Historical Homos Tchaikovsky Comes Out To Mother Russia (feat. Simon Morrison)
Imagine a world where you're Russian, gay, and happy about it.
No this is not propaganda from the ultra-secret "Pinko" department of the Kremlin (they def have one of those).
This is the very real story of the magnificent Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the world's greatest composers and a big old homosexual.
He wrote the 1812 Overture, The Nutcracker, and the world’s gayest violin concerto (because it's "exuberant").
He also did Swan Lake, by the way, so perhaps most importantly, we wouldn't have Natalie Portman calling herself a WHORE on a mirror in red lipstick without him.
This week, Bash is joined by Princeton professor of music history Simon Morrison — author of Tchaikovsky’s Empire — to explore what it meant to be gay (and fabulous) in 19th-century Russia.
Together, they dismantle the myth of the tortured, closeted genius and paint a much queerer, more joyful picture of Tchaikovsky’s life.
💅 Topics include:
Why Tchaikovsky thrived as a gay man (in certain elite Russian circles, of course)
His disastrous lavender marriage to Antonina Milyukova
The kinky rumors, the tragic myths, and the straight up gay lies about his death
His read on Wagner (who made him yawn) and the dish on the famous Violin Concerto, dedicated to his hottie violinist crush, Iosif Kotek
Along the way, we ask the hard questions: Where were the best gay bars in St. Petersburg? Is Eugene Onegin queer-coded? And why does being gay make us better artists?
Stick around at the end for a special conversation with Oliver Zeffman, founder of Classical Pride, about this year’s line-up of queer classical music events in London and LA.
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Written and hosted by Bash. Guest: Professor Simon Morrison. Edited by Alex Toskas. Produced by Dani Henion.