Text Box:  27. This composer is very famous in the West, even though he was born in Russia. He, undoubtedly is the grandest Russian composer of all, and is known to almost all children and adults in the western world for his ballets. He was born in 1840 and died in 1893 at only 53. He wrote the Nutcracker Suite. By now you must have guessed his name…yes, Tchaikovsky…Peter Illich Ill ich) Tchaikovsky (chi kov shee)…ranked number 10 by Goulding, but again probably thought more highly rated by his fans. There are many interesting facts about this composer, but here are two little ones just for now. Did you know that Tchaikovsky was typically very poor during the beginning of his composing days, but then an extraordinary thing happened to him. He was contacted by a wealthy lover of classical music named Madame von Meck (Meck) who told him she would supply him with enough money for the rest of his life, if he did nothing but compose…and that they never meet in person…which they never did, though they wrote hundreds of letters. Another interesting thing about Tchaikovsky is that he was honored to conduct at the inauguration of Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1891…a great experience…one that caused him much stage fright, but much acclaim.