Chapter 59 mussorgsky and tchaikovsky
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Transcript of Chapter 59 mussorgsky and tchaikovsky
Chapter 59
Music and Ballet in 19th-Century
Russia: Mussorgsky and
Tchaikovsky
Russian Music in the mid-19th Century
• Russian musical culture until mid-19th century was dominated by foreigners.
• Native-born Russians begin to assert their genius and originality for music in the latter part of the century.
• In the capital of St. Petersburg a group of composers known as the kuchka (handful) or “The Five,” was led by Mily Balakirev.
• This group favored a nationalistic approach in their works often achieved by:– quoting Slavic folk songs in their compositions– freedom from traditional European styles.
The kuchka/“The Five”
1. Mily Balakirev (1837-1910)2. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)3. César Cui (1835-1918)
4. Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)
5. Modest Mussorsky (1839-1881)
• All were musical amateurs lacking any formal musical training (which Balakirev thought unnecessary).
• Their background made them all the more open to experimenting musically in order to create new musical resources.
• All wanted a distinctive Russian profile in their music.
The Life of Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881)
• 1839 - born in Karevo south of St. Petersburg (near present day Estonia)
• 1852 - enters military school in St. Petersburg, no formal musical training
• 1857 - lessons from Mily Balakirev
• 1869 - completes first version of opera Boris Godunov
• 1874 - Boris staged at the Mariinsky Theater in a revised version
• 1881 - dies in St. Petersburg
Principal Compositions by Modest Mussorgsky
• Operas: including– Boris Godunov– The Marriage– Khovanshchina (incomplete)
• Orchestra: include Night on Bald Mountain
• Piano: works include the suite Pictures at an Exhibition
• Songs: include the cycles – The Nursery– Sunless– Songs and Dances of Death
Modest Mussorgsky, “Within Four Walls” from Sunless, 1874
Through-composed form
Life of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
• 1840 - born in a town in the Ural Mountains in central Russia; grows up in St. Petersburg
• 1865 - graduates from Conservatory in St. Petersburg
• 1866 - appointed to faculty at the Conservatory in Moscow
• 1870s - travels in Europe and lives in various Russian cities
• 1885 - settles in Moscow
• 1892 - completes Symphony No. 6 and The Nutcracker
• 1893 - dies in St. Petersburg from cholera
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Characteristics of Tchaikovsky’s Music
• Tchaikovsky was sympathetic to the efforts of the nationalistic kuchka group, though was more strongly connected to developments in the European music of his day.
• Was the first major 19-century composer to write important works for ballet.
• His music is:- memorably tuneful- repetitive- skilled in orchestration- avoids the harmonic experiments of many
of his contemporaries (more traditionalist in this
area)
Principal Compositions by Tchaikovsky
• Orchestra: symphonies (6), tone poems, suites; concertos (2 piano and 1 violin)
• Operas:– Eugene Onegin– Queen of Spades
• Ballets:– Sleeping Beauty– Swan Lake– The Nutcracker
• Chamber music: string quartets (3), sextet (Souvenir de Florence)
• Songs: about 100 including folk song arrangements
• Chorus: cantatas, church music
• Piano: character pieces
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, 1892, Act 1, scene 8 (At
the Christmas Tree)
Rounded Binary form