Peter: Variations on the Life of Tchaikovsky

by Dov Treiman

"Peter" is a novel drawing on the life of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It is not a history, but a set of variations on themes found in the great composer's life as he struggled with his homosexuality and the consequences it had all the more strongly for him as a recognized Russian national treasure. The book, while dealing greatly with the tragedies in Tchaikovsky's life, does not shy away from the comic as well. But, as a whole, it is a set of variations, with incidents in his life repeating in their telling, transformed from different points of view, much as Peter himself handled so much of his musical material. The book sings its song presenting all from the viewpoint of Peter himself, which is to say entirely through the lens of music. Thus, it is a set of variations, but a rhapsody as well. From first page to last, the reader will bathe in the great composer's life of music, often in the music itself.

656 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2018