Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

School Library Journal

(Lifetimes Series). CIP. Watts. 1991. PLB $11.90. Gr 5-8-- Two brief biographies of famous composers . The material is fairly readable and seems reasonably accurate. What is missing is soul . There is no indication that Tames has ever heard or cared about either man's music. Readers are told that Tchaikovsky suffered from depression and confused sexuality but the closest they get to a description of his music is that when the ``last symphony--now known as Pathetique received its premiere . . . many people found it rather gloomy.'' Elizabeth Clark's Tchaikovsky (Bookwright, 1988), is also cursory in its coverage and directed at a somewhat younger audience, but it is written in a livelier, more sympathetic manner and sets the composer more clearly in his musical times. The author tells readers, ``In Paris, Wagner gave a concert which the public loved as much as the critics hated it.'' There is no discussion as to why the music had this effect. However, since the treatment of Wagner is fuller than that in standard music references and there is nothing else for young readers in print, it may serve for homework assignments. Both oversized volumes feature double-columned texts; plentiful, well-chosen black-and-white photographs and reproductions; and lists of books, addresses, and dates. --Ann Stell, The Smithtown Library, NY