The Significance of P. I. Tchaikovsky’s Journalistic Activity in the “Russian Vedomosti”

Abstract

The article examines the features of the author's style of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as a music critic and the impact of his journalistic works on the development of music journalism in Russia. It analyzes in detail his texts contained in the newspapers “Russian Vedomosti”, “Moscow Vedomosti”, “Modern Chronicle” and reviews the assessment of his musical and critical activity provided by the outstanding Russian music critics G. A. Laroche and A. N. Serov. The article concludes that despite his obvious literary talent, Tchaikovsky did not consider music journalism his profession. The composer's work in musical journalism became a bright discovery for his contemporaries as well. The sharpness of his gaze as the music critic caught those details of acting, instrument skills, or composing techniques that an ordinary spectator did not know about, considering all fashionable musical trends from an idealistic perspective, and professional musicians and actors did not want to share, concealing their omissions. Tchaikovsky did not follow the tastes of the high society of Moscow and St. Petersburg and was not afraid to denounce world-famous opera singers, openly pointing out their sometimes lack of talent or undisguised lack of desire to improve their artistry. Complaining about the attacks on his critical activity, Tchaikovsky noted that this work, no matter how difficult it was, not only for him but also for any critic, played a crucial role in leveling up music education, which is the key to the development of music and journalism.