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Tchaikovsky composed his exhilarating Capriccio italien during a dark period in his life. The recent death of his father and the 25th anniversary of his mother's death had upset the composer. Before he left Paris for Rome in December 1879, Tchaikovsky received news from his brother Modest that his old homosexual acquaintance Prince Golitsyn and the prince's lover were staying in Italy's capital. This threw the composer, who was always torn apart by his own homosexuality and any reminders of it, into the dep
