Tchaikovsky Research : Chronology

Adapted from the chronology published in vol. 1 of The Tchaikovsky Handbook (Indiana University Press, 2002), pages xxxi-xli

Year	Date (Old Style)	Date (New Style)	Event
1840	April 25	May 7	Petr Il'ich Tchaikovsky is born in Votkinsk, some 600 miles east of Moscow; second son of Il'ia Tchaikovsky, a mining engineer, and Aleksandra Tchaikovskaia (b. Assier); has an older brother Nikolai (born 9 May 1838) and paternal half-sister Zinaida (born 1829).
1841	December 28	1842 January 9	Birth of his sister Aleksandra (Sasha).
1843	April 10	April 22	Birth of his brother Ippolit.
1844	August	August	With his sister Aleksandra, he composes a song "Our Mama in Petersburg".
1844	November	November	Fanny Dürbach becomes governess to the Tchaikovsky family.
1845			He takes up piano lessons with Mariia Pal'chikova
1847			He begins to write poetry at school.
1848	September	September	Fanny Dürbach leaves her position as governess, and the Tchaikovsky family moves from Votkinsk to Moscow.
1848	November	November	His family moves to Saint Petersburg, where Tchaikovsky is sent to a boarding school and continues his music lessons with a private teacher.
1849	May	May	His family moves from Saint Petersburg to Alapaevsk in the Ural Mountains, where his father is appointed manager of a metallurgical plant.
1850	May 1	May 13	Birth of his twin brothers Anatolii and Modest.
	August 22	September 3	He sees a production of Mikhail Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar, which makes a lasting impression.
	September	September	He enrols in the Imperial School of Jurisprudence in Saint Petersburg.
	October	October	He sees a production of Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle, with Carlotta Grisi.
1851	September	September	His father visits him in Saint Petersburg.
1852	May	May	His family moves from Alapaevsk to join him in Saint Petersburg.
	summer	summer	He sings the soprano part of a coloratura duet from Rossini's Semiramide with his aunt Ekaterina Alekseeva.
	autumn	autumn	He takes part in a trio in the Liturgy at the School of Jurisprudence, and becomes an active participant in the School's choir.
1853			He forms a friendship with his schoolmate Aleksei Apukhtin.
1854	January	January	Marriage of his half-sister Zinaida to Evgenii Ol'khovskii.
	June 13	June 25	Death of his mother Aleksandra from cholera. 1854
	August	August	The Anastasie-valse is his earliest known attempt at written-down composition.
1855			He starts piano lessons with Rudolf Kündinger.
1856			While boarding at the boys-only School of Jurisprudence, the first signs of his innate homosexual sensibilities become apparent, and he becomes infatuated with his schoolfriend Sergei Kireev.
1856			He makes the acquaintance of the Italian singer and voice teacher Luigi Piccioli, who is the first person to recognize his musical talent and significantly influences his musical development.
1857			Under the influence of Piccioli, he becomes an enthusiastic admirer of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. Mozart's Don Giovanni also has a profound impact.
1858	autumn	autumn	He makes his first attempt at conducting the school choir, at the request of singing master Gavriil Lomakin.
1859	May 13	May 25	He graduates from the Imperial School of Jurisprudence.
1859	June	June	He begins work as a civil servant in the Ministry of Justice.
1860			While employed at the Ministry of Justice, he becomes a ‘man-about-town', and enjoys operas, theatres and concerts in Saint Petersburg.
1860	November 6	November 18	His sister Aleksandra marries Lev Davydov and moves to her husband's family estate at Kamenka in the Ukraine.
1861	spring	spring	He indulges in many homosexual escapades, until the risk of scandal grows.
	July–August	July–August	He travels outside Russia for the first time, to Berlin, Hamburg, Antwerp, Brussels, Ostend, London and Paris.
	autumn	autumn	He begins studying harmony in Nikolai Zaremba's music classes in Saint Petersburg, opened by the RMS.
	autumn	autumn	Birth of his eldest niece Tat'iana (Tania), to his sister Aleksandra.
1862	September 8	September 20	He enrols as a student in the newly-opened Saint Petersburg Conservatory.
1862			The song Mezza notte becomes his first published composition.
1863	spring	spring	He attends all six of Richard Wagner's concerts in Saint Petersburg
	April 11	April 23	He resigns from the Ministry of Justice to concentrate on studying music.
	May 16	May 28	He is deeply impressed by a performance of Aleksandr Serov's opera Judith.
	summer	summer	He stays with Aleksei Apukhtin at Pavlodar.
	autumn	autumn	He resumes his study of music theory under Zaremba and begins composition classes with Anton Rubinstein.
	winter	winter	He starts to give private piano lessons.
1864	June–August	June–August	He spends his summer vacation from the conservatory with his society friend Aleksei Golitsyn at Trostinets in Ukraine. Here he writes his first orchestral piece, The Storm.
	autumn	autumn	He meets the composer Aleksandr Serov in Saint Petersburg.
			His brothers Anatolii and Modest learn of Tchaikovsky's homosexuality from their schoolfriends.
1865			His father Il'ia marries for a third time, to Elizaveta Lipport.
	summer	summer	He spends his summer vacation with his brothers Modest and Anatolii at Kamenka, where he sketches his Overture in C minor.
	July–September	July–September	He translates Gevaert's Handbook for Instrumentation.
	August 30	September 11	Premiere of the Characteristic Dances in Pavlovsk conducted by Johann Strauss II (the first public performance of any of his works).
	October 30	November 11	Premiere of the String Quartet in B♭ major at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.
	November– December	November– December	He works on his graduation cantata Ode to Joy.
	November 27	December 9	Premiere of the Overture in F major at the Mikhailovskii Palace in Saint Petersburg, conducted by Tchaikovsky.
	December 29	1866 January 10	Premiere of the cantata Ode to Joy at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory Graduation examinations, which earns him a silver medal.
1866	January	January	He leaves Saint Petersburg to become teacher of musical theory in the classes of the Moscow branch of the RMS.
	February	February	He revises his Overture in F major.
	March 4	March 16	Premiere of the revised Overture in F major in Moscow.
	May–July	May–July	He spends the summer with his sister's mother-in-law and her daughters Vera and Elizaveta Davydova, and with his brother Modest in Peterhof, while sketching his Symphony No. 1.
	July–August	July–August	He suffers from physical exhaustion as a result of overwork on the symphony.
	September 1	September 13	He becomes employed at the newly-opened Moscow Conservatory, with Nikolai Rubinstein as its director.
	September– November	September– November	He works on his Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem.
1867	January 29	February 10	Premiere of the Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem in Moscow.
	March	March	He starts work on his first opera, The Voevoda.
	June–August	June–August	He visits Finland and then spends the summer with the Davydovs at Hapsal [Haapsalu] in Estonia, where Vera Davydova becomes infatuated with him.
	July	July	He confides in Modest and Anatolii about his homosexuality.
	December	December	He meets the French composer Hector Berlioz, who conducts two concerts in Moscow.
1868	February 3	February 15	Premiere of the Symphony No. 1 in Moscow, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein.
	February 19	March 2	He unsuccessfully conducts his Characteristic Dances in Moscow.
	March	March	He writes his first music review article, Regarding Mr Korsakov's "Serbian Fantasy".
	April	April	He meets Milii Balakirev, Aleksandr Borodin, César Cui, Aleksandr Dargomyzhskii and Vladimir Stasov, during a trip to Saint Petersburg.
	summer	summer	He travels to Berlin and Paris with his friend Vladimir Shilovskii.
	September	September	He becomes romantically involved with the opera singer Désirée Artôt.
	September– December	September– December	He composes and scores the symphonic fantasia Fatum.
			Publication by Jurgenson of the Scherzo à la russe and Impromptu as his “Op. 1”.
1869	January	January	He learns of Désirée Artôt's marriage to Mariano Padilla-y-Ramos.
	January–July	January–July	He writes his second opera, Undina.
	January 30	February 11	Premiere of The Voevoda in Moscow.
	February 15	February 27	Premiere of the symphonic fantasia Fatum in Moscow.
	June	June	Marriage of his brother Ippolit to Sof'ia Nikonova.
	autumn	autumn	He meets Milii Balakirev in Moscow, and under his influence writes the overture-fantasia Romeo and Juliet.
			He begins a passionate friendship with the conservatory student Eduard Zak.
1870	February	February	He starts work on his third opera, The Oprichnik.
	March 4	March 16	The premiere of Romeo and Juliet in Moscow passes almost unnoticed by the critics.
	May	May	Undina is rejected by the directorate of the Imperial Theatres.
	June– August	June– August	He revises Romeo and Juliet, at Balakirev's instigation.
	June	June	He visits his sick friend Vladimir Shilovskii in Paris, then travels to Soden, and on to Mannheim for the Beethoven centennial festival.
	July	July	He flees to Switzerland following the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War.
	August	August	After staying at Interlaken, he visits Munich and Vienna on his way back to Moscow.
1871	March 16	March 28	An all-Tchaikovsky concert in Moscow includes the premieres of his trio Nature and Love and the String Quartet No. 1. Ivan Turgenev attends this concert, but Tchaikovsky avoids being introduced to him
	June	June	He visits his sister Aleksandra at Kamenka.
	December 2	December 14	Birth of his nephew Vladimir Davydov (Bob) to his sister Aleksandra.
	December	December	He visits Nice with Vladimir Shilovskii.
1872	February 5	February 17	Premiere of the revised Romeo and Juliet in Saint Petersburg has more success.
	February–March	February–March	He is commissioned to write a Cantata for the Opening of the Polytechnic Exposition in Moscow.
	April	April	He completes work on The Oprichnik.
	May 31	June 12	Premiere of the Cantata for the Opening of the Polytechnic Exposition in Moscow.
	June–August	June–August	He spends the summer vacation at Kamenka, Nizy and Usovo, where he sketches his Symphony No. 2.
	September	September	He starts regular work as the music critic of the newspaper Russian Register.
			Marriage of his brother Nikolai to Ol'ga Denis'eva
1873	January 26	February 7	Premiere of the Symphony No. 2 in Moscow.
	March–April	March–April	He writes music for Aleksandr Ostrovskii's play The Snow Maiden.
	May 11	May 23	Premiere of The Snow Maiden in Moscow.
	June–August	June–August	He visits Nizy and Kamenka, before travelling to Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France.
	August–October	August–October	He works on his symphonic fantasia The Tempest, suggested by Vladimir Stasov.
	November 2	November 14	Suicide of Eduard Zak, which has a profound effect on Tchaikovsky.
	December 7	December 19	Premiere of The Tempest in Moscow.
1874	March 10	March 22	Premiere of the String Quartet No. 2 in Moscow.
	April	April	He travels to Italy, visiting Venice, Rome, Naples and Florence.
	April 12	April 24	Premiere of The Oprichnik in Saint Petersburg.
	June–August	June–August	He writes the opera Vakula the Smith while staying at Nizy and Usovo.
	November	November	He starts work on the Piano Concerto No. 1.
	December 24	1875 January 5	He plays through the Piano Concerto No. 1 for Nikolai Rubinstein, who is scathing in his verdict. Tchaikovsky refuses to change a note.
1875	June–Augjust	June–Augjust	He writes his Symphony No. 3 while staying at Usovo, Verbovka and Nizy.
	August	August	He starts work on this first ballet, Swan Lake.
	October 13	October 25	Hans von Bülow gives the premiere of the Piano Concerto No. 1 in Boston, USA.
	November	November	He meets Camille Saint-Saëns in Moscow.
	November 1	November 13	Russian premiere of the Piano Concerto No. 1 in Saint Petersburg by Gustav Kross, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein.
	November 7	November 19	Premiere of the Symphony No. 3 in Moscow.
	December	December	He travels to France with his brother Modest, and Modest's deaf-mute pupil Nikolai Konradi.
1876	January	January	He is greatly impressed by Bizet's Carmen in Paris.
	January 16	January 28	Premiere of the Sérénade mélancolique in Moscow.
	March 18	March 30	Premiere of the String Quartet No. 3 in Moscow.
	April	April	He completes work on Swan Lake.
	April 24	May 6	Premiere of the Cantata for the Jubilee of O. A. Petrov in Saint Petersburg.
	July	July	He travels to Vichy, France, for the cure.
	August	August	He attends the premiere of Wagner's Ring cycle in Bayreuth, where he also meets Franz Liszt
	September	September	Due to social and family pressures, and alarmed by learning that his brother Modest is also homosexual, he announces his decision to marry.
	September	September	He is commissioned to write the Slavonic March in aid of victims of the war between Serbia and Turkey.
	September– November	September– November	He writes the symphonic fantasia Francesca da Rimini.
	November 4	November 16	Premiere of Vakula the Smith in Saint Petersburg.
	November 5	November 17	Premiere of the Slavonic March in Moscow.
	December	December	He meets Lev Tolstoi in Moscow.
	December	December	He receives his first letter from Nadezhda von Meck, and their solely epistolary friendship begins.
	December	December	He writes the Variations on a Rococo Theme for cello with orchestra.
1877	January	January	He strikes up a close friendship with the violinist Iosif Kotek.
	February 13	February 25	He nervously conducts his Slavonic March at the Bol'shoi Theatre in Moscow.
	February 25	March 9	Premiere of Francesca da Rimini in Moscow.
	March–May	March–May	He makes sketches for his Symphony No. 4.
	March 26	April 7	Antonina Miliukova writes her first letter to Tchaikovsky.
	May	May	He begins to write the opera Evgenii Onegin.
	May 20	June 1	He meets Antonina Miliukova for the first time in Moscow.
	May 23	June 4	He proposes marriage to Antonina Miliukova.
	July 6	July 18	He marries Antonina Miliukova at Saint George's Church in Moscow.
	July 7–13	July 19–25	The couple spend their honeymoon in Saint Petersburg.
	July 14	July 26	Tchaikovsky and his wife return to their new apartment in Moscow.
	July 27	August 8	Tchaikovsky leaves by himself for Kamenka.
	September 12	September 24	Tchaikovsky returns to his wife in Moscow.
	September 24	October 6	End of his marriage to Antonina.
	October	October	He travels to Switzerland with his brother Anatolii, settling in Clarens.
	October	October	Nadezhda von Meck offers him a regular allowance, which gives him financial independence
	December 18	December 30	Premiere of the Variations on a Rococo Theme in Moscow by Wilhelm Fitzenhagen.
1878	January	January	He travels to San Remo, where he completes the Symphony No. 4 and Evgenii Onegin.
	January 13	January 25	Death of his half-sister Zinaida.
	February 10	February 22	Premiere of the Symphony No. 4.
	March	March	At Clarens in Switzerland with Iosif Kotek, he writes his Violin Concerto.
	May	May	He returns to Russia and spends time at Kamenka, before moving on to the Brailov country estate of Nadezhda von Meck, who is absent. Here he writes the Souvenir d'un lieu cher as a memento of his stay, and the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom.
	August	August	He starts work on the Suite No. 1.
	September	September	He returns to the Moscow Conservatory to resume teaching.
	November	November	He tenders his resignation from the Moscow Conservatory on health grounds.
	December	December	He travels to Italy and settles in Florence, where he starts work on The Maid of Orleans.
	December 8	December 20	Premiere of the Valse-scherzo in Paris by Stanislaw Barcewicz.
1879	March	March	He returns to Moscow.
	March 17	March 29	Premiere of Evgenii Onegin in Moscow.
	June	June	Premiere of the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom in Kiev.
	June–August	June–August	He spends the summer at Kamenka and Brailov, where he completes The Maid of Orleans.
	October	October	While staying at Kamenka, he starts work on the Piano Concerto No. 2.
	October 21	November 2	Premiere of the Grand Sonata in Moscow by Nikolai Rubinstein.
	November	November	He departs for France and Italy.
	December 8	December 20	Premiere of the Suite No. 1 in Moscow.
	December	December	While in Rome, he revises the Symphony No. 2.
1880	January– February	January– February	In Rome, he writes the Italian Capriccio.
	January 9	January 21	Death of his father Il'ia.
	March	March	He returns to Russia.
	April–November	April–November	He stays mostly at Kamenka and Brailov.
	September– November	September– November	He writes the Serenade for String Orchestra and the festival overture The Year 1812.
	autumn	autumn	Tchaikovsky is deeply upset when his servant Aleksei Sofronov is conscripted into the army.
	December 6	December 18	He returns to Moscow, and hears the premiere of the Italian Capriccio.
1881	January– February	January– February	He visits Saint Petersburg.
	January 31	February 12	Premiere of the revised Symphony No. 2 in Saint Petersburg.
	February 13	February 25	Premiere of The Maid of Orleans in Saint Petersburg.
	February 14	February 26	He departs for Vienna, Florence, Rome and Naples.
	March 11	March 23	While in Nice, he hears of the death of Nikolai Rubinstein in Paris.
	March 13	March 25	He attend's Rubinstein's funeral service in Paris.
	April	April	He settles at Kamenka, with occasional visits to Moscow.
	June	June	He starts work on the opera Mazepa.
	October 18	October 30	Premiere of the Serenade for String Orchestra.
	October 31	November 12	Premiere of the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Madeline Schiller in New York.
	November– December	November– December	He visits Vienna, Venice, Florence and Rome.
	November 22	December 4	Premiere of the Violin Concerto in Vienna by Adolph Brodsky.
	December	December	He sketches his Piano Trio in memory of Nikolai Rubinstein.
1882	April	April	His brother Anatolii marries Praskov'ia Konshina.
	May	May	He returns to Kamenka, with occasional visits to Moscow.
	May 21	June 2	Russian premiere of the Piano Concerto No. 2 in Moscow by Sergei Taneev.
	June 7	June 19	Premiere of the All-Night Vigil in Moscow.
	August 8	August 20	Premiere of The Year 1812 at the Arts and Industry Exhibition in Moscow.
	October 18	October 30	Premiere of the Piano Trio in Moscow.
1883	January	January	He arrives in Paris.
	February 19	March 3	Premiere of the revised Symphony No. 1 in Moscow.
	March	March	He is commissioned to write the Coronation March and the cantata Moscow for the coronation of Emperor Alexander III.
	May 15	May 27	Premiere of the coronation cantata Moscow at the Kremlin in Moscow.
	May 23	June 4	Premiere of the Coronation March at the coronation of Alexander III in Moscow.
	June–December	June–December	He visits Moscow, Podushkino and Kamenka, where he writes the Suite No. 2.
	December 31	1885 January 12	His niece Anna Davydova marries Nadezhda von Meck's son Nikolai.
1884	February 3	February 15	Premiere of Mazepa in Moscow.
	February 4	February 16	Premiere of the Suite No. 2 in Moscow.
	February 6	February 18	He departs for Paris.
	March 7	March 19	He is summoned to Saint Petersburg for an audience with Alexander III, who confers on him the Order of Saint Vladimir.
	April–September	April–September	He visits Kamenka, Grankino and Skabeevo, where he writes the Suite No. 3 and the Concert Fantasia for piano with orchestra.
	October 19	October 31	Saint Petersburg premiere of Evgenii Onegin at the Mariinskii Theatre.
	November	November	He visits his dying friend Iosif Kotek in Switzerland.
	December 16	December 28	Premiere of the Elegy for String Orchestra in Moscow.
1885	January 12	January 24	Premiere of the Suite No. 3 in Saint Petersburg.
	February 14	February 16	He rents a house in the village of Maidanovo, near Klin.
	February 22	March 6	Premiere of the Concert Fantasia in Moscow.
	February–March	February–March	He revises Vakula the Smith as a new opera with the title Cherevichki.
	April–September	April–September	At Maidanovo, he writes the symphony Manfred, suggested by Milii Balakirev.
	September	September	He starts work on the opera The Enchantress.
	December 5	December 17	Premiere of the Jurisprudence March and Jurists' Song at the 150th anniversary dinner of the Imperial School of Jurisprudence in Saint Petersburg. Tchaikovsky is absent.
1886	March 11	March 23	He attends the premiere of Manfred in Moscow.
	March 31	April 12	He arrives in Tiflis to visit his brother Anatolii.
	April 19	May 1	He hears the premiere of the revised Romeo and Juliet in Tiflis.
	April 29	May 10	He leaves Tiflis for Paris, by way of the Mediterranean Sea.
	May–June	May–June	He stays in Paris, where he meets Gabriel Fauré, Édouard Lalo, Ambroise Thomas and Pauline Viardot-García.
	June 19	July 1	He returns to Maidanovo.
1887	January 19	January 31	He conducts the premiere of Cherevichki at the Bol'shoi Theatre in Moscow.
	January 20	February 1	Death of his niece Tat'iana Davydova.
	March 5	March 17	He conducts the Saint Petersburg premiere of the Suite No. 2.
	May	May	He completes the opera The Enchantress.
	May 21–28	June 2–9	He travels on a steam-boat down the River Volga from Nizhny Novgorod to Baku.
	June	June	He stays with his brother Anatolii in Tiflis, where he arranges and orchestrates music by Mozart to form his Suite No. 4.
	July–August	July–August	He travels to Aachen to see his friend Nikolai Kondrat'ev, who is critically ill.
	October 20	November 1	He conducts the premiere of The Enchantress at the Mariinskii Theatre in Saint Petersburg.
	November 14	November 26	Premiere of the Suite No. 4 in Moscow, conducted by Tchaikovsky.
	December 12	December 24	Saint Petersburg premiere of the Suite No. 4, conducted by Tchaikovsky.
	December 24	1888 January 5	His first European conducting tour begins with a concert at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Meetings with Johannes Brahms, Edvard Grieg and Ethel Smyth.
1888			He is granted a lifetime annuity of 3000 rubles by Alexander III.
	January 8	January 20	He conducts at the Conventgarten in Hamburg.
	January 16	January 28	He meets Gustav Mahler.
	January 23	February 4	He meets Désirée Artôt again in Berlin.
	January 27	February 8	He conducts a Philharmonic Society concert in Berlin.
	February 7–9	February 19–21	He conducts two concerts in Prague, and meets Antonín Dvořák.
	Febuary–March	Febuary–March	He conducts three concerts in Paris, and meets Charles Gounod, Léo Delibes, Pauline Viardot-García, and other French musicians.
	March 8	March 20	He conducts a concert at the Saint James's Hall in London.
	March	March	He returns to Russia and visits brothers Ippolit and Anatolii in Taganrog and Tiflis.
	April 24	May 6	He settles in a new house at Frolovskoe, near Klin.
	May–October	May–October	He writes the Symphony No. 5 and the overture-fantasia Hamlet.
	October	October	He is commissioned by Ivan Vsevolozhskii to write the ballet The Sleeping Beauty.
	November 5	November 17	Premiere of the Symphony No. 5 in Saint Petersburg, conducted by Tchaikovsky.
	November 12	November 24	Premiere of the overture-fantasia Hamlet in Saint Petersburg, conducted by Tchaikovsky.
	November–December	November–December	He visits Prague to conduct the Symphony No. 5 and Evgenii Onegin.
	December 10	December 22	Moscow premiere of the Symphony No. 5, conducted by Tchaikovsky.
	December 10	December 22	He meets Anton Chekhov in Saint Petersburg.
1889	January–March	January–March	His second European concert tour, with concerts in Cologne (31 January/12 February), Frankfurt am Main (3/15 February), Dresden (8/20 February), Berlin (14/26 February), Geneva (25 February/9 March), Hamburg (3/15 March) and in London (30 March/11 April). Before travelling on to London he stays in Paris (8/20 March-28 March/9 April), where he does not conduct any concerts but gets to meet Jules Massenet and other French musicians
	April–May	April–May	He travels to Tiflis via the Mediterranean Sea to visit his brother Anatolii.
	May 19	May 31	He returns home to Frolovskoe.
	August	August	He completes work on The Sleeping Beauty.
	September 18	September 30	He conducts a new production of Evgenii Onegin at the Bol'shoi Theatre in Moscow.
	October–November	October–November	He conducts his own music, and works by Mozart, Glinka, Taneev and Anton Rubinstein.
	November 25	December 7	Premiere of the Pezzo capriccioso in Moscow with Anatolii Brandukov, conducted by Tchaikovsky.
1890	January 3	January 15	Premiere of The Sleeping Beauty at the Mariinskii Theatre in Saint Petersburg.
	January–March	January–March	He stays in Florence, where he sketches The Queen of Spades.
	April–September	April–September	He returns to Russia, staying mainly at Frolovskoe, with occasional visits to Moscow, Lobynskoe, Grankino, Kamenka, Kiev and Kharkov.
	June–July	June–July	He writes the string sextet Souvenir de Florence.
	September 22	October 4	Nadezhda von Meck writes her last letter to Tchaikovsky.
	September–October	September–October	He sketches the symphonic ballad The Voevoda
	September–October	September–October	He visits Anatolii in Tiflis.
	October 20	November 1	He conducts his own works at an RMS concert in Tiflis.
	November 28	December 10	Premiere of Souvenir de Florence in Saint Petersburg.
	December 7	December 19	Premiere of The Queen of Spades in Saint Petersburg.
1891	January	January	At the request of his actor friend Lucien Guitry, he writes incidental music for Hamlet.
	February	February	He starts work on the ballet The Nutcracker.
	February 9	February 21	Premiere of the incidental music to Hamlet in Moscow.
	March 24	April 5	He conducts a concert of his own works in Paris.
	March 29	April 10	Death of his sister Aleksandra.
	April 5–14	April 17–26	He crosses the Atlantic Ocean on the steamship La Bretagne.
	April 14	April 26	He arrives in New York at the start of his American tour, which also takes him to Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.
	April 23	May 5	He conducts his Coronation March at the opening concert of the new Music Hall in New York [later the Carnegie Hall].
	May 9	May 21	He leaves America bound for Hamburg on the Prince Bismarck.
	May 28	May 28	He returns to his former home at Maidanovo.
	July–December	July–December	He works on the opera Iolanta.
	November 4	November 16	Moscow premiere of The Queen of Spades.
	November 6	November 18	He conducts the premiere of the symphonic ballad The Voevoda, and then attempts to destroy the score.
	December 21	1891 January 2	He conducts an all-Tchaikovsky concert in Kiev.
1892	January 2	January 14	He conducts an all-Tchaikovsky concert in Warsaw.
	January 7	January 19	He is impressed by a performance of Evgenii Onegin in Hamburg conducted by Gustav Mahler.
	February–March	February–March	He completes work on the ballet The Nutcracker, from which he compiles a suite.
	March 7	March 19	Premiere of the suite from The Nutcracker in Saint Petersburg conducted by Tchaikovsky.
	April 29	May 10	He moves from Maidanovo to his last home at Klin.
	May	May	He begins sketches for a Symphony in E♭ major
	June	June	He visits Vichy with his nephew Vladimir Davydov.
	September–October	September–October	He travels to Vienna, Itter and Prague.
	November	November	He abandons sketches for the Symphony in E♭ major.
	November 24	December 6	Premiere of the revised sextet Souvenir de Florence in Saint Petersburg.
	December 18	December 30	Premieres of Iolanta and The Nutcracker at the Mariinskii Theatre in Saint Petersburg.
	December 20	1893 January 1	He visits Fanny Dürbach in Montbeliard, Switzerland
1893	January 14	January 14	He conducts an all-Tchaikovsky concert in Brussels.
	January 12	January 24	He arrives in Odessa to conduct a series of concerts of his own works, and to have his portrait painted by Nikolai Kuznetsov.
	January 25	February 6	He leaves Odessa for Kamenka and Kharkov.
	February 3	February 15	He returns to Klin, where he starts to sketch the Symphony No. 6.
	March 11	March 23	He arrives in Kharkov to conduct concerts of his own works.
	March 18	March 30	He returns to Klin and resumes work on the Symphony No. 6.
	May 13	May 25	He departs for England via Germany.
	May 20	June 1	He conducts his Symphony No. 4 at a Royal Philharmonic Society concert in London.
	May 31	June 12	He conducts Francesca da Rimini at a concert in Cambridge.
	June 1	June 13	He receives an Honorary Doctorate of Music at Cambridge University, together with Boito, Saint-Saëns, Bruch, and Grieg (who is too ill to attend the ceremony).
	July 18	July 30	He returns home to Klin, where he begins converting the abandoned Symphony in E♭ major into the Piano Concerto No. 3.
	August	August	He travels to Hamburg for a production of Iolanta.
	October 9	October 21	Premiere of the vocal quartet Night in Moscow, in the presence of the composer.
	October 10	October 22	He arrives in Saint Petersburg to stay at his brother Modest's apartment on Malaia Morskaia.
	October 16	October 28	He conducts the premiere of the Symphony No. 6 in Saint Petersburg.
	October 20	November 1	He dines out at Leiner's restaurant with friends.
	October 21	November 2	He complains of stomach pains, and a doctor is called, who diagnoses cholera.
	October 22	November 3	Treatment begins, and he feels better.
	October 22–23	November 3–4	His condition gradually deteriorates.
	October 25	November 6	Tchaikovsky dies around 3 a.m. from complications arising from the cholera (uræmia and œdema of lungs).
	October 26–27	November 7–8	Requiem services and tributes are held throughout Russia.
	October 28	November 9	His funeral takes place in the Kazan Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. He is buried in Tikhvinskii Cemetery at the Aleksandr Nevskii Monastery.