“Having no reason to be happy, I can fill myself with a happy creative humour and, conversely, in a happy situation, produce a piece that is imbued with the mostly gloomy and hopeless feelings. In a word, the artist lives a double life …”
~ Peter Illich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Heady words from a musical giant of the 19th century and indeed one of the greats of all time. Peter Illich Tchaikovsky, like Schumann and Beethoven, lived a life filled with turmoil. As a young boy, Tchaikovsky’s nurse said he was “a child of glass”. As an adult, he was tormented by the conflict of being a Christian, yet homosexual. His personal turmoil, interspersed with periods of hope and euphoria show up in spades in his compositions, from intimate pieces to his sweeping symphonies and lyrical ballets. Blessed with a pure melodic gift that seem come from the gods and tireless self-discipline, Tchaikovsky defied the odds and produced a prodigious oeuvre of music that captures the full range of human emotions as though they were his own.
Consider for example, the sublime second movement of his Symphony No. 5. This movement is beloved by many fans of classical music for its poignant beauty that evokes a profound sense of heartfelt longing, melancholy, and tenderness, expressed through the lyrical horn solo, backed by oboe and strings. As the English conductor, Benjamin Zander puts it, “Tchaikovsky reminds us that we have a whole world of passion, love, frustration, sorrow, tragedy, desire, the entire range of human emotion available through (one instrument), the horn.”
Here is the beautiful Symphony No. 5 Second Movement (Andante Cantabile), performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Ballet Pieces
The list of Tchaikovsky’s masterpieces must include his three magna opuses: Swan Lake, The Nutcracker Suite, and Sleeping Beauty, all of which never fails to leave the listener emotionally recharged at the end. Indeed, on the basis of these three works, Tchaikovsky would be remembered as one of the greatest composers of all time. Before him, no one took ballet seriously; it was largely decorative, almost always of poor quality. Tchaikovsky’s three great ballets changed all that, making ballet music a sublime component of the narrative, a musical genre worthy of attention and admiration.
The Nutcracker Suite, adapted from E.T.A. Hoffman’s fairy tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, is perhaps the most widely performed ballet in the world. The work consists of three movements and eight numbers, most of which appear in the Act 2 dances. These second-act numbers include: Dance of The Sugar Plum Fairy, Trepak (Russian Dance), Coffee (Arabian Dance), Tea (Chinese Dance), Dance of the Mirlitons, and Waltz of the Flowers – all suffused with brilliance of melody that instantly captures the essence of the scene.
Watch
Lauren Cuthbertson from the Royal Ballet performs the famous Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score.
Here’s the exuberant Waltz of the Flowers, choreographed by the famed Georgian-American choreographer, George Balanchine.