TALENT & EARLY LIFE

Tchaikovsky started taking piano lessons when he was only 5 years old. From an early age, he expressed a passion for music but his parents wished for him to pursue a job in the civil services. When Tchaikovsky was 10, he attended the Imperial School of Jurisprudence, which was a boarding school. While he was there in 1845, his mother died. After that, he decided to fulfil his parents wishes and he became a bureau clerk with the Ministry of Justice.

During the four years he was bureau clerk, he became fascinated with music even more so than before and in 1865, his work was performed publicly for the first time. In 1868, his "First Symphony" was well-received by audiences. In 1878 Tchaikovsky resigned from the Moscow Conservatory and spent the rest of his musical career composing a great deal of music.

http://www.biography.com/people/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-9503375#awesm=~oBqnScyUH0e53j