Tchaikovsky
www.tchaikovsky-research.net
Romeo and Juliet
(Ромео и Джульетта)
Overture-fantasia after Shakespeare's drama (1869).
(a) 1st version:
| Catalogue References | TH 42 ; ČW 39 |
|---|---|
| Date | October–November 1869 |
| Key | B minor |
| Tempo/Section Listing | Andante non troppo—Allegro giusto (B minor, 448 bars) |
| Instrumentation | Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, 2 Clarinets (A), 2 Bassoons + 4 Horns (F), 2 Trumpets (E), 3 Trombones, Tuba + Timpani, Cymbals, Bass Drum + Harp, Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses |
| Notable Performances | Moscow, 8th Russian Musical Society symphony concert, 4/16 March 1870, conducted by Nikolay Rubinstein. |
| Autograph Location | Moscow (Russia): Glinka National Museum Consortium of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 65) |
| First Publication | Moscow; Leningrad: Muzgiz, 1950 |
| Average Duration | 18 minutes |
| Dedication | Mily Alekseyevich Balakirev (1837–1910) |
| Notes | Based on the play Romeo and Juliet (ca. 1594) by William Shakespeare (1564–1616) |
| External Links |
IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library
(downloadable score)Wikipedia (article) |
(b) 2nd version:
| Catalogue References | TH 42 ; ČW 39 |
|---|---|
| Date | July–September 1870 |
| Key | B minor |
| Tempo/Section Listing | Andante non tanto quasi Moderato—Allegro giusto (B minor, 539 bars) |
| Instrumentation | Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, 2 Clarinets (A), 2 Bassoons + 4 Horns (F), 2 Trumpets (E), 3 Trombones, Tuba + Timpani, Cymbals, Bass Drum + Harp, Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses |
| Notable Performances |
|
| Autograph Location | Moscow (Russia): Glinka National Museum Consortium of Musical Culture (ф. 88, Nos. 66–67) — revised passages only |
| First Publication | Berlin: Bote & Bock, 1871 |
| Average Duration | 20 minutes |
| Dedication | Mily Alekseyevich Balakirev (1837–1910) |
| External Links |
IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library
(downloadable score) Wikipedia (article) |
(c) 3rd version:
| Catalogue References | TH 42 ; ČW 39 |
|---|---|
| Date | August 1880 |
| Key | B minor |
| Tempo/Section Listing | Andante non tanto quasi Moderato—Allegro giusto (B minor, 522 bars) |
| Instrumentation | Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, 2 Clarinets (A), 2 Bassoons + 4 Horns (F), 2 Trumpets (E), 3 Trombones, Tuba + Timpani, Cymbals, Bass Drum + Harp, Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses |
| Arrangements | The overture's new conclusion was also arranged for piano duet by Tchaikovsky, 1880 |
| Notable Performances |
|
| Autograph Location | Lost |
| First Publication | Berlin: Bote & Bock, 1881 (full score and revised arrangement for piano duet) |
| Average Duration | 20 minutes |
| Dedication | Mily Alekseyevich Balakirev (1837–1910) |
| Notes | Between 1878 and 1881 Tchaikovsky sketched a duet scene for an opera based on Shakespeare's play using themes from the overture-fantasia (see TH 215) |
| External Links |
IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library
(downloadable score) Wikipedia (article) |
History
The subject was suggested to Tchaikovsky by Mily Balakirev. The date of the suggestion is not known, but evidently it was during the summer of 1869, when the two composers met in Moscow [1].
By October 1869 Tchaikovsky had still not begun to compose the overture. On 2/14 October he wrote to Mily Balakirev: "I did not want to write to you until I had jotted down at least something of the overture. But just imagine: I am played out completely, and not a single tolerable little musical idea will creep into my head" [2].
A letter to Anatoly Tchaikovsky of 7/19 October 1869 refers to an "abusive letter" he had received from Balakirev, due to the fact that Tchaikovsky was not interested in working on the overture [3].
Only on 12/24 October, in a letter to Modest Tchaikovsky, did he announce: "I am writing the overture to Romeo and Juliet" [4].
In a letter to Mily Balakirev of 28 October/9 November 1869, the composer wrote: "My overture is coming along quite quickly; the greater part is already composed in outline and, if nothing happens to hinder me, I am hopeful that within a month and a half it will be ready. When it has emerged from my womb, you will see that, whatever else it may be, a great deal of it has been carried out in accordance with your instructions. In the first place, the overall scheme is yours: an introduction representing the friar; the struggle—allegro, and love—second theme; and secondly, the modulations are yours: the introduction is in E major [5], the Allegro in B minor, and the second theme in D♭ major" [6].
On 30 October/11 November the composer told Anatoly Tchaikovsky: "I have almost written the draft of the overture to the tragedy Romeo and Juliet" [7].
By 18/30 November the overture had been scored [8]. Letters to his brothers of this date relate that the overture will soon be performed at one of the Russian Musical Society concerts.
Soon after completing the overture-fantasia, Tchaikovsky sent its main themes to Mily Balakirev in a letter of 17/29 November 1869 [9]. In reply he received a number of critical comments. Balakirev wrote: "The first theme is not at all to my taste. Perhaps when it’s worked out it attains some degree of beauty, but when noted down plainly as you’ve sent it to me, it conveys neither beauty nor strength, and it does not even depict the character of Father Lawrence in the way required. Here there should be a sort of Lisztian chorale in an old Catholic style, similar to the Orthodox [church music] [...] As for the B minor theme you've written out, this is not a theme, but a very beautiful introduction to a theme, and after the C major rushing about there ought to be a strong, energetic melodic idea [...] The first D♭ major theme is beautiful, although somewhat overripe, but the second D♭ tune is simply delightful" [10].
It seems that when they met face to face in early/mid January or May 1870, Balakirev said that Tchaikovsky should revise the overture, in line with his suggestions [11]. But the overture was still in its original form when it was performed for the first time, in Moscow on 4/16 March 1870, at the eighth symphony concert of the Russian Musical Society, conducted by Nikolay Rubinstein. "My overture had no success whatever here, and passed completely unremarked upon", Tchaikovsky wrote to Ivan Klimenko on 1/13 May 1870 [12]. The success of the overture was hindered by a combination of circumstances, which distracted the audience's attention [13].
Tchaikovsky's new work received strong approval from the composers of the Moscow Kuchka [14]: "We have been looking over the score of your Romeo and constantly playing it through since the time of our gathering, and all of us are delighted. Stasov is particularly impressed, and said that now our numbers are increased. With regard to its deficiencies, namely its form, the overture still needs revising" [15]. In another, much earlier, letter, Mily Balakirev wrote to Tchaikovsky: "How delighted everyone is with your D♭ major [themes], including V. Stasov, who says: ‘You were five, and now there are six’" [16].
In the summer of 1870, Tchaikovsky left for abroad. While staying in Switzerland he fundamentally revised the overture, as he mentioned in a letter to Mily Balakirev, written on 6/18 September 1870, after he had returned to Moscow: "In my opinion the ending is now respectable; the introduction is new; the middle section almost entirely new, and the recapitulation of the second theme (in D major) has been completely reorchestrated" [17].
In another, undated letter, written between 20 October/1 November and 23 October/4 November 1870, Tchaikovsky wrote: "You wanted an introduction along the lines of the religious passage from [Liszt’s] Faust. This hasn’t happened, as I wanted in the introduction to represent a lonely soul mentally striving heavenward. Have I succeeded?—I don’t know! Perhaps the ending is not entirely what you ordered, but in any case it is better than before" [18]. The revised passages had already been orchestrated by Tchaikovsky in Moscow in September 1870.
Even while he was working on the revisions to the overture, it was already being printed by the publishers Bote & Bock in Berlin, where it had been sent by Nikolay Rubinstein in May 1870 [19]. After receiving the first proofs in autumn 1870, Tchaikovsky acted to postpone its publication, sending the publishers all the changes made to his revised version [20].
And so the full score of the overture printed for the first time in 1871 by the publishers Bote & Bock was the second version. The first version was preserved only in manuscript score. This new version of the overture was then arranged by Nadezhda Purgold for piano duet (the overture's introduction and exposition were arranged in collaboration with Mily Balakirev) [21]. Also in 1871, Karl Klindworth arranged the overture for two pianos and four hands. Both arrangements were published by Vasily Bessel and had appeared in print by 8/20 October 1872.
An arrangement for piano (2 hands) was commissioned by the publishers Bote & Bock from Carl Bial, and was issued by the same publishers in late May 1871. The second version of the overture was performed for the first time on 5/17 February 1872 in Saint Petersburg, at the fourth symphony concert of the Russian Musical Society, conducted by Eduard Nápravník; and in Moscow on 18 February/1 March 1872 at the ninth symphony concert, conducted by Nikolay Rubinstein.
Balakirev was still not wholly satisfied with the new version. He wrote to Tchaikovsky on 19/31 May 1871: "Although the new introduction is much better, I feel strongly that you need to make further revisions to the overture, and not just to wave your hand at it, and hope for the best in your future compositions" [22].
Tchaikovsky wrote in reply: "I could cheerfully make some further revisions, but firstly, all the arrangements and editions of the overture that have been made would be rendered redundant, and second, I have absolutely no more energy for this task. All my soul is now going into composing the opera The Oprichnik, and I could not distract myself from this work for another composition which I already consider to have been finished" [23].
Tchaikovsky returned once more to his fantasy-overture in August 1880. He introduced further changes to it, about which he wrote in letters to Pyotr Jurgenson and Nadezhda von Meck [24]. This new, third version included the following alterations: the end of the Moderato assai was written afresh (24 bars in the third version) and the coda was completely restructured, to exclude the E♭ major episode. In a letter to Jurgenson of 29 August/10 September 1880, Tchaikovsky asked him to send Bote & Bock the amended full score and piano duet arrangement: "I should like you to tell Bock that the overture really must be re-engraved because of the alterations and cuts at the end, which have now made it a genuine chef d’oeuvre... I fervently hope that this overture in its old form, and in its piano duet arrangement and Bessel's loathsome editions as well, can vanish, and be usurped by the newly improved overture" [25].
The full score and arrangement for piano duet of the third version of the overture-fantasia Romeo and Juliet were published by the firm of Bote & Bock in Berlin in 1881.
The overture in its third version was performed for the first time on 19 April/1 May 1886, conducted by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, at a concert given in honour of Tchaikovsky during his visit to Tiflis.
The overture is dedicated to Mily Balakirev.
In 1884 as one of a number of the best works in Russian classical music, the fantasy-overture Romeo and Juliet was awarded a prize amounting to 500 roubles [26].
From:
Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 279–283
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston
Notes:
- For more on the meetings between Tchaikovsky and Balakirev, see letters 143, 145 and 146 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 3/15 August, 11/23 August and 19/31 August 1869 [back]
- Letter 151 to Mily Balakirev, 2/14 October 1869 [back]
- Letter 153 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 7/19 October 1869 [back]
- Letter 155 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 7/19 October 1869. See also letter from Modest Tchaikovsky to the composer, 18/30 October 1869, in which he writes: "I was very surprised to find out that you are writing an overture to Romeo and Juliet, in the first place, because I myself, after recently reading this play, sketched out an overture to it, and secondly, because you, without suspecting it, have fulfilled one of my most cherished wishes [...] Here is the programme of my overture: at the start, the conflict between the two families, represented by ff and presto, then little by little out of all the noise and blather (depicting the feud) emerges a divine hymn of love (pp), with the trumpets and cellos representing the love and character of Romeo, and the violins and flutes—Juliet. Finally, this hymn reaches a point of terrifying passionateness and acquires an ominous character as it is interrupted all the time by the first theme of the feud, but suddenly all at once, after a terrible ff, there comes a pause and then a sombre phrase which resolves itself into gentle arpeggiated chords" (Klin House-Museum Archive). Tchaikovsky replied: "Fortunately I have managed to complete the overture you ordered on Romeo and Juliet, and it will be performed at one of the forthcoming concerts" (letter 161 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 18/30 November 1869). On the eve of the performance he wrote: "The day after tomorrow my overture to Romeo will be performed, which owes much to your ideas" (letter 183 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 2/14–3/15 March 1870) [back]
- In the final version of the overture the introduction was set in F♯ minor [back]
- Letter 156 to Mily Balakirev, 28 October/9 November 1869 [back]
- Letter 157 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 30 October/11 November 1869 [back]
- See letter 160 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, letter 161 to Modest Tchaikovsky, both 18/30 November 1869. See also letter 158 to Aleksandra Davydova, 15/27 November 1869 [back]
- Letter 159 to Mily Balakirev, 17/29 November 1869 [back]
- Letter from Mily Balakirev to Tchaikovsky, 1/13 December 1869 — Saint Petersburg Public Library. In letter 159 to Mily Balakirev, 17/29 November 1869, in which Tchaikovsky quoted his main themes, the original E major theme of the introduction was later replaced with a new one in F♯ minor, which was used in the second and third versions. The B minor theme was the first subject of the overture. The "first D♭ theme" was the "rocking" theme of the second subject, and the second was the main "love theme" [back]
- See letter 205 to Mily Balakirev, 6/18 September 1870 [back]
- Letter 190 to Ivan Klimenko, 1/13–4/16 May 1870 [back]
- "Nikolay Rubinstein had been involved in a lawsuit over the expulsion of a student from the Conservatory. Though he won the case, the decision was reversed on appeal. This revised verdict was pronounced only two days before this concert, and the strong feeling of sympathy for Rubinstein found expression on this occasion. The demonstration of support for the conductor probably distracted attention from the works being performed" — David Brown, Tchaikovsky. A Biographical and Critical Study, vol. 1 (1978), p. 185 [back]
- The term Moguchaia kuchka [Могучая кучка] or Mighty Handful, was coined by Vladimir Stasov for the group of five nationalist composers comprising Mily Balakirev, Aleksandr Borodin, César Cui, Modest Musorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov [back]
- Letter from Mily Balakirev to Tchaikovsky, 9/21 May 1870 — Saint Petersburg Public Library [back]
- Letter from Mily Balakirev to Tchaikovsky, 16/28 March 1870 — Saint Petersburg Public Library. This letter was unfinished, so Tchaikovsky would have been unaware of its content [back]
- Letter 205 to Mily Balakirev, 6/18 September 1870 [back]
- Letter 212 to Mily Balakirev, late October/early November 1870 [back]
- See letter 235 to Mily Balakirev, 29 May/10 June 1871 [back]
- See letter 235 to Mily Balakirev, 29 May/10 June 1871 [back]
- See letter from Mily Balakirev to Tchaikovsky, 22 January/3 February 1871 — Saint Petersburg Public Library [back]
- Letter from Mily Balakirev to Tchaikovsky, 19/31 May 1871 — Saint Petersburg Public Library [back]
- Letter 235 to Mily Balakirev, 29 May/10 June 1871 [back]
- See letters 1566 and 1572 to Pyotr Jurgenson, mid August 1880 and 29 August/10 September 1880; letter 1571 to Nadezhda von Meck, 24 August/5 September 1880 [back]
- Letter 1573 to Pyotr Jurgenson, 29 August/10 September 1880 [back]
- The prize was founded by the publisher and impresario Mitrofan Belyayev in 1884, and awarded on behalf of an ‘anonymous benefactor’ [back]