Tchaikovsky: The Years of Wandering, 1878-1885

The third volume of what is, unquestionably, proving to be a definitive biography covers the years in which Tchaikovsky was struggling to recover from the devastating experience of his marriage. During those years he retreated into an existence as solitary as he could make it, supported only by his intimate family and his closest friends. Much of the time he withdrew to his sister's home in the Ukraine, or to one of the country estates of his strange benefactress, Nadezhda von Meck. Or he would depart from Russia on restless and rootless wanderings in Germany, France, Italy; and would write to his brother Modest, "What a delight to be able to take a walk without being afraid of meeting people I know.