2nd symphony (Tchaikovsky)

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The Symphony no. 2 c-Moll op. 17 ( "Little Russian" ) is a symphony of Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tschaikowski . The nickname is based on Tchaikovsky's use of Ukrainian folk melodies in this symphony. A second version was created in 1879/80, which is the more popular today.

Emergence

The symphony was composed in 1872 during Tchaikovsky's vacation with his sister in Kamjanka in Little Russia , today's Ukraine .

To the music

Orchestral line-up

Piccolo flute , two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , four French horns , two trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , cymbals , bass drum , stringed instruments and, in the last movement, gong .

Sentence names

  1. Andante sostenuto - Allegro vivo
  2. Andantino marziale quasi moderato
  3. Scherzo. Allegro molto vivace
  4. Final. Moderato assai

analysis

In the first movement, the horn solo, accompanied by two rhythmic themes in the woodwinds, is the folk song Down by Mother Volga (whose title, however, cannot be proven). In the first and third parts of the three-part second movement, the wedding procession from Tchaikovsky's opera “Undine” (which the composer destroyed after being criticized ) can be heard ; in the second part Tchaikovsky uses the folk song Spinn, my spinner . In the third movement, a stormy part is followed by a trio in 2/8 time in which a Ukrainian joke is processed. The fourth movement is based on Ludwig van Beethoven's third symphony , the "Eroica" . In the middle part, the Allegro vivo , the folk song Der Kranich is varied.

effect

The world premiere took place on January 26, 1873 in Moscow; The conductor was Nikolai Grigoryevich Rubinstein, a friend of Tchaikovsky . Both the audience and the critics rated the symphony as a "national achievement". In the years 1879/1880 the symphony underwent a thorough revision by Tchaikovsky. It was first performed in this form in St. Petersburg in 1881 .

The musician Hans von Bülow praised the symphony, just as he had done before with Tchaikovsky's first symphony , its richness of melodies. Nevertheless, the Russian composer's first three symphonies are overshadowed by the success of Tchaikovsky's “Three Greats”, namely the fourth , fifth and sixth symphonies .

supporting documents

  • Christoph Hahn, Siegmar Hohl (eds.), Bertelsmann Konzertführer , Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 1993, ISBN 3-570-10519-9
  • Harenberg concert guide , Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund, 1998, ISBN 3-611-00535-5
  • Booklet of the double CD Tchaikovsky - Symphonies Nos. 1-3 , Philips Classics, 1995

Web links