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The Nutcracker.
1812 Overture.
Romeo and Juliet.
Violin Concerto in D Major.
Tchaikovsky's Symphones fly under the radar when you think of this composer. I'd like to say it's simply because all of his other works are so fantastic that the symphonies don't stand out, but in actuality, I think the first 3 symphonies lack creativity and inspiration. The fourth symphony, which we will address here, is his first masterpiece symphony.
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Youngtchaik.jpg)
A few notes about Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; His mother died at a young age, a traumatic event he said had a major impact on his artistic life. He struggled with homosexual tendencies, kept it hidden from the public. The only woman he ever loved abandoned him and married a member of her opera company. He married later, on impulse, which caused him great emotional stress. While they remained legally married, they never lived together, never had children, and she even had three children with another man.
It was at this point that scholars argue that Tchaikovsky's emotional stress enhanced his creative genius, and his fourth symphony is held up as proof of that. He had reached his musical maturity; he had experienced suffering and channelled it into his work. He was this man.
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Portr%C3%A4t_des_Komponisten_Pjotr_I._Tschaikowski_%281840-1893%29.jpg)
I'll provide a link to thepiratebay where you can download this fourth symphony; the first movement is rather large and I'd rather not link you several different videos.
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4533855/Tchaikovsky_-_Symphony_No._4_(all_four_movements)
The first movement is the most important. The first measures open up with a fanfare in the brass. This fanfare is known as the 'Fate' theme. Remember this theme. Listen for it.
This movement is actually very hard for me to describe to you. The reason for that is, this symphony is an entire life. That's an incredibly weighty thing to say, but this movement of Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony is the story of life. Life, loss, happiness, tragedy, and … you guessed it, fate. Melody is very important in Tchaikovsky's works. Actually, one interesting point is made about musical form in this piece. A melody can stand alone in its entirety and be digestable. This contradicts most ideas of western music, as composers at the time wanted to take incomplete themes, and work them through the music, change them, vary theme, develop them, until they become more complete at the end. But all of Tchaik's themes and melodies are wholly complete. Maybe you can discern why I think this is very important to the idea that this mvoement is life.
Continuing; the fate theme is recalled a few times through the movement. What does this say to you? To me, it is the meaning of fate; inescapable, unavoidable, destiny. Life has its high points and its low points but you can never escape fate. Absorb this movement in its entirety and ask yourself what you have learned from it.
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The second movement is a melancholy, grieving andante. The melody, first introduced by the oboe, is recurring, in the upper strings, and then, heart-wrenchingly in the lower strings. When the cello and viola get this theme, I'm very nearly moved to tears by the beauty of it all. Imagine yourself as a man experiencing heartbreak and romantic confusion. Does this sound like something you could relate to? Its climaxes are reminiscent of the sections of misery of the first movement, similar in their style.
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The third movement stands alone. It is highly entertaining to see live. When I saw it with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, one of the finer second-tier symphonies in the world, I was shocked and confused when sound came apparently out of nowhere. The symphony that I linked you to did a -fantastic- job with the pizzicato sections. They come in and out of nowhere. It's very difficult for me to assign imagery to this movement, because it is just so unusual. It seems that Pyotr wanted to highlight the individual sections of the orchestra in a memorable way and it definitely did that for me. The woodwinds and the brass get their own turns at playing unique music. Very fun movement, stands out from the serious, all-encompassing movements that surround it.
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And then, the final movement. The entire symphony comes to a close here. Naturally, the fourth movements of most symphonies are considered the most important, as to close a symphony is like ending a life, or the last page of a book. Will the themes come to closure? Is the closure in the fact that there is no closure? That life goes on? Tchaikovsky certainly seems to suggest that life is, no matter what you experience, still a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts and celebrations and terrors. The fast pace and emotional buildup of this movement is unparalleled.
What are you left with from the Symphony no. 4? I hope you gained something from it. Go see your local symphony! If you want suggestions on where to go, don't hesitate to ask me. Send me a PM and tell me where you live, and I'll tell you where and how to get good, cheap symphony tickets. I've got hookups like that yo!
I hope you enjoyed.
Until next time;
