring"Nand rioting filled the streets! Full color.