This is the finest of both worlds! Tchaikovsky was proud of his compositional abilities (the quality of his work). He wanted to build a reputation for himself and have as many people as possible hear his music. Historians believe Tchaikovsky was the first fully professional Russian composer! Tchaikovsky's father was not happy about this career choice for his son, but could do nothing about it. When Tschaikovsky was 20 years old he went to St. Petersburg to present his work to the court. The king liked what they heard and invited the young composer to come play for him every week. This is how Tchaikovsky started getting more serious commissions and being paid to compose. He spent most of his money traveling around Russia with his piano playing so that people would know who he was. In 1879 he succeeded in moving to Paris where he could live an affluent life off his talent without having to work for someone else. He died at the age of 37 in Moscow after suffering from tuberculosis for several years. According to historians, Tchaikovsky is one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time. His ability to combine Russian folklore with Western art music made him unique among his peers. His use of dissonance was also very innovative at the time it was being done. Dissonance is a sound that is produced when different tones are played at the same time.