This is a photograph of Herman Laroche, a close friend and a fellow student of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s at Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Later on, he became a famous music and literary critic, a teacher, and a scholar.

Laroche and Tchaikovsky met in 1862 when they studied at Saint Petersburg Conservatory under Anton Rubinstein. That was the start of their close friendship. They had shared views on music and a lot of similar qualities. Laroche was one of the first people to spot the young composer’s talent. In 1865, Tchaikovsky’s cantata for Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy was performed at the final composition exam. Many of the musicians who listened to that piece gave negative reviews on Tchaikovsky’s music and talent as a composer. Herman Laroche was the only one to appreciate the cantata. He wrote to his friend: ’…You are the greatest musical talent in contemporary Russia. More powerful and original than Balakirev, than Rimsky-Korsakov; I see the biggest or, better even, the only hope of our musical future in you…’ Laroche himself chose to become a music critic thanks to his friend.

Later on, Laroche wrote numerous articles, interpreting and reviewing Tchaikovsky’s pieces. Throughout his life, he was popularizing the composer’s work in print.

In his memoir, Laroche reflected on Tchaikovsky’s music, described his appearance, interests, ideas, and even his daily routines, schedule, and habits. The friendship between Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Herman Laroche lasted for many years until the composer’s death in 1893. During his last concert, on October 28, 1893, Tchaikovsky conducted Laroche’s Karmosina overture.