Tchaikovsky
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TH 39

Overture

Увертюра

F major (1865).

• Composed August–October 1865; revised February 1866.
• Originally scored for 2 Flutes; 2 Oboes; 2 Clarinets (B♭); 2 Bassoons; Horn (F); Trumpet (F); Timpani; Violins I; Violins II; Violas; Violincellos; Double Basses (1865 version)
• Revised for 2 Flutes; 2 Oboes; 2 Clarinets (B♭); 2 Bassoons; 4 Horns (F); 2 Trumpets (F); 3 Trombones Timpani; Violins I; Violins II; Violas; Violincellos; Double Basses (1866 version).
• First performed in Saint Petersburg, 27 November/9 December 1865, conducted by Tchaikovsky (1865 version); Moscow, 4/16 March 1866, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein (1866 version).
• Average duration: 8m (1865 version), 11m (1866 version).

History

Composed during the of autumn 1865 in Saint Petersburg, during the last months at the Conservatory, and scored at that time for small orchestra.

The Overture was, it seems, composed as a student assignment. In 1866, at Nikolai Rubinstein’s suggestion, Tchaikovsky rescored the overture for large symphony orchestra. Presumably this was the work referred to in February 1866 in a letter to Modest Tchaikovsky: " Rubinstein has tasked me with some very important work, which I want to finish by the 3rd week of Lent" [1]. This statement presumably refers to the reworking of the overture in its first version for its performance in the second version.

The overture in its first version (for small orchestra) was performed for the first time by a conservatory orchestra conducted by the author, in a concert on 27 November/9 December 1865 in the hall of the Mikhailovskii Palace in Saint Petersburg.[2]. This was Tchaikovsky's first public appearance as conductor.

The second version of the overture (for large symphony orchestra) had its first performance on 4/16 March 1865, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein, at a special concert of the Russian Musical Society in Moscow. In Saint Petersburg, this version was performed for the first time on 1/13 May 1866, conducted by Anton Rubinstein, at a charity concert, in the hall of the Mikhailovskii Palace [3].

Both versions were published for the first time in in 1952 in the Complete Edition of Tchaikovsky's works [4].

From: Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 275–276
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston

References:

1. Letter 87 to Modest Tchaikovsky, mid/late February 1866 [back]
2. See accounts of the Russian Musical Society for 1865/66 [back]
3. See letter from Aleksei Apukhtin to Tchaikovsky, May 1866 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
4. P. I. Tchaikovsky, Полное собрание сочинений, том 21 (1952) [back]