“The will to happiness” determined the life and work of the great Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, even though it did not always enable him to reach his goal. Jorg Handstein’s audio biography takes this motto and fills it with the moving story of Tchaikovsky’s life, his survival and, of course, his impressive music. In nine chapters, on the first three of the four albums in this release, Tchaikovsky’s life can be vividly experienced, and his most famous and most important compositions heard, all closely interwoven with the highly exciting events of his life. Further along in the release, the Pathetique Symphony can be heard in a complete recording by the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Mariss Jansons (recorded live in June 2013), together with the first ever album recording of the a capella song “The Nightingale,” performed by the Chor and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen in a live recording from January 2016.