Tchaikovsky

American  

[chahy-kawf-skee, -kof-, chi-] / tʃaɪˈkɔf ski, -ˈkɒf-, tʃɪ- /

Also Tschaikowsky.

noun

1. Peter Ilyich or Pëtr Ilich 1840–93, Russian composer.

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Tchaikovsky British  

/ tʃaɪˈkɒfskɪ, tʃɪjˈkɔfskij /

noun

1. Pyotr Ilyich (pjɔtr iljˈjitʃ). 1840–93, Russian composer. His works, which are noted for their expressive melodies, include the Sixth Symphony (the Pathétique; 1893), ballets, esp Swan Lake (1876) and The Sleeping Beauty (1889), and operas, including Eugene Onegin (1879) and The Queen of Spades (1890), both based on works by Pushkin

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Example Sentences

To test it, he played a Tchaikovsky concerto, spanning its high and middle registers, finding sounds he “didn’t even know violins were capable of.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025

But Chamberlain was cast as Tchaikovsky in Ken Russell's overblown biopic, The Music Lovers, in which he starred opposite Glenda Jackson.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2025

Instead, there were small pieces, quite a few by little-known composers, along with Bruckner motets, bits of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff and Bernstein.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 12, 2024

The waltz in the third movement of the Tchaikovsky was practically airborne, its elegantly asymmetrical melody generating an unlikely aerodynamic quality despite its sumptuousness.

From New York Times • Apr. 14, 2024

Tchaikovsky, though, was the first Russian composer to achieve meaningful fame outside Russia.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall