Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky was born on 7
May 1840 at Votkinsk in Russia. It was clear very early in his
life that he had an extraordinary musical talent. At the age of
four, with the help of his younger sister, he composed a song for
his mother.
Tchaikovsky's extreme sensitivity was
also evident right from infancy. He would over-react to any
criticism and so strongly was he affected by music that sometimes
the memory of a phrase would keep him awake at night. A bright
child, he learned French and German from a French governess
employed by the family, and when he started piano lessons with a
local teacher, he fast overtook her in his ability in music.
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky was born on 7
May 1840 at Votkinsk in Russia. It was clear very early in his
life that he had an extraordinary musical talent. At the age of
four, with the help of his younger sister, he composed a song for
his mother. 
