Ravinia 2026 Issue 3

Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture Scored for two flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, harp, and strings Tchaikovsky composed the first of his three symphonic fantasies inspired by the plays of William Shakespeare— Romeo and Juliet , The Tempest , and Hamlet —on the advice of Mily Balakirev. A member of The Mighty Handful (or The Five) of Russian nationalistic music, Balakirev had recently completed a King Lear piece when he submitted the Romeo and Juliet scenario and theme sketches to Tchaikovsky. Then, Balakirev dispatched him on a creative promenade through Moscow: “Arm yourself with galoshes and a walking stick and set out for a walk along the boulevards, starting with the Nikitsky; let yourself be steeped in your plan, and I am sure that by the time you reach the Sretensky Boulevard, some theme or episode will have come to you.” The subject of ill-fated love undoubtedly attract- ed Tchaikovsky to Romeo and Juliet . He had be- come infatuated with the Belgian mezzo-sopra- no Désirée Artôt in 1867. Despite his family’s urgent pleas, Tchaikovsky considered proposing marriage, but Désirée’s sudden elopement with the Spanish baritone Mario Padilla y Ramos on September 15, 1869, dashed his secret plans. Ro- meo and Juliet resulted from a fitful six-week outpouring ending on November 18, while the wounds of the Artôt affair still festered. Follow- ing the 1870 premiere, Tchaikovsky incorporat- ed several changes suggested by Balakirev. He produced a third version of the fantasy-overture for a planned Romeo and Juliet opera a decade later, in the wake of his disastrous marriage to Antonina Milyukova. Outlines of Shakespeare’s drama trace through this single-movement “fantasy,” neatly con- structed as a sonata form with slow introduc- tion. Friar Lawrence offers comfort to the young Desirée Artôt lovers in solemn hymn tones. This serenity re- mains a deceptive facade, for around the cor- ner lurk misfortune and death. Mortal combat between the Capulets and Montagues spills into the streets of Verona. The tumult momentarily subsides with the passionate love theme, only to erupt more violently. Lovers struggle desper- ately against their undeserved fate, but the evil feud claims two more innocent victims. Friar Lawrence’s utterances transform into “ Requi- escat in pace .” Tragedy prevails in the ominous final chords. 1812 Festival Overture, op. 49 Scored for two flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two cornets, two trumpets, two tenor trombones and one bass trombone, tuba, timpani, triangle, tambourine, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, cannon, bells, and strings “The overture will be very loud, noisy, but I wrote it without any warm feelings of love, so it will probably be of no artistic worth.” Un- questionably, Tchaikovsky produced an over- ture with “very loud, noisy” portions, but the rest of his assessment missed wide of the mark. The 1812 Festival Overture ranks as perhaps Tchaikovsky’s most popular composition for its sensational, as well as artistic, value. In June 1880, Nikolay Rubinstein—the re- nowned pianist, conductor, and head of the music section for the upcoming All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in Moscow—in- vited Tchaikovsky to compose a new work for the grand event. Rubinstein suggested three possibilities for the commission: an overture to launch the exhibition, an overture celebrat- ing the silver jubilee of Tsar Alexander II, or a cantata in any form or style, containing hints of Orthodox church music, for the opening of the new Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Tchaikovsky reacted with “extreme repugnance” at the invitation. The proposals were too vague, and he found no inspiration in glorifying a “high-ranking person (who has always been fairly antipathetic to me)” or in celebrating a building that “I don’t like at all.” He considered the matter closed, but Rubinstein made anoth- er attempt to convince his friend three months later: “Your composition would be dearer and more precious to me than all the others.” Tchaikovsky’s protestations and complaints con- tinued a while longer, but he eventually agreed to write a work for the Exhibition that also hon- ored the forthcoming consecration of the ca- thedral and the 70th anniversary of the Russian resistance to Napoleon’s assault in the Patriotic War of 1812. Tchaikovsky composed and orchestrated the celebratory 1812 Festival Overture, op. 49, be- tween October 12 and November 19, 1880. He augmented the typical symphonic ensemble with an optional military band and, according to his manuscript score, a “bombardone” and “ko- lakola” (bells). Tchaikovsky sought specific sounds from these instruments. In a letter to his publisher, Peter Jurgenson, he wrote: “Regard- ing the Bombardone, kindly learn from the the- ater the name of the instrument they use for a cannon, i.e. the large, suspended drum that is beaten like a bass drum. If it has no name, put Canon … not a real cannon, but a drum.” Jur- genson obliged and identified this instrument as “canon” in his first edition of the score. Despite the composer’s original specification of a drum, it has since become tradition to fire live cannons during outdoor performances of the 1812 Over- ture. Tchaikovsky described the desired tone quality of the “kolakola”: “The bells should be large and all the same pitch. They should be struck in a manner simulating festive ringing.” With Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and his eventual retreat in mind, Tchaikovsky selected opposing patriotic themes to do battle in the overture: “La Marseillaise,” the national an- them of the French Republic, formally adopted on July 14, 1795, and “Bozhe, Tsarya khrani!” (God Save the Tsar!), the national anthem of the Russian Empire from 1833 until the Febru- ary Revolution of 1917. Before this conflict, the music begins with a prayerful string rendition of “Spasi, Gospodi, lyudi tvoya” (Save, O Lord, Thy people), the Troparion of the Holy Cross from the Russian Orthodox liturgy. A transcription of the folksong “U vorot” (At the Gate) follows immediately after. As the overture progresses, the French troops advance to the strains of “La Marseillaise,” but the Russian anthem spurs the people to victory. The 1812 Overture received its official premiere under the baton of Ippolit Al’tani at the All-Rus- sian Industrial and Art Exhibition’s sixth orches- tra concert, on August 20, 1882, in the concert hall of the south pavilion. –Program notes © 2026 Todd E. Sullivan All-RussianIndustrialandArtExhibition inMoscow(1882) RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 101