The Symphonic and Suite Traits in Piotr Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concertos
Abstract
The article examines the features of the compositional logic of three piano concertos by
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The main issue is the relationship between the features of symphonic
and suite principles, about which there are only a few separate assertions in scholarly literature.
The predominance of the symphonic theory as the “sign” of compositional perfection in most
musicological works written in Russia and in other countries, established the assessment of the
Second and Third Concertos as secondary in a series of late romantic concerto oeuvres. The
ascertainment of the significant role of the suite principle in Tchaikovsky’s works makes it possible
to place new accents in the interpretation of the concertos.
The results of the analytical work show that symphonic features are characteristic of
Tchaikovsky's concertos in varying degrees: this is expressed in the preservation of the principle
of cyclicity, sonata form, and the intonational “deducibility” of themes. On the other hand, the
autonomy and disproportionality of the sonata Allegro movements, the genre coloring of some of
the cycle’s movements, the autonomous status of the soloist’s and the orchestral parts as the result
of the numerous cadences – all of these are indicators of suite logic. Various combinations of these
qualities can be found in all three of Tchaikovsky’s concertos, but the most “anomalous” from the
position of the genre tradition turns out to be the Second Concerto, which is closer to the genre
of a Concerto Fantasy than to the other two concertos. Thereby, we can conclude that the suite
principle is inherent in Tchaikovsky’s piano concertos, and this is what determines their unique
qualities. The opposition of the two compositional principles can be interpreted in the light of the
composer's appeal to the leading European traditions – the German and the French, which have
become foundational works among his instrumental oeuvres.
Keywords: Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, piano concerto, compositional logic, symphonic principle,
suite principle, cyclicity, Western European tradition, genre.
Full Text:
PDF (Russian)References
Alekseev A. D. Russkaya fortepiannaya muzyka. Konets XIX – nachalo ХХ v. [Russian Piano Music. The Late 19th and Early 20th Century]. Moscow: Nauka, 1969. 391 p.
Belyak D. V., Susidko I. P. Tretiy fortepiannyy kontsert P. I. Chaykovskogo i problema tsiklichnosti [Piotr Tchaikovsky’s Third Piano Concerto and the Issue of Cyclicity]. Problemy muzykal'noj nauki / Music Scholarship. 2020. No. 2, pp. 65–74. DOI: 10.33779/2587-6341.2020.2.065-074.
Klimovitskiy A. I. Petr Il'ich Chaykovskiy. Kul'turnye predchuvstviya. Kul'turnaya pamyat'. Kul'turnye vzaimodeystviya [Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Cultural Premonitions. Cultural Memory. Cultural Interactions]. St. Petersburg: Petropolis: Russian Institute of Art History, 2015. 424 p.
Kunin I. F. Ideal'neyshaya forma [The Most Perfect Structure]. Sovetskaya muzyka [Soviet Music]. 1968. No. 11, pp. 113–116.
Kunin I. F. Chaykovskiy [Tchaikovsky]. Moscow: Molodaya gvardiya, 1958. 368 p.
Larosh G. A. P. I. Chaykovskiy [P. I. Tchaikovsky]. Izbrannye stat'i: v 5 vyp. [Selected Articles: In 5 Issues]. Comp. by G. B. Bernandt. Leningrad: Muzyka, 1975. Issue 2. 365 p.
Tumanina N. V. P. I. Chaykovskiy: Velikiy master. 1878–1893 gg. [Tchaikovsky: The Great Master. 1878–1893]. Moscow: LENAND, 2019. 504 p.
Chaykovskiy M. I. Zhizn' P. I. Chaykovskogo: v 3 t. [The Life of P. I. Tchaikovsky: In 3 Vol.] Moscow: Algoritm, 1997. Vol. 3. 617 p.
Chaykovskiy M. I. Pis'ma P. I. Chaykovskogo i S. I. Taneeva [The Letters of Piotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Taneyev]. Comp. by M. I. Tchaikovsky. Moscow: P. Jurgenson Music Publishing House, 1916. 188 p.
Chaykovskiy P. I. Muzykal'nye esse i stat'i [Musical Essays and Articles]. Moscow: E, 2015. 448 p.
Brown D. Tchaikovsky: The Crisis Years (1874–1878). London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1983. 312 p.
Garden E. J. C. Three Russian Piano Concertos. Music and Letters. 1979. Vol. 60. No. 2, pp. 166–179.
Garden E. J. C. A Note of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. The Musical Times. 1981. No. 122, pp. 238–239.
Horton J. Brahm’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 83: Analytical and Contextual Studies. Leuven: Peeters, 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, 2001. 382 S.
Norris J. The Russian Piano Concerto, Vol. I: The Nineteenth Century. Bloomington, Indianapolis: Indiana univ. press, 1994. 228 p.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33779/2587-6341.2021.1.163-172
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.