Klin, a town loved by Tchaikovsky

Every six minutes someone in the world plays Tchaikovsky’s music. One of the most famous composers in the world - P.I. Tchaikovsky never had his own house. At the end of his life, he rented a house in Klin, 85 km northwest from Moscow. Russian nature and silence were the need of his soul. The hustle and bustle of the city made him sick, and he came here for recovering. He wrote: “I need to live in Klin. Here, I have a peaceful and silent corner to work in. This place seems a heaven to me”. This house in Klin, a town loved by Tchaikovsky, became a museum.

The first musical museum in Russia

The museum in Klin was the first musical museum in Russia and the third one in the world, after Beethoven's and Mozart's museums. Immediately after Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s death, his brother Modest said: “Let’s preserve his last house as it is, as if he is alive and soon comes back home.” He even built an annex for himself to live in. All the items in the museum are original, and you will find yourself in an atmosphere of the 19th century.

Inspiration never came to idlers

In the museum, you can see many things that belonged to P.I. Tchaikovsky and were connected to his musical or day-to-day life: his pince-nez and inkstand on the desk where he wrote letters, his tailcoat and conducting baton for the concerts, his washing jug and house-shoes in the bedroom. Near the window, there is a small table where he worked regularly every day and composed many of his musical chef-d'oeuvres. He said that inspiration never came to idlers.

Tchaikovsky’s grand piano is used on his birthdays (7th May) and death days (6th November). A winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition also has the right to play this grand piano.

The culminating point of beauty

The complete works by Mozart that we can see in the bookcase of Tchaikovsky once found under the Christmas tree, were a gift from the editor. Mozart was Tchaikovsky’s favorite composer, and he said:  “It is my profound conviction that Mozart is the highest, the culminating point that beauty has reached in the sphere of music.”

Tchaikovsky’s ballet made Christmas trees popular

Christmas trees came to Russia from Germany in the middle of the 19th century. P.I. Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” made them very popular. When people saw a beautifully decorated Christmas tree on a stage, they wanted to have the same at home. In Klin, a town loved by Tchaikovsky, there is a museum of Christmas trees decorations “Klinskoye Podvorye”, where in Tchaikovsky’s hall, you can listen to the music from the famous ballet.

Tchaikovsky planted flowers himself

P.I. Tchaikovsky had a two-hour walk every day in any weather. A park around the house and an attractive view from the window were some of the reasons why he loved Klin. In summer, Tchaikovsky planted flowers himself. Nowadays, the same kinds of flowers decorate the park – roses, begonias, gillyflowers, phloxes, Australian tobacco, bluebells. Lilies-of-the-valley were his favorite flowers.

At the entrance door, there is a sign plate put by P.I. Tchaikovsky on the 7th October 1893 when he left this house forever: “Please don’t ring the doorbell. Nobody is in”. He died of cholera in St. Petersburg. However, this house gives a feeling that from time to time his soul comes to Klin, a town loved by Tchaikovsky.