Overture Magazine: 2017-2018 Season September-October 2017 | Page 17

TCHAIKOVSKY THRILL RIDE
Tchaikovsky ever wrote, and the ardor
and yearning of its two main themes
seem to link it with romantic love. As
a homosexual unreconciled with his
nature, Tchaikovsky found love an ideal
nearly always out of reach. In a letter to
von Meck, he wrote: “I disagree with
you absolutely that music cannot fully
express the feelings of love. On the
contrary— only music can do so. You
say that words are needed. No, words
are not enough, and where they are
powerless, comes full-armed a more
eloquent language —music.” The horn
soloist opens with the great, yearning
principal theme. Soon, violins pour
out the passionate second theme: an
upward-aspiring melody reminiscent of
the music Tchaikovsky created for his
balletic pas de deux. A lighter middle
section, featuring woodwind motives
decorated with exotic arabesques, is
suddenly smashed by the trumpets
loudly proclaiming the Fate motto. The
violins recover to sing the horn melody,
The BSO
but again, Fate rudely intervenes, this
time in the trombones.
The waltz third movement also
belongs to Tchaikovsky’s beloved world
of ballet. He wrote that the main theme
was inspired by a tune sung by a street
urchin in Florence, but that street song
probably lacked the smoothly flowing
sophistication we find here. By contrast,
the middle trio section is agitated music
based on brusque string scales. The Fate
motto makes an appearance toward the
end, but causes little disruption.
Fate is vanquished in the finale as
the movement opens with a majestic
statement low in the strings and now in
E major, rather than minor. The Allegro
vivace main section returns to the minor
with an off-the-beat principal theme
that seethes with aggressive energy. A
huge coda brings the Fate theme back
again—and again!—in majestically
slow E major and, upon accelerating to
Presto, also reprises the first movement’s
halting-march theme, now blazing away
in brass splendor. Here Tchaikovsky
perhaps overplays his triumph, but
audiences happily succumb to his joy.
Instrumentation: Three flutes including
piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two
bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three
trombones, tuba, timpani and strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, © 2017
HAVE A
NIGHT OUT.
IT’S ON US.
All concerts at Peabody are
now FREE, from classical
to contemporary to jazz.
Find your favorites at
peabody.jhu.edu or by
calling 667-208-6620.
Hailed as one of the most gifted conductors of his generation,
Peabody alumnus Joseph Young has been named the Ruth
Blaustein Rosenberg Artistic Director of Ensembles at Peabody.

S E P – O C T 2017 / OV E R T U R E
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