Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his Romance in F minor for piano during the first years of his life in Moscow, when he was passionately infatuated with the French soprano Désirée Artôt. It was to her that the composer dedicated this instrumental miniature reflecting his inner turmoil. The first and the last, cantilena sections of the piece resemble outpouring of a heart with the duet development of the wide-breath melody, a texture saturated with melodic voices, sincere and heartfelt intonations. The middle section paints a picture of everyday life, a scherzo in a lively movement. Such a contrast immensely enhances the emotional expressiveness of the music. The Romance distinctly demonstrates the characteristic features of the composer’s early period and the typical traits of his future piano style; the combination of lyricism and drama anticipates Tchaikovsky the symphonist. The work will be performed in an orchestral arrangement.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote his only Violin Concerto in 1878, when he was already a famous composer. The work is distinguished by its harmonious composition, which, however, does not restrict freedom of expression. The two themes of the first movement of the cycle, the masculine energetic theme and the feminine soft theme, complement rather than counterpoint each other. One can feel the spiritual uplift and briskness. The second movement is inspired by memories of Florence and resembles an Italian song. The lively, impetuous finale of the Concerto conveys the spirit of the merry folk festivities.
Always sincere in his music to the uttermost, Tchaikovsky created the Fourth Symphony during one of the most crucial periods of his life. An unsuccessful marriage and a quick divorce had increased the composer’s general frustration and lack of self-confidence. All this gave birth to a masterpiece where the eternal problem of humanity was imprinted with unprecedented force: a human being fighting a desperate battle with external circumstances completely indifferent to his desires and hopes. In the very introduction to the Symphony, in the formidable theme of fate, Tchaikovsky depicts these circumstances in a way that conveys a clear message: the lonely human will is unable to prevail. “No haven exists… Drift upon that sea until it engulfs and submerges you in its depths”. The musical development of the first movement reflects the change in natural psychological reactions to one’s becoming aware of the inevitability of fate: anxiety, confusion to the point of despair, and, finally, an attempt to forget, to escape from the problem into a world of serene illusions. The development of the remaining movements of the symphonic cycle also conveys a feeling of increasing distancing from the conflict. Taneyev associated this work with a “symphonic poem with three additional movements accidentally attached to justify it being called a symphony”. While traces of the composer’s subjective emotion are still noticeable in the second movement, the genre images of the scherzo and finale no longer convey attempts to fight fate, since for Tchaikovsky the futility of these attempts is obvious from the very beginning.
Aleksandra Vershinina, Marina Iovleva
