Ballet Composer Profile: Pyotr Tchaikovsky | Part 1
“Where the heart does not enter; there can be no music”
Name: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Birth: 7th May 1840, Votkinsk, Udmurtia
Death: 6 November 1893, St. Petersburg, Russia
Musical Study:
Tchaikovsky came from a military family, with both his parents, Ilya and Alexandra having had training in the arts, including music. These talents were seen as particularly useful for entertainment when stationed in the remote regions of Russia. Therefore, at the age of five, Tchaikovsky started to learn the piano. He displayed an early enthusiasm for music and in only three years of taking piano lessons he was able to read music to the same level as his teacher. His parents were supportive and continued to encourage his musical study, purchasing an orchestrion (a type barrel organ known for imitating orchestral sounds) for him to explore.
However, as Tchaikovsky got older, his parents were less willing to encourage him to pursue a career in music, favouring instead that he worked as a civil servant instead. So, when Tchaikovsky was around ten years old, they sent him to the Imperial School of Jurisprudence in St. Petersburg. This decision was likely made for a couple of different reasons:
The first being that his father’s income was becoming progressively unpredictable and so they would have wanted Tchaikovsky realise independence as quickly as possible.
The second being that during Russia in that period, there were only two musical professions to be obtained for those outside of the affluent aristocracy. Those careers included a performer in one of the Imperial Theatres or a teacher in an academy, both of which were deemed the lowest rung of the social ladder, not so far from peasants.
During his studies, in 1854, Tchaikovsky lost his mother to cholera, an experience that deeply affected him. In response to the loss of his mother, he made his first significant attempt at composition, writing a waltz in her memory. Back at school, Tchaikovsky found that music was a way that he could connect with his fellow peers at school, often improvising different melodies and themes on the school’s harmonium to amuse them, and attending operas together. In 1855, his father paid for him to have private music lessons with Rudolph Kündinger, who although was impressed with Tchaikovsky’s talent, claimed that there was nothing to suggest he had what it takes to become a successful composer or performer. Though, later Rudolph admitted that he had been scarred by his own treatment ac a musician in Russia and did not want to encourage Tchaikovsky to follow that route.
In 1859, Tchaikovsky graduated from his school, going on to work for three years in the civil service. In the same year, the Russian Musical Society had been founded in order to ‘foster native' talent’ rather than importing it from Europe. In 1861, Tchaikovsky took music theory classes with the RMS, taught y Nikolai Zaremba. These classes were the forefather of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, which was established in 1862. Tchaikovsky enrolled as part of the Conservatory’s first class, studying harmony and counterpoint with Zaremba and instrumentation and composition with Anton Rubinstein.
This opportunity to study allowed Tchaikovsky to become a musical professional and blossom as a composer. Having studied both Russian and European musical principles and forms, he learnt that his music sat somewhere in-between, being influenced by both sides; a combination that became a hallmark of his music and an inspiration to Russian composer’s of the future.
Ballet Scores:
Although Tchaikovsky only wrote three ballets during his life, there is no doubt that nowadays each one is seen as a cornerstone of the ballet repertory, with regular performances happening every year all over the world. Ironically, although these ballets are so famous and well-loved now, that wasn’t always the case when they were premiered…
Swan Lake (1877)
Tchaikovsky composed Swan Lake when he was around the age of thirty six. He was commissioned by the director of the Moscow Imperial Theatres, Vladimir Petrovich Begichev in May 1875 and paid 800 rubles. There is little indication as to who wrote the original libretto, though it is thought that it was inspired by a combination of both Russian and German folktales, yet any concrete evidence has been lost to time. It is assumed Julius Reisinger, the original choreographer would have provided Tchaikovsky with a basic outline of the requirements for each dance, though again, no written instruction has been found to survive.
It seems Tchaikovsky may have been quite excited by the opportunity to compose a ballet, managing to finish it one year. He spent time studying other ballet composers who were specialists in this field, admiring Delibes (Sylvia & Coppelia), Adam (Giselle) & Riccardo Drigo (Le Talisman). The collaborative process between Reisinger and Tchaikovsky was a little strained. Reisinger began to remove sections of Tchaikovsky’s music, stating that they were ‘undanceable’ and instead choreographed these sections to other composer’s music. Fortunately, Tchaikovsky did protest and managed to have his music reinstated, yet it was clear that both artists much preferred working individually rather than together.
Swan Lake was premiered on the 20th February 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. For reasons now unknown, it seems that the premiere did little to present the ballet in a very good light. It seems that although Tchaikovsky had managed to stand up to Reisinger over the fate of his music, the choreographer had still managed to ‘butcher it and alter it considerably’. The ballet was not seen as a success at all, with the Tsar walking out before the end, ultimately securing its failure. It had a few more performances before it was withdrawn from the theatre. Tchaikovsky was understandable depressed, believing that the ballet’s failure was caused by his score. He always intended to revise it, yet never did. Perhaps the memories of its failure were too painful, or got caught up in creating all the other wonderful scores that he has become so well-known for. It was still untouched at the time of his death in 1893.
“I listened to the Delibes ballet Sylvia ... what charm, what elegance, what wealth of melody, rhythm, and harmony. I was ashamed, for if I had known of this music then, I would not have written Swan Lake.”
Swan Lake (1895)
Of course, the failure of the 1877 premiere was not the end for Swan Lake, as we all know. In the late 1880’s/ early 1890’s, Marius Petipa discovered the Swan Lake score for the first time, and was immediately enthused by it. He suggested to Ivan Vsevolozhsky- the director of the Mariinsky Theatre that it should be revived, and subsequent plans were discussed. Unfortunately, Tchaikovsky died before these plans came to fruition, and so, Riccardo Drigo stepped in to revise the score in Tchaikovsky’s absence, receiving permission from Modest, Tchaikovsky’s younger brother.
The differences between Tchaikovsky’s original score and Drigo’s revised score are significant, and it is Drigo’s version that is used primarily by most ballet companies today, and since the 1895 premiere. Although this fact may seem to dim Tchaikovsky’s light a little, it goes without saying that a second pair of eyes can often see- impersonally- where improvements can be made, especially when working on something that they themselves are not emotionally tied to.
On the 17th/ 29th of February 1894, only the second act of Swan Lake was performed, choreographed by Lev Ivanov, since that was all that had been prepared at the time. The performances were planned by Vsevolozhsky and were given in Tchaikovsky’s memory. After these performances, work on reviving the ballet continued. Modest Tchaikovsky revised the libretto and Petipa choreographed the first and third acts, while Ivanov retained his work in the second act and began to work on the fourth.
On the 27th of January 1895, the complete revision of Swan Lake had its premiere, receiving many positive reviews. Nevertheless, the ballet was only given sixteen performances within its first year and was not performed at all in 1897.
Although it seems that it would still be a matter of time before Swan Lake would reach its peak and be recognised for its beauty, it is the 1895 revival that is the version that many of us know and love today. Of course many choreographers and companies have made their own versions and alterations, however, in most cases it is the 1895 revival that serves as the primary foundation and starting point.
For us in 2022, it can be difficult to grasp how long it took this ballet to gain popularity. Especially as now, ‘Swan Lake’ is a ballet that is performed every year and toured all over the globe by almost every ballet company. Not to mention how it is likely the most famous and timeless ballet in the world, with references to it cropping up everywhere, from the 2010 film Black Swan to Taylor Swift’s music video for ‘Shake It Off’. If only Tchaikovsky could have seen what it would become…
Part 2 will be coming soon, where I will talk about Tchaikovsky’s other two ballets- The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.
