Post by erik on Dec 11, 2021 13:02:13 GMT -5
Arguably the greatest composer to ever come out of Russia pays homage to a master of the late 18th century in the work in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Tchaikovsky: SERENADE FOR STRINGS IN C MAJOR, OP. 48
For a great deal of his professional life, Peter Tchaikovsky, whose musical styles defined the height of late 19th century Russian Romanticism, actually considered Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the wunderkind of the late 18th century Viennese style, “the musical Christ”. Perhaps the most explicit homage to Mozart, apart from the Orchestral Suite No. 4 (known as “Mozartiana”), is the composer’s Serenade For Strings In C Major, which he composed in 1880. Most likely, the Serenade took its inspiration from Mozart’s famous “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” (the Serenade No. 13), which was also entirely scored with strings. Even so, the imposing introduction in the first movement (marked “Andante Non Troppo—Allegro Moderato”) does make Tchaikovsky’s approach differ from his role model; while the second movement Waltz echoes certain elements of the dance form of his ballets, as well as the waltzes of Johann Strauss. The third movement is an elegiac slow movement, while the final movement returns to the opening movement’s imposing opening gestures. The composer was often lacking in self-confidence throughout his life, sometimes re-writing many of his larger works; but the Serenade For Strings was so popular from the moment it was heard at a private performance at the Moscow Conservatory on December 3, 1880, that he could not have been too terribly insecure with respect to its success. In many ways, it presaged future neo-Classical efforts by Russian composers, including Stravinsky (with his ballet “Pulcinella”) and Prokofiev (with his Haydn/Mozart-inspired “Classical Symphony”).
English Chamber Orchestra/RAYMOND LEPPARD (Philips)
Included:
Dvorak: SERENADE FOR STRINGS IN E MAJOR, OP. 22
Tchaikovsky: SERENADE FOR STRINGS IN C MAJOR, OP. 48
For a great deal of his professional life, Peter Tchaikovsky, whose musical styles defined the height of late 19th century Russian Romanticism, actually considered Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the wunderkind of the late 18th century Viennese style, “the musical Christ”. Perhaps the most explicit homage to Mozart, apart from the Orchestral Suite No. 4 (known as “Mozartiana”), is the composer’s Serenade For Strings In C Major, which he composed in 1880. Most likely, the Serenade took its inspiration from Mozart’s famous “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” (the Serenade No. 13), which was also entirely scored with strings. Even so, the imposing introduction in the first movement (marked “Andante Non Troppo—Allegro Moderato”) does make Tchaikovsky’s approach differ from his role model; while the second movement Waltz echoes certain elements of the dance form of his ballets, as well as the waltzes of Johann Strauss. The third movement is an elegiac slow movement, while the final movement returns to the opening movement’s imposing opening gestures. The composer was often lacking in self-confidence throughout his life, sometimes re-writing many of his larger works; but the Serenade For Strings was so popular from the moment it was heard at a private performance at the Moscow Conservatory on December 3, 1880, that he could not have been too terribly insecure with respect to its success. In many ways, it presaged future neo-Classical efforts by Russian composers, including Stravinsky (with his ballet “Pulcinella”) and Prokofiev (with his Haydn/Mozart-inspired “Classical Symphony”).
English Chamber Orchestra/RAYMOND LEPPARD (Philips)
Included:
Dvorak: SERENADE FOR STRINGS IN E MAJOR, OP. 22