Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky (1840-93) was a Russian composer who used folk melodies throughout his career. Tchaikovsky is the best known Russian composer of the romantic period and he eschewed the two schools of thought in Russian music of the time, to forge a style that compromised neither the nationalistic school lead by members of ‘The Mighty Five’ and the western school that wanted music strictly in the western tradition which at the time was dominated by the Germanic composers.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1840-1893 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Tchaikovsky was born in Kamsko-Votkinsk, the son of a mining engineer, part of a large family, who were musically literate but not especially talented. Tchaikovsky gained a love of classical music through listening to a musical box that played Mozart, that his father, Petrovich, had purchased as a novelty. There was no structure to teaching music in Russia at the time, so Tchaikovsky, who had shown exceptional intelligence, from a very young age was destined for an education and career in law. One incident from his childhood is worth noting here to demonstrate his thoughts on his Russian nationality, as related by his nurse until he was 8, Fanny Dürbach. He would get a map of Europe and kiss Russia, whilst spitting on the rest of Europe, but with his hand over France, with whom he always had a romantic infinity, and was impressed by Robespierre and the story of Joan of Arc.
Two of the leading lights of music in Russia, in the western tradition were two brothers, Nikolai and Anton Rubinstein and in 1859 they helped form the Russian Musical Society and in 1862 they opened the St Petersburg Conservatory. Another conservatory was soon to follow in Moscow. The young Tchaikovsky had graduated from school and was working as a civil servant, but took some music lessons before being one of the first pupils at the conservatory.
At this time Russian aristocracy was dominated by western European influence, and the beautiful buildings of St Petersburg show the influence of Italian art and architecture. In music as well most the musicians and music listened to by the aristocracy was Italian. Russian was not spoke amongst the higher echelons of Russian society, the main language being French. One of the important stipulations of the two musical conservatories was that music would be taught in Russian and not French. There was a strong nationalistic feeling amongst the artistic elite at the time. This is reflected in both the music of the leading composers at this time and also in the literature of writers such as Pushkin, Tolstoy and Turgenev.
An example of how difficult it had been to learn music in Russia before the formation of the Musical society can be demonstrated by the story of the ‘father’ of Russian music, Glinka. Glinka had to learn music through correspondence with a music theory teacher in Berlin, and one of his successors, Alexander Dargomyzhsky, was not taught by Glinka but by reading Glinka’s notes (Strawser, 2011). The two conservatories were to change that and are responsible for the wealth of talent that emerged in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries.
Tchaikovsky graduated from the conservatory in 1865 and had made rapid progress during his time there. One of the most important aspects that the young composer learnt was to distance himself from the purely nationalist composers, who believed in producing a totally Russian style of music and also from the school that was loyal to the western and in particular the Germanic tradition. This is something that Tchaikovsky continued to do throughout his life, using Russian folk melodies within a traditional western structure. He was often disparaged by his nationalistic colleagues because of this style, as composers such as Balakirev, one of ‘The Mighty Handful’ believed in producing totally Russian music, both melodically and harmonically. The problem these composer had is that the structure of folk songs does not fit well within traditional forms such as symphonies and concerti.
Good examples of Tchaikovsky’s use of Russian folk melodies can be found in his first three symphonies, but I have chosen to concentrate my research on the first of his more mature symphonies, the fourth, although the folk melody only appears in the finale of this work. At the time that Tchaikovsky was composing this work, he was working on some folk tunes for children and in the finale of his fourth symphony, to try to evoke the spirit of Russia, he used the traditional and popular folk melody, In a Field an Ancient Birch Tree Stood. As the third movement ends with pizzicato strings sandwiching a woodwind march, the music moves effortlessly without break into the rumbustious opening of the finale. Our folk tune appears as the second theme before the ‘fate’ motive, first introduced in the first movement, returns to complete the symphony in a rousing climax.
Tchaikovsky started composing his fourth symphony before his failed marriage to Antonina Ivanovna Milyukova in July 1877. Tchaikovsky agreed to marry Antonina, in an effort to possibly cover up rumours of his sexuality, and it may have also been to set a moral example to his younger brothers, especially Modest who was keen on a male student, who Tchaikovsky also probably had strong feelings for. Antonina had been a student of Tchaikovsky’s at the conservatory and now 28, had written to the composer stating her love for him. Tchaikovsky probably knew from the start that it would be a disaster and after a short time together they separated but never divorced. Tchaikovsky was reported to have had a nervous breakdown, although recent evidence suggests this may have been faked (Wiley, 2013).
This symphony written around this emotionally traumatic time and the opera, Yevgeny Onegin, based on Pushkin’s story, are both in some ways autobiographical. It was at this time that he began his long and fruitful relationship with
Nadezhda von Meck (Strawser, 2011)
Nadezhda von Meck, who would be his patron until near the end of his life, although by Mutual agreement they never met. The fourth symphony was dedicated to von Meck, with the inscription “to my best friend”. Although Tchaikovsky didn’t write programmes for his symphonies, in the case of the fourth, though he did send a programme to von Meck at her request. In this he writes about the fourth movement: “Go among the people. See how they understand how to be happy. But no sooner have you forgotten yourself in contemplation of the joys of others than Fate returns to remind you . . .” (Serotsky, 2013).
A comparison between the way that Tchaikovsky used the folk tune In a Field an Ancient Birch Tree Stood, and the way one of the Mighty Five, Mily Balakirev used it in his 2nd Overture on Russian Themes, often referred to as just “Russia” is quite interesting. The second theme in the finale to the fourth is notated by Tchaikovsky in common time with a rest at the end on the second measure:
(Strawser, 2011)Balakirev though scores the work in 2/4 time:
(Strawser, 2011)The reason for this difference is that the original folk tune is written in three bar phrases, but this does not fit in with the Germanic or western convention of phrases being in multiples two. Meanwhile Balakirev was happy to stick with the three bar phrases of the original folk tune (Strawser, 2011).
Although not all his contemporary Russian composers agreed with the way in which Tchaikovsky embraced nationalist folk songs, he did use the melodies in a way they could fit in with music of a western culture through the formal devices common at the time. In this way Tchaikovsky was the first Russian to create a repertoire that is accepted in the west, where his music, is today still popular with a regular place on the concert platform. He managed to combine and satisfy both the Russian Nationalist school as well as the traditional school that was promoted by the likes of the Rubinsteins. The question about his nationalist motivation, can, like Grieg and Liszt be answered in the affirmative. There is no doubt that Tchaikovsky was a patriotic Russian, and he used his knowledge of folklorist themes throughout. To put it in his own words as related to von Meck:
“As regards the Russian element in general in my music , I grew up in the backwoods, saturating myself from earliest childhood with the inexplicable beauty of the characteristic traits of Russian folk-song, so that I passionately love every manifestation of the Russian spirit. In short , I am Russian in the fullest sense of the word.
(Strawser, 2011).
Resources & Bibliography
Langston, B. (2006). Symphony No 4 – History. [online]. Tchaikovsky Research. Available from: http://www.tchaikovsky-research.net/en/Works/Symphonies/TH027/index.html [accessed on March 24 2013].
Serotsky, P. (2013). Tchaikovsky (1840-93) – Symphony No 4. [online]. Musicweb International. Available from: http://www.musicweb-international.com/Programme_Notes/tchaik_sym4.htm [accessed on March 24 2013].
Strawser, D. (2011). Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony: Up Close and Personal. [online]. Available from: http://dickstrawser.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/tchaikovskys-4th-symphony-up-close.html [accessed on March 24 2013].
Wiley , R.J. (2013). Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Il’yich . [online]. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Available from: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article_citations/grove/music/51766 – accessed on March 23 2013.