Final answer:
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer during the Romantic era known for teaching at the Moscow Conservatory and his music that strongly appealed to Western tastes. He was not the first to write orchestral music or compositionally independent from European influence, but a prominent figure whose works are celebrated to this day.
Step-by-step explanation:
Tchaikovsky was a prominent figure in the Romantic era of music, which itself was characterized by a strong emotional component and the quest for individual expression. Contrary to the options given in the question, Tchaikovsky was not the first Russian to compose music that appealed to Western tastes, nor was he the first Russian to write orchestral music, nor the first who wrote music not influenced by Italy, France, or Germany. While he was a pioneering figure and one of the most famous Russian composers who did appeal to Western tastes, there were others before him. Moreover, music in Russia had been influenced by various European countries for quite some time. Though one notable fact about Tchaikovsky is that he was indeed among the instructors at the Moscow Conservatory, teaching there shortly after it was established in the 1860s.
During the Romantic era, composers like Brahms, Schubert, Chopin, and Wagner also wrote music that resonates to this day. They, alongside Tchaikovsky, expanded the musical language and forms inherited from classical composers like Haydn and Mozart. The rise of the middle class during this period had a significant impact on music, as the audience broadened beyond the aristocracy to include public concerts and festivals with large audiences.