Overture in C minor: Difference between revisions
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==Composition== | ==Composition== | ||
No information survives concerning the process of composing the Overture. In a letter to his brothers [[Anatoly]] and [[Modest]] of 10/22 January 1866, Tchaikovsky reports on his work on the instrumentation: "I've orchestrated the greater part of my summer overture, and to my horror it's turning out to be terribly long, which I didn't expect at all" <ref name="note1"/>. | No information survives concerning the process of composing the Overture. In a letter to his brothers [[Anatoly]] and [[Modest]] of 10/22 January 1866, Tchaikovsky reports on his work on the instrumentation: "I've already orchestrated the greater part of my summer overture, and, to my horror, it's turning out to be terribly long, which I didn't expect at all. I promised [[Nikolay Rubinstein|N. Rubinstein]] that I would submit it for performance here first, and after that I shall send it on to [[Petersburg]]" <ref name="note1"/>. | ||
As [[Nikolay Kashkin]] recalled, soon after Tchaikovsky's move to [[Moscow]], [[Nikolay Rubinstein]] asked if any of his compositions could be performed in the 1866 concert season, and Tchaikovsky suggested | As [[Nikolay Kashkin]] recalled, soon after Tchaikovsky's move to [[Moscow]], [[Nikolay Rubinstein]] asked if any of his compositions could be performed in the 1866 concert season, and Tchaikovsky suggested this overture <ref name="note2"/>. However, [[Nikolay Rubinstein|Rubinstein]] considered that it could not possibly be performed <ref name="note3"/>. | ||
On 19/31 January 1866 Tchaikovsky sent the manuscript to [[Herman Laroche]] in [[Saint Petersburg]] so that the latter might submit it to [[Anton Rubinstein]] for performance <ref name="note4"/>. But [[Anton Rubinstein]]'s judgement on the Overture was also unfavourable <ref name="note5"/>. Subsequently the composer himself made the following note on the front of the full score: "''Overture'', written in [[Moscow]] in January 1866 and played nowhere ( | On 19/31 January 1866, Tchaikovsky sent the manuscript to [[Herman Laroche]] in [[Saint Petersburg]] so that the latter might submit it to [[Anton Rubinstein]] for performance <ref name="note4"/>. But [[Anton Rubinstein]]'s judgement on the Overture was also unfavourable <ref name="note5"/>. Subsequently the composer himself made the following note on the front of the full score: "''Overture'', written in [[Moscow]] in January 1866 and played nowhere (an awful abomination!)" <ref name="note9"/>. | ||
References to the Overture in C minor are also encountered in [[Sergey Taneyev]]'s letters to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]] from 1896 and 1897. For instance, on 23 July/4 August 1897, [[Taneyev]] reported that: "I have now found the manuscript of the overture that you wrote about, in C minor (with the episode from the overture to ''[[The Storm]]'')... and I can show it to you on your arrival" <ref name="note6"/>. | References to the Overture in C minor are also encountered in [[Sergey Taneyev]]'s letters to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]] from 1896 and 1897. For instance, on 23 July/4 August 1897, [[Taneyev]] reported that: "I have now found the manuscript of the overture that you wrote about, in C minor (with the episode from the overture to ''[[The Storm]]'')... and I can show it to you on your arrival" <ref name="note6"/>. | ||
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<references> | <references> | ||
<ref name="note1">[[Letter 78]] to [[Anatoly]] and [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 10/22 January 1866.</ref> | <ref name="note1">[[Letter 78]] to [[Anatoly]] and [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 10/22 January 1866.</ref> | ||
<ref name="note2"> | <ref name="note2">{{bib|1896/17|Воспоминания о П. И. Чайковском}} (1896), pp. 17–18.</ref> | ||
<ref name="note3">{{bib|1900/35|Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского ; том 1}} (1900), p. 225.</ref> | <ref name="note3">{{bib|1900/35|Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского ; том 1}} (1900), p. 225.</ref> | ||
<ref name="note4">See letter from [[Herman Laroche]] to Tchaikovsky, 27 January/8 February 1866 — [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive.</ref> | <ref name="note4">See letter from [[Herman Laroche]] to Tchaikovsky, 27 January/8 February 1866 — [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive (а{{sup|4}}, No. 2166).</ref> | ||
<ref name="note5">{{bib|1900/35|Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского ; том 1}} (1900), pp. 225–226.</ref> | <ref name="note5">{{bib|1900/35|Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского ; том 1}} (1900), pp. 225–226.</ref> | ||
<ref name="note6">Letter from [[Sergey Taneyev]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 23 July/4 August 1897 — [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive.</ref> | <ref name="note6">Letter from [[Sergey Taneyev]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 23 July/4 August 1897 — [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive (б<sup>10</sup>, No. 5791).</ref> | ||
<ref name="note7">See letter from Konstantin Saradzhev to Nikolay Zhegin, 29 December 1938 — [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive.</ref> | <ref name="note7">See letter from Konstantin Saradzhev to Nikolay Zhegin, 29 December 1938 — [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive (дм<sup>8</sup>, No. 168).</ref> | ||
<ref name="note8">The manuscript score of the Overture contains the composer's pencil sketches for the added vocal parts in this passage.</ref> | <ref name="note8">The manuscript score of the Overture contains the composer's pencil sketches for the added vocal parts in this passage.</ref> | ||
<ref name="note9">''Увертюра'', написанная в Москве в январе 1866 г. нигде не игранная (страшная мерзость!).</ref> | |||
</references> | </references> | ||
[[Category:Orchestral Music]] | [[Category:Orchestral Music]] | ||
Latest revision as of 19:07, 13 August 2023
Tchaikovsky's student Overture in C minor (TH 38 ; ČW 36) was composed during the summer of 1865 at Kamenka, and orchestrated in January 1866 in Moscow.
Instrumentation
The Overture is scored for an orchestra consisting of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B-flat), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in F, E), 2 trumpets (C, D), 3 trombones, tuba + timpani + violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses, with optional cymbals and bass drum.
Duration
There is one movement: Andante—Allegro vivo (C minor, 662 bars), which lasts around 15 minutes in performance.
Composition
No information survives concerning the process of composing the Overture. In a letter to his brothers Anatoly and Modest of 10/22 January 1866, Tchaikovsky reports on his work on the instrumentation: "I've already orchestrated the greater part of my summer overture, and, to my horror, it's turning out to be terribly long, which I didn't expect at all. I promised N. Rubinstein that I would submit it for performance here first, and after that I shall send it on to Petersburg" [1].
As Nikolay Kashkin recalled, soon after Tchaikovsky's move to Moscow, Nikolay Rubinstein asked if any of his compositions could be performed in the 1866 concert season, and Tchaikovsky suggested this overture [2]. However, Rubinstein considered that it could not possibly be performed [3].
On 19/31 January 1866, Tchaikovsky sent the manuscript to Herman Laroche in Saint Petersburg so that the latter might submit it to Anton Rubinstein for performance [4]. But Anton Rubinstein's judgement on the Overture was also unfavourable [5]. Subsequently the composer himself made the following note on the front of the full score: "Overture, written in Moscow in January 1866 and played nowhere (an awful abomination!)" [6].
References to the Overture in C minor are also encountered in Sergey Taneyev's letters to Modest Tchaikovsky from 1896 and 1897. For instance, on 23 July/4 August 1897, Taneyev reported that: "I have now found the manuscript of the overture that you wrote about, in C minor (with the episode from the overture to The Storm)... and I can show it to you on your arrival" [7].
Performances
The Overture was only performed for the first time on 12 October 1931 in Voronezh, conducted by Konstantin Saradzhev, professor of the Moscow State Conservatory [8]. Saradzhev also directed a performance in Kiev the following year, as well as the Moscow premiere at the Radiotheatre Centre on 30 July 1934.
Publication
The Overture was not published during Tchaikovsky's lifetime. It was printed for the first time in 1952 in volume 21 of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works, edited by Pavel Lamm.
Autographs
Tchaikovsky's manuscript score is now preserved in the Klin House-Museum Archive (a1, No. 50).
Recordings
- See: Discography
Related Works
The Overture's introduction (bars 1–90) is an extended version of the corresponding section from his earlier overture to The Storm (1864); this passage was later re-used in the Entr'acte to Act II of the opera The Voyevoda.
The central theme of the Overture (bars 176–247) was re-used in Act I (No. 7) of The Voyevoda [9]
External Links
- Internet Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) — downloadable scores
Notes and References
- ↑ Letter 78 to Anatoly and Modest Tchaikovsky, 10/22 January 1866.
- ↑ Воспоминания о П. И. Чайковском (1896), pp. 17–18.
- ↑ Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского, том 1 (1900), p. 225.
- ↑ See letter from Herman Laroche to Tchaikovsky, 27 January/8 February 1866 — Klin House-Museum Archive (а4, No. 2166).
- ↑ Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского, том 1 (1900), pp. 225–226.
- ↑ Увертюра, написанная в Москве в январе 1866 г. нигде не игранная (страшная мерзость!).
- ↑ Letter from Sergey Taneyev to Modest Tchaikovsky, 23 July/4 August 1897 — Klin House-Museum Archive (б10, No. 5791).
- ↑ See letter from Konstantin Saradzhev to Nikolay Zhegin, 29 December 1938 — Klin House-Museum Archive (дм8, No. 168).
- ↑ The manuscript score of the Overture contains the composer's pencil sketches for the added vocal parts in this passage.
