The composer this term is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, he of the wonderful 1812 Overture. When I lived in the DC area (and before I had children), I never missed an Independence Day on the National Mall. Even though it was written to commemorate Russia’s War with Napoleon, it has come to be associated with our Independence Day. Because we’re a snatcher of all the best stuff from other cultures. It’s what we do.
Tschaikovsky is well known by most people, not only for the Overture of 1812 but also the Nutcracker Suite and Swan Lake. The guy was prolific.
I have Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought) (af), a collection of 3-4 page bios for 19 different composers. However, this particular entry needs to be previewed and adapted for your audience unless you want to be explaining to your seven-year-old what “forced to commit suicide because he was a homosexual” means. (A theory not proven, by the way.) I haven’t run across issues in the other bios . . . yet. Previewing is always a good practice, anyway.
Classics for Kids has a brief, child-friendly bio.
Here is a more thorough, less small child-friendly biography.
He seems like a fascinating guy. I’d love to read a full-fledged biography of him. I’ll put that on a someday list.
Here are all 6 selections from the Ambleside list for hours of listening enjoyment.
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