This compilation of reminiscences about Tchaikovsky the man is unprecedented in English. The memoirs, diary entries, and interviews written and conducted by his contemporariesÑfriends, relatives, fellow musicians, journalists, and state officialsÑshow us both the public and the private figure: the student at the School of Jurisprudence, the conductor, the professor at the Conservatory, the philanthropist and promoter of talent, the loving brother and uncle, the intrepid traveler, and the man who impressed a range of peopleÑfrom servants to members of the Russian imperial family. Ten chronologically arranged chapters offer more than fifty documentsÑmany laudatory, others not. Here TchaikovskyÕs contemporaries speak of little-known facets of the composerÕs life: foibles and manners, politics and tastes, prejudices and preferences (sexual and otherwise).Alexander Poznansky prefaces each chapter with information on the relevant period of the composerÕs life and on the writers quoted; notes elucidate allusions to individuals and artifacts, and identify sources for further information. The result is a dynamic portrayal of the composer, with all the complexities and paradoxes of a real life.Thirty-two illustrationsÑmany of them never before publishedÑcomplement the text.Russian Music StudiesÑMalcolm Hamrick Brown, founding editor