Tchaikovsky for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer who lived from 1840 to 1893. He wrote three of the most loved ballets in the world: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. His music has big tunes, rich orchestra sounds, and plenty of feeling. The best first piece for a child is Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

This guide gives you the story, the sound, and five pieces to try.

Quick facts

• Born: 1840, in Votkinsk, Russia
• Died: 1893, in St. Petersburg, Russia
• Era: Romantic
• Played: piano
• Known for: three ballets, six symphonies, and the 1812 Overture

The life in short

Tchaikovsky grew up in a small town far from the big cities of Russia. He started piano lessons at five. His governess remembered that music kept playing in his head at night and would not let him sleep.

His parents wanted a steady career for him. They sent him to a school in St. Petersburg that trained boys for government work. He finished and took a job as a clerk.

He did not stay a clerk. A new music school opened in St. Petersburg, and he signed up in his early twenties. A few years later he was teaching at a music school in Moscow and writing his first symphonies.

For 13 years a wealthy widow named Nadezhda von Meck sent him money so that he could write full time. They wrote more than a thousand letters to each other. They agreed never to meet.

Tchaikovsky became famous in Russia and far beyond. In 1891 he sailed to New York and conducted at the opening concerts of Carnegie Hall. The next year The Nutcracker was first danced in St. Petersburg. He died in 1893, days after leading the first performance of his sixth symphony.

What the music sounds like

Tchaikovsky wrote tunes that stay in the head. He also knew how to make an orchestra shine. He gave tunes to instruments that suit them: a celesta for a fairy, a harp for flowers, and trumpets for a toy march.

Most of his music for children comes from the ballets. A ballet tells a story through dance, and the orchestra plays from a pit in front of the stage. A set of pieces taken from a ballet for concert use is called a suite. The Nutcracker Suite has eight short pieces, and each one has its own mood.

Five pieces to play first

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, from The Nutcracker. The tune is played on a celesta, a keyboard instrument that sounds like small bells. Tchaikovsky heard one in Paris and had it sent to Russia in secret. He wanted to be the first Russian composer to use it. Ask your child to tiptoe to the music.

Waltz of the Flowers, from The Nutcracker. A harp opens with rippling notes. Then the horns play a swaying tune in three beats. Count one-two-three and sway.

March, from The Nutcracker. Trumpets and horns play a quick, neat march. The strings answer with scurrying notes. March on the brass and scurry on the strings.

Dance of the Little Swans, from Swan Lake. Bassoons bounce along while oboes play a quick, tidy tune. On stage, four dancers cross the floor with linked arms. It lasts about a minute and a half.

1812 Overture, the ending. Tchaikovsky wrote this piece to mark Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s army in 1812. The last three minutes have church bells and real cannon fire written into the score. Warn a small child before the cannons.

Things to do together

Follow the whole suite. Our Nutcracker Suite listening guide takes you through all eight dances, with the instruments to listen for in each.

Watch four minutes of ballet. Find a video of Dance of the Little Swans. Watch once for the dancers. Watch again with eyes closed and listen for the bassoons and oboes.

Name the instrument. Play the Sugar Plum Fairy and then the Waltz of the Flowers. Ask which one starts with bells and which one starts with a harp.

Place him in time. Tchaikovsky was born in the same decade as Dvořák and Grieg. Find all three on the composer timeline.

A note for piano families

Tchaikovsky wrote a book of 24 easy piano pieces for children, called Children’s Album. Teachers still use it. The pieces have titles a child can picture, such as “March of the Wooden Soldiers” and “The Sick Doll.” If your child plays one, look up a recording and listen together.

The Nutcracker in December

Many ballet companies stage The Nutcracker each December, and for many children it is a first trip to the theater. A child who knows the music before the show enjoys it more. Play the suite at home in the weeks before you go. Our guide to a first orchestra concert with kids has tips that suit a ballet trip too.

Print and play

Print the Tchaikovsky fact sheet. It has the story, three pieces, and room to write and draw. The listening bingo maker makes instrument bingo cards that work well with the Nutcracker Suite.

For all 24 composers by era, see classical composers for kids.