P.I. Tchaikovsky "Romeo and Juliet"
The love story of young Romeo and beautiful Juliet still stirs the hearts and imagination of composers from different countries. She continues to live in music not only of past times, but also in modern, getting new incarnations. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky also turned his attention to this masterpiece and created an extraordinarily beautiful fantasy overture, which is one of the most prominent examples of a program symphony.
History of creation
The idea of creating a work based on the famous tragedy of Shakespeare arose from the composer at the very beginning of his creative career. In 1868, Tchaikovsky was very passionate about the famous singer Desiree Arto. However, soon after leaving for the tour, the girl married another. This greatly undermined the maestro's state of mind. Works written during this period reflect the pain and despair that the composer felt in the best way possible.
One of these compositions is the symphonic poet Fatum. Impressed by unhappy love, the composer also began work on his Rome-Juliet fantasy overture. It is known that Tchaikovsky discussed this idea with Mily Balakirev. He, in turn, strongly encouraged Peter Ilyich and even proposed various sketches for starting work. It is known that in his letters to Tchaikovsky, Mily Balakirev expressed his opinion regarding the nature of the themes, their development and even the tonal plan. Pyotr Ilyich greatly appreciated the participation of Balakirev and tried to follow all the advice of his friend. The writing progressed very quickly and by the spring of 1870 was completely completed.
The first performance of the overture, which Tchaikovsky dedicated to Balakirev, took place on March 4, 1870 at a concert of the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Works. The orchestra was ruled by N. Rubinstein. Mily Alekseevich was only very dissatisfied with the resulting work and pointed out some of Taykovsky’s remarks. After that, the composer began to rework the score. They have completely rewritten the introduction, and also changed the development and conclusion. Orchestration has also undergone major refinement. In particular, a new instrument was added - the harp.
The second edition of the fantasy overture was very successful and was performed several times in concert programs. However, the result was again criticized by Balakirev, who continued to insist on further work on the composition. That is why Tchaikovsky again began to rewrite the score in the summer of 1880. It is curious that in this case the composer appealed to the publisher with a request to indicate the dedication to Balakirev. The fact is that in the previous version it was lost.
The third edition was the most successful. During his trip to Berlin and Prague in 1881, Peter Ilyich himself conducted it, and later in St. Petersburg in 1892. The public of the northern capital has already managed to get acquainted with this work much earlier - in 1887. The orchestra was ruled by E. Napravnik.
Interesting Facts
- In 1884, the overture was awarded an honorary award for the best orchestral piece. This award was established by the patron M. Belyaev to once again encourage talented composers.
- It is interesting that the original source itself - the famous novel "Romeo and Juliet", like the overture, was edited many times by the author. The tragedy was created in 1595, and already in 1597 the first edition appeared, however, its name was somewhat different. Already in 1599 another edition appeared. However, it was not quite the final version of the tragedy. A new version of the work was published in 1609 and in 1623. It is curious that the researchers of the creative heritage of Shakespeare used all the available tragedy versions to bring them together due to the fact that almost all versions of the story were not fully preserved.
- Peter Ilyich is not the only composer who turned his attention to Shakespeare's story. So, G. Berlioz belongs to the "dramatic symphony" of the same name, which very closely follows the plot of the original source. Later, ballets were performed on his music. Vincenzo Bellini composed the opera Capulet and Montecchi, and then Charles Gounod. Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev in 1935 composed his famous music for the ballet Romeo and Juliet. In addition, many other talented musicians turned to the tragedy and created their beautiful works based on it.
- Based on the work of Tchaikovsky, Sergei Lifar staged ballet in 1942.
- Interestingly, this work was one of the most beloved by Peter Ilyich, which cannot be said about other creations. Some of them at first seemed quite successful, but later Tchaikovsky was completely disappointed in them. For example, this was the case with the Fatum poem, it was her composer who destroyed after two performances.
- Overture-fantasy refers to symphonic program works and this is not the first such essay by the composer. He was very attracted to this area of symphony, therefore, a special role was assigned to his programmatic work.
Content
It is known that Tchaikovsky did not pursue the goal of precisely following the plot of the original source. He managed to convey the idea of tragedy only in general terms - generally. In the overture, three plot lines stand out clearly - peace and happiness of two beloveds, their love and enmity of families, which eventually led to the tragedy. Actually, these three themes are accurately reflected in the musical part.
The composer deliberately refused to use the individual characteristics of the characters of the tragedy, from showing any particular situations. He focused only on the central idea of the original source underlying the dramatic conflict, and managed to find all the necessary means for its musical embodiment.
The overture drama is based on the contrast and the closest interaction of the three thematic groups. The first group is the theme of the choral warehouse of a very harsh sound. The work begins with it (the theme of the introduction). The second group is an energetic, resolute main party, which is a theme of hostility. The third is the traditional lyrical side part (the theme of love).
The opening and final parts are the prologue and epilogue of the tragedy. The sound of a leisurely Andante looks somewhat ambiguous in the semantic meaning and goes beyond the usual preparation of the main part. In one of the letters to M. Balakirev, Tchaikovsky admitted that he wanted to show in this part of the overture a lonely soul that mentally aspires to heaven. Musically, he was able to achieve this by a sudden modulation down a half tone, thereby causing some kind of tension. After that, an ascending phrase sounds with an unexpected jump upward to a reduced quart, thereby giving a touch of sorrowful languor. In general, the introduction reflects the personal attitude of the composer to the fate of the heroes, as well as a premonition of the coming tragedy.
In the development of the main development receive two topics: the main party and the topic of entry. It was built on the traditional model and is rapidly developing. The topic of entry into development takes on a slightly different shade. Calm, slow, symbolizing the bright Father Lorenzo, she gets a rather formidable sound and can now be compared with the theme of fate or rock. Similar patterns can be found in the composer’s later symphonies (Fourth and Fifth).
In the reprise, the conflict receives a new dramatic development. The main party is set out briefly, but the secondary party is developing more widely and flourishes, reaching its highest climax. The code continues the development line presented in the development, but receives an unusually high level of tension, which leads to an inevitable catastrophe - the death of the main characters.
In conclusion, the theme of love is held again, only it takes on a different shade of suffering and is presented in a distorted form. This is achieved by changing the initial course of the melody - Tchaikovsky again uses the reduced quart. In addition, accompanied by a steady rhythm, transmitting the funeral procession.
The overture is completed by formidable chords, reminiscent of the hatred and enmity of two families, the victims of which were young lovers. It is curious that Balakirev was against such a finale and expressed the opinion that these chords would be inappropriate. However, Pyotr Ilyich, carefully listening to his opinion, in this case preferred to insist on his own and leave them. The composer did not want the ending to sound quiet and humbly; he wanted to emphasize the tragedy once again.
At first glance it may seem that the main sections are disproportionate, besides Tchaikovsky uses a very unusual modulation plan (in the introduction and the exposition), however, the overture is perceived as a whole and its parts are very closely intertwined.
In the overture-fantasy one can meet the anticipation of the composer’s deepest and most mature ideas. Despite a certain imperfection of the first version, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was able to bring the work to the ideal, presenting to the public an amazing sample of psychological generalized symphony. The extraordinary beauty of the thematic material, the gentlest lyricism and deep dramaturgy made it possible for the fantasy overture to become a real pearl of world music.
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