History of Music, Mr. Robert L. Johnston
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Aim:
Who was Tchaikovsky, and what were the dark elements of his personal life?
Instructional Objectives:
At the conclusion of this unit, students will:
I. Have met Tchaikovsky and gained an understanding of the trials of his personal life.
II. Have heard a strong representation of his music, ranging from orchestral, to ballet.
Motivation:
"How can one express the indefinable sensations that one experiences while writing an instrumental composition that has no definite subject? It is a purely lyrical process. It is a musical confession of the soul, which unburdens itself through sounds just as a lyric poet expresses himself through poetry... As the poet Heine said, 'Where words leave off, music begins.' "
- P.I. Tchaikovsky
“What I have set down in a moment of ardour I must then critically examine. Sometimes I must do myself violence before I can mercilessly erase things thought out with love.”
- P.I. Tchaikovsky
“Truly there would be reason to go mad were it not for music.”
- P.I. Tchaikovsky
What I need is to believe in myself again— for my faith has been greatly undermined; it seems to me my role is over.
- P.I. Tchaikovsky
“Tchaikovsky thought of committing suicide for fear of being discovered as a homosexual, but today, if you are a composer and not homosexual, you might as well put a bullet through your head.”
- Sergei Diaghilev
Development/Procedures:
I. Life
a. His talent as a pianist manifested itself at an early age
b. His parents sent him to the School of Jurisprudence, an all-boys boarding school) in St. Petersburg at 10
i. This was emotionally brutal, given how close he was to his mother
1. His mother died two years later
a. This trauma sparked his compositional life
ii. His training was structured to provide him a career in the Russian civil service
1. Was in civil service until 1861
2. Tchaikovsky as bureaucrat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Youngtchaik.jpg
c. Never having given up his musical interest, he became a student at the newly founded St. Petersburg Conservatory
i. Greatly influenced by western culture
1. This was in great contrast to the group of Russian nationalistic composers called “The Five”
d. Took a position at Moscow Conservatory upon graduation
e. Struggled with his sexuality
i. Married to give himself an air of respectability
1. His wife was his total opposite
a. She did not know or appreciate his music
b. He turned to drinking
c. Ultimately fled the marriage, settling in St. Petersburg
d. Tchaikovsky with his wife Antonina Miliukova
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tchaikovsky_with_wife_Antonina_Miliukova.jpg
f. Patronage of Nadezhda von Meck
i. The two met through correspondence in 1877
1. They never met in person
ii. Wrote over 1,200 letters to each other
1. Shared intimate emotional details, although Tchaikovsky never confessed his sexuality to her
iii. She gave him a yearly stipend of 6,000 rubles
1. This is currently equivalent to 150,000USD
2. A condition of the stipend was to never meet
iv. Cut off relationship in 1890
1. Perhaps because she found out about his sexuality
2. Perhaps because her health did not allow correspondence
a. Dictating to a third party would have been to revealing
v. Many of the von Meck letters were donated to Columbia University
vi. Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky's patroness and confidante from 1877 to 1890
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:MmevonMeck3.jpg
g. Reaction to his music was mixed
i. Essentials of Music writes, “As a member of the musical elite of Russia, he found that his music pleased few. It was too advanced and modern for his Western-trained peers, and at the same time too Western in its outlook to please the growing and influential champions of a Russian national style.”
ii. Alexandre Benois, the Russian critic wrote in his memoirs, "it was considered obligatory [in progressive musical circles] to treat Tchaikovsky as a renegade, a master overly dependent on the West."
iii. In 1885, Tchaikovsky was Knighted by Tsar Alexander III
iv. In 1893, Cambridge awarded Tchaikovsky and Honorary Doctor of Music Degree
1. Tchaikovsky at Cambridge, 1893
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tchai_Cambridge.jpg
http://www.naxos.com/composerinfo/bio23876.htm
h. Enjoyed a career as a conductor
i. Conducted at the inaugural concert of Carnegie Hall
II. Output
a. 8 operas, including:
i. Eugene Onegin (1879)
ii. Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades, 1890)
b. 3 ballets
i. Swan Lake (1877)
ii. The Sleeping Beauty (1890)
iii. The Nutcracker (1892)
c. Orchestral music including:
i. 7 symphonies
1. No.1, 1866
2. No.2, 1872
3. No.3, 1875
4. No.4, 1878
5. No.5, 1888
6. No.6 "Pathétique", 1893
7. Manfred, 1885
ii. Symphonic poems and overtures
1. Romeo and Juliet, 1870
d. 3 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto
e. Chamber and keyboard music, choral music and songs
III. Mysterious Death
a. Some believe Tchaikovsky died of cholera
b. Others believe the Russian government forced his suicide, given the embarrassment he could cause due to his sexuality
c. Others believe that his former schoolmates from the School of Jurisprudence compelled his suicide
IV. Musical Example
a. As I’m sure you all know the Nutcracker, I have decided to play the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture after Shakespeare
Materials of Instruction:
Smart Board
Various Recordings
Summary:
Tchaikovsky’s life was one of conflicts; his orientation vs. the feelings of the time, his music vs. the nationalistic tenor of “The Five.”
His music is undeniably broad and wandering in form, as he was well aware of himself. His music is also hyper-romantic and evocative, as you heard and discussed following your hearing of the fifth symphony.
Assignment:
Listen to some of Tchaikovsky’s ballet music on your own as well as read both the Tchaikovsky and The Five chapters in Baker.
Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadezhda_von_Meck
http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/
http://www.naxos.com/composerinfo/bio23876.htm
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 and Romeo & Juliet, New York Philharmonic and Leonard Bernstein, (p) 1990 Deutsche Grammophon
Suggested Reference:
History of Music, Hugh H. Miller, Barnes & Noble Books, New York. 1972