Tchaikovsky and His Music
BY AMY CORLESS
INTRO TO MUSIC 1010
FALL 2014
Biography
Early Life
 Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky was born on
May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia.
 At the age of 10, Tchaikovsky was
enrolled to The School of Jurisprudence
 At the age of 19, Pyotr graduated from
The School of Jurisprudence.
Childhood
 As a boy Tchaikovsky’s favorite
composer was Mozart
 Tchaikovsy said about his piano
teacher “I am very, very indebted” to
her.
Young Adult
 In 1877 Tchaikovsky married Antonina Ivanovna
Milyukova, a 28-year-old woman.
 From the start of their married life, Tchaikovsky felt
suffocated by his new life.
He attempted suicide
Young Adult
The same year of his wedding,
Tchaikovsky started to write to
another woman, Madame von
Meck
Meck would help Tchaikovsky
mentally, emotionally, and
financially.
Adult
 During his adult life,
Tchaikovsky traveled across
Europe and made visits to
the US.
Last Years
 His and Meck’s friendship had ended and he felt that
his muse had died.
 One important event was that he was going to be
awarded at the Cambridge University Musical Society
Death
 Tchaikovsky’s death was unexpected. He became ill with
cholera, the same disease his mother had died from, after he
drank water that was not boiled. And died on October 25, 1883.
Composition History
The Nutcracker
 The Nutcracker Ballet music was written
by Pyotr Tchaikovsky in the year 1892.
 Tchaikovsky worked with Marius Petipa, who had
worked on The Sleeping Beauty with Tchaikovsky.
Performance
 It was first performed in the Mariinsky Theatre in St.
Petersburg, Russia on December 18, 1892.
First Act
Clara’s godfather comes with amazing gifts, including a
nutcracker. Later in the night goes back to the room
where the party was held and finds her nutcracker.
After a battle has been won by the nutcracker’s army,
Clara finds herself in a forest. This ends the first act.
Second Act
The second act shows Clara and her nutcracker, who has
turned into a prince, arriving at the Land of Sweets,
where she meets the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Listening Guide:
Waltz of the Snowflakes
The time signature is ¾
0:00 The composition starts with a piccolo, flute, violin and viola. The tempo
gradually speeds up and the sound becomes stronger. The harmony feels dissonant
and the melody disjunctive, creating tension and the image of a flurry of snow
beginning to look more like a storm, repeating the notes over and over again. The
texture is polyphonic. The rhythm starts out slow.
1:05 The harmony becomes more relaxing, like snow softly falling from the sky. A few
violinists start to pluck their strings rather than use their bow, creating a much
different sound and a more jumpy melody.
1:40 The flutes (and other woodwinds) become very strong and loud for a few
seconds.
1:48 Soprano voices begin to sing in the background, creating a more conjunctive
melody. The timbre is very easy to hear the distinction between the voices and
instruments.
2:03 Percussion (chimes) and
brass instruments start to play
and really transform the sound
of the music.
2:16 The voices stop singing.
2:18 The string instruments become louder for a moment and the next 5 seconds are
repeated once and then the music changes again. The melody is disjunct and the
harmony is dissonant. Like a blizzard is starting and the snow is becoming thicker
and falling faster.
2:48 A harp begins to be played (and maybe a Celeste) while the voices still sing and
the other instruments continue to play, but more softly.
3:16 Woodwinds and brass
instruments join in again.
The speed becomes faster
and the harmony feels
dissonant. The strings are
still repeating the same seven
seconds as before.
3:29 Again only the strings play
3:33 Brass and woodwinds
are introduced again
3:42 The strings start to speed
up and become quite fast, it
feels as if the end of the song
is near, but it is not.
3:46 The other instruments
also start to speed up
3:51 All instruments stop,
except for a harp, which is
being strummed loudly.
4:13 The voices join in again for a few seconds, singing a similar rhythm and notes to
what they have been. The strings continue to play quickly.
4:25 The voices stop singing and the tempo is sped up. Making it feel like the
snowflakes are falling faster, again.
4:41 A percussion instrument (cymbals) is played loudly and the other instruments
are continued to be played normally.
4:47 The percussion instrument is played again and
the music repeats itself for a little while. It repeats
only a few notes about eight times.
4:55 It becomes silent for a moment and then
strings are added, they are played softly. The
texture is monophonic and the melody conjunct.
5:00 A harp is being played very softly in the background while brass or woodwinds
are playing the melody. The harmony becomes more consonant and the melody
conjunctive.
5:34 The voices sing in a higher pitch and give a different feel to the music than
before.
5:45 The voices hold a note for about six seconds. Other instruments start to become
louder.
6:00 Brass instruments
are used to make the
feeling of the end
stronger.
6:06 The song ends.
Listening Guide:
Waltz of the Flowers
The time signature is ¾, the rhythm is changing constantly.
0:00 The composition is introduced with French horns playing with a monophonic
texture. The rhythm has two notes per counts.
0:03 A harp begins to be strummed; the first three seconds are then repeated. The
harp makes the melody conjunctive and the harmony consonant; as if flowers
starting to bloom in the first light of morning.
0:18 The harp begins to play again and is the main instrument used for the next few
seconds, while the horns finish their last note. The texture is monophonic.
0:44 The harp becomes
slower and lower.
0:48 The harp is only strummed once
slowly and then it picks up the speed
again for a short time.
1:02 There are few seconds of silence.
1:07 The horns come in again being
the main instrument heard, while the
strings continue to play in the background.
1:38 The strings come in very loud
and very strong. The rhythm has two
counts per note.
1:41 The clarinet is played again with
a disjunctive melody. The clarinet and
strings repeat for the next few seconds
. It sounds like flower petals are falling
from off of a tree’s blossom.
2:07 The strings become stronger and
the horns start to play in the background.
2:18 A viola plays in the foreground as the rest of the strings continue to play in the
background. Along with it, a flute plays a small amount of notes.
2:26 The composition starts to repeat itself again. And as time goes on the tempo
becomes faster and the sound becomes louder.
2:34 The
instruments play
in a higher pitch.
3:32 As the strings repeat themselves from the before section, a chime comes into
the background.
3:46 The strings begin to play louder and a violin and viola play in the foreground,
like a duet. It seems that the full flower is being blown gently in the wind. The
rhythm changes again.
4:03 The strings in the background become louder. And again the composition
repeats itself.
4:38 The strings play lower and are deeper. The melody continues to be conjunctive.
The texture is monophonic.
4:43 The French horns come in again along with the clarinet. The strings have
stopped playing for the moment.
5:13 The strings come in strong and the flute, also plays in the foreground. The
music repeats itself quit a few times.
5:47 The horns, strings, and timpani play together as they build up tension.
5:55 The strings play along with the flute and chime.
6:11 The timpani plays in the background making a lower and deeper sound, while
chimes, horns, and strings are also being played.
6:45 The composition repeats
the section twice.
6:50 The horns and chimes are the main instruments in this section. It almost feels
like the flowers are finishing dancing in the wind.
6:54 The horns and timpani are being played without any accompaniment. The
rhythm has four notes per count.
6:56 The chime comes in again as the song ends.
7:00 The composition ends.
References and Bibliography
Bibliography
 Brown, D. (2007). Tchaikovsky The Man and His
Music. New York: Pegasus Books LLC.
 Holden, A. (1995). Tchaikovsky A Biography . New
York: Random House, Inc. Wiley, R. J. (2009).
 Tchaikovsky . New York: Oxford University, Inc.
Images from Google