Features of the Symphony and the Suite in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concertos
Abstract
The article examines features of the compositional logic of three piano concertos by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In particular, the work examines the relationship between the structural features of the symphony and the suite, which have aroused only a few isolated statements in the musicological literature. The predominance of the symphonic theory as a “sign” of compositional perfection in most works by Russian composers and those from other countries has established an assessment of the Second and Third Concertos as being second-rate in a series of late Romantic concerto works. The significant role of suite structure in Tchaikovsky’s works noted by many recent researchers allows us to place a new emphasis in the interpretation of the works. The results of the analysis confirm that symphonic features are present in Tchaikovsky’s concertos to varying degrees: this is manifested in the preservation of the principles of cyclicity, sonata form, and the thematic “derivability” of musical material. On the other hand, the autonomy and disproportion of the sonata allegros, the genre nature of the individual movements of the cycle, the autonomy of the soloist and the orchestral parts resulting from the numerous cadenzas are indicators of suite logic. While various combinations of these qualities can be found in all three of Tchaikovsky’s works, from the perspective of the genre tradition, the Second Concerto is the most “anomalous,” being closer to the genre of a Concert Fantasia, rather than to the other two concertos. Thus, we can conclude that Tchaikovsky’s piano concertos may be uniquely characterised by their suite-like nature. The opposition of the two compositional principles can be interpreted in light of the composer’s appeal to the leading German and French European traditions, which became the basis of his instrumental work.
Keywords: Pyotr Tchaikovsky, piano concerto, compositional logic, symphonism, suite, cyclicality, Western European tradition, genre
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Kunin I.F. The most perfect structure. (Кунин И.Ф. Идеальнейшая форма). Sovetskaya muzyka. 1968, no. 11, pp. 113–116.
Klimovitsky A.I. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Cultural premonitions. Cultural memory. Cultural interactions. (Климовицкий А.И. Пётр Ильич Чайковский. Культурные предчувствия. Культурная память. Культурные взаимодействия). St. Petersburg: Petropolis Publ.; Russian Institute of Art History, 2015. 424 p.
Tumanina N.V. P.I. Tchaikovsky: the Great master. 1878–1893. (Туманина Н.В. П.И. Чайковский: Великий мастер. 1878–1893 гг.). Moscow: LENAND Publ., 2019. 504 p.
Horton J. Brahm’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 83: Analytical and Contextual Studies. Leuven: Peeters Publ., 2017. 368 p.
Koch J.M. Klavierkonzert des 19. Jahrhunderts und die Kategorie des Symponischen (Musik und Musikanschauung im 19. Jahrhundert: Bd. 8). Sinzig: Studio Verlag, 2001. 382 p.
Norris J. The Russian Piano Concerto, Vol. I: The Nineteenth Century. Bloomington, Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1994. 228 p.
Kunin I.F. Tchaikovsky. (Кунин И.Ф. Чайковский). Moscow: Molodaya gvardiya Publ., 1958. 368 p.
Tchaikovsky P.I. Musical essays and articles. (Чайковский П.И. Музыкальные эссе и статьи). Moscow: E Publ., 2015. 448 p.
Garden E.J.C. Three Russian piano concertos. Music and Letters. 1979, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 166–179.
Larosh G.A. P.I. Tchaikovsky. In: Selected articles: In 5 Issues. (Ларош Г.А. П.И. Чайковский. В: Избранные статьи: в 5 вып.). Comp. by G.B. Bernandt. Leningrad: Muzyka Publ., 1975, issue 2. 365 p.
Alekseev A.D. Russian piano music. The late 19th and early 20th century. (Алексеев А.Д. Русская фортепианная музыка. Конец XIX – начало ХХ в.). Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1969. 391 p.
Brown D. Tchaikovsky: The Crisis Years (1874–1878). London: W.W. Norton & Company Publ., 1983. 312 p.
Garden E.J.C. A note of Tchaikovsky’s First piano concerto. The Musical Times. 1981, no. 122, pp. 238–239.
Belyak D.V., Susidko I.P. Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Third piano concerto and the issue of cyclicity. Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship. 2020, no. 2, pp. 65–74. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.33779/2587-6341.2020.2.065-074
Tchaikovsky M.I. The letters of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Taneyev. (Чайковский М.И. Письма П.И. Чайковского и С.И. Танеева). Comp. by M.I. Tchaikovsky. Moscow: P. Jurgenson Music Publishing House, 1916. 188 p.
Tchaikovsky M.I. The life of P.I. Tchaikovsky: in 3 vols. (Чайковский М.И. Жизнь П.И. Чайковского: в 3-х т.). Moscow: Algoritm Publ., 1997, vol. 3, 617 p.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.56620/RM.2025.3.049-058
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.