Although the composer was born in Russia, his paternal family came from Ukraine, writes Amanda Turner. Plus Fr Alec Mitchell on the Ukrainian harpist Veronika Lemishenko
In response to Edward Wilson’s letter (8 April) about referring to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 2 as the Ukrainian symphony rather than the “Little Russian”, it should be pointed out that although Tchaikovsky was born in Russia, his paternal family came from Ukraine. The original family name was Chaika (“Seagull”) before it was changed to the more noble-sounding Chaikovsky by the composer’s grandfather, who eventually moved to Russia.
Tchaikovsky’s Ukrainian origins were hardly celebrated by the Soviets nor today’s Russians. On 2 April, Russian missiles were blasted at the city of Kremenchuk, the birthplace of Pyotr Ilyich’s great-grandfather, Fedor Chaika, a Cossack who served in the Zaporozhian army. The great composer’s Ukrainian roots should be celebrated as much as possible.
Amanda Turner
Norman, Oklahoma, US
