Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky May 1840 – 6 November 1893
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In a country with a rich history of artistic achievement, one of the greatest talents to ever be born to Mother Russia was musician Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Like all artists, Tchaikovsky has had his detractors. Critic Harold Schonberg writing for the New York Times said "for a long time Tchaikovsky, so loved by the public, was discounted by many connoisseurs and musicians as nothing but a weeping machine". I'm sure there were/are people who think that of his music, but there is no doubt that his music is loved the world over and particularly holds a dear spot in the heart of the Russian people.
One aspect of Tchaikovsky's life that is clear to all who aren't willfully blind, is that the man liked to have teh gay sex. It would stretch the human imagination very thin to conclude that he was a 100% heterosexual man who just happened to hang out a whole lot with dudes who liked teh gay sex. So while there are those who maintain that there isn't enough evidence to prove he was gay beyond a shadow of a doubt, letters such as this one to his brother who was also homosexual sure do make my gaydar blare loudly.
I am now going through a very critical period of my life. I will go into more detail later, but for now I will simply tell you, I have decided to get married. It is unavoidable. I must do it, not just for myself but for you, Modeste, and all those I love. I think that for both of us our dispositions are the greatest and most insuperable obstacle to happiness, and we must fight our natures to the best of our ability. So far as I am concerned, I will do my utmost to get married this year, and if I lack the necessary courage, I will at any rate abandon my habits forever. Surely you realize how painful it is for me to know that people pity and forgive me when in truth I am not guilty of anything. How appalling to think that those who love me are sometimes ashamed of me. In short, I seek marriage or some sort of public involvement with a woman so as to shut the mouths of assorted contemptible creatures whose opinions mean nothing to me, but who are in a position to cause distress to those near to me.
See? Gay gay gay.
You might take what he wrote above to come to the conclusion Tchaikovsky's sexuality produced only misery and self-loathing for him. He did, after all, successfully find a beard named Antonina Milyukova to marry but it unraveled quickly as these sorts of marriages tend to do. The unhappiness that episode certainly caused him and her as well, is an unhappiness we are all too familiar with in contemporary society. So, while his sexuality clearly was a sources of pain for him during some points in his life, scholars have found evidence that he made peace with himself and enjoyed a long and happy relationship with his servant, Alyosha Sofronov.
Do we need to know all this and more? Perhaps we do, if only to provide a corrective to the myth that Tchaikovsky's homosexuality was a cruel, inescapable "Fate" that made his life miserable and made him write hysteria-ridden music. It certainly troubled him at times, but it did not lead to social exclusion, loneliness, or, indeed suicide (as another of the myths would have it). He tended to bemoan his sexuality only at times of crisis. For the rest of the time, it brought him both sorrows and joys much like any other individual, straight or gay. While critics continue looking for signs of "essential" difference in his music, such as "queer" tonal relations and homoerotic symbolism, audiences, perhaps more level-headedly, are happy to embrace Tchaikovsky's universal humanity with open hearts.
Tchaikovsky kept a meticulous diary and produced many correspondences. In them, no doubt, we could build a fairly comprehensive picture of the man, one which would include his sexuality. But read on.
During his life and particularly after his death, Tchaikovsky had become a nationally beloved figure, his music resonating with the very heart of the Russian psyche. His homosexuality would not alter this. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, old laws against homosexuality were stricken, effectively decriminalizing, if not actually legalizing gay sex. That would all change when Stalin swept into power. Throwing the Russian Orthodox Church a bone, Stalin imposed sweeping laws once again criminalizing homosexuality. During that time, Tchaikovsky's sexuality came under the eye of Stalin and he didn't particularly like what he saw. Consequently, redactions were made and other material was said to have disappeared completely.
After Stalin's death in 1953, these laws would remain on the books even as attitudes began to shift in a positive direction towards gay people. Tchaikovsky's sexuality would become less of an issue and commonly accepted. By the time Gorbachev introduced his Glasnost policy to a swiftly changing Russia, LGBT folks were enjoying freedoms as never before. Under Yeltsin, things improved even further.
Many others have written learnedly about what has brought Russia to its current state of antipathy towards its LGBT citizens. It would be no exaggeration to say that under Putin, life for gay people is quickly being thrust backward to a Stalin-level existence. To put an exclamation on that point, along comes a well known Russian filmmaker named Yuri Arabov. With state-sponsored cash, Arabov is currently working on a biopic of the life of Tchaikovsky. Consequently, Stalin's tactics are rearing its ugly head once again.
A prominent Russian screenwriter working on a film about Tchaikovsky’s life that has just received state financing set off a firestorm this week by saying that the biopic would not focus on the composer’s sexuality because “it is far from a fact that Tchaikovsky was a homosexual.”
“Only philistines think this,” the screenwriter, Yuri Arabov, told the newspaper Izvestia of the commonly accepted view of Tchaikovsky’s sexual orientation. “What philistines believe should not be shown in films.”
And there you have it. A major Russian film, using a famous filmmaker as a tool for state-sponsored propaganda is set to give the Russian people a complete makeover of one of its most cherished sons. Yet again. It's pretty safe to predict that many Russians will fall for it, playing right into the hands of the current climate of mob mentality the government is actively fostering.
The rest of us philistines? Not so much.
UPDATE : Please see pico's excellent contribution providing a translation from the interview with Arabov. Thank you much, pico.
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