Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the music for the Nutcracker, the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, multiple symphonies, several operas, and more. He is among the most popular composers of the 19th century. But as usual he didn't do it alone.

He and his friend Nadezhda von Meck had a 13-year correspondence of 1200 letters. They shared (almost) everything with each other, but they never actually … met.

Still, Tchaikovsky credited Nadezhda for saving his bank account (many times over), and also his sanity, and even his life. It's safe to say that some of his most gorgeous music would never have been written without Nadezhda.

Music for this episode includes licensed music from Pond5 and copyright-free music from Musopen.org. The pieces referenced include:

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