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TH 45

Slavonic March

Славянский марш

B♭ minor, Op. 31 (1876).

  • Composed September 1876 (for a Red Cross charity concert in aid of victims of the war between Serbia and Turkey).
  • Scored for 2 Piccolos; 2 Flutes; 2 Oboes; 2 Clarinets (B♭); 2 Basoons; 4 Horns (F); 2 Cornets (B♭); 2 Trumpets (B♭); 3 Trombones; Tuba; Timpani; Side Drum; Cymbals; Bass Drum; Tam-tam; Violins I; Violins II; Violas; Violoncellos; Double Basses.
  • Also arranged for solo piano by Tchaikovsky, September 1876.
  • First performed in Moscow, 5/17 November 1876, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein.
  • Average duration: 9m 40s

History

Composed and orchestrated in September 1876 in Moscow. The march was commissioned by the director of the Russian Musical Society for a concert in aid of the Red Cross Society [1].

It is not possible to establish exactly when work on the march was begun. In a letter to Modest Tchaikovsky of 17 September 1876 the composer wrote: "Meanwhile my compositional activities have ground to a halt. Since returning I’ve written next to nothing" [2]. Nevertheless, by 25 September the composition of the march had been completed, according to the author’s date on the manuscript.

During its composition and up to the time of publication, the composer himself referred to the march as the "Serbo-Russian": the autograph inscription on the title page of the manuscript score reads: "Serbo-Russian march on Slavonic folk themes" [3].

In the Slavonic March, Tchaikovsky made use of authentic Serbian folk songs. On the manuscript of the piano arrangement of the march, the author marked the titles of the songs he used at the corresponding points in the score [4]. Besides these, Tchaikovsky also used the theme of the Russian national anthem.

In October 1876 the march was printed by Petr Jurgenson in the author’s arrangement for piano under the title Slavonic March. The same publisher also printed an arrangement for piano duet by Aleksandra Batalina (Hubert) in February 1879; the full score in February 1880; and the orchestral parts in December 1887. In 1891 a new edition of the full score and parts was produced [5], and in May 1893 an arrangement of the march for two pianos and eight hands by Eduard Langer was published.

The first performance of the march took place on 5 November 1876 in Moscow, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein at a symphony concert of the Russian Musical Society in aid of the Slavonic Benevolent Society. The had great success and was repeated by popular demand [6]. Tchaikovsky wrote about this concert on 8 November 1876 to Aleksandra Davydova: "Last Saturday my Serbo-Russian march was played here for the first time, which produced a whole storm of patriotic enthusiasm" [7].

From: Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 287-288
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston

Notes:
  1. See letter 862 to Nadezhda von Meck, 24 June/6 August 1878 [back]
  2. Letter 497 to Modest Tchaikovsky and Nikolai Konradi, 17/29 September 1876 [back]
  3. See also letter 862 to Nadezhda von Meck, 24 June/6 August 1878 [back]
  4. The opening theme (from bar 5) is the Serbian folk-tune "Iarko solntse ne sjae" ("The Sun Does Not Shine Brightly"). The central section (from bar 86) includes the Serbian folk-tune "Prag e ovo milog Srba" ("The Kind Serb’s Doorstep"). The central section (from bar 106) includes the Serbian folk-tune "Er puscani pra ne zadae nemu strah" ("Their Guns Do Not Make Him Afraid"), also known as "Rad itti serb na voinu s vragami" ("The Serb is Happy To Go To War"). - The Tchaikovsky Handbook, vol. 1 (2002), p. 185 [back]
  5. See letter 4361 to P. I. .Jurgenson, 30 March/11 April 1891 [back]
  6. See letter 1414 to Karl Davydov, 25 January/6 February 1880 [back]
  7. Letter 513 to Aleksandra Davydova, 8/20 November 1876 [back]
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