Tchaikovsky
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Symphony
Симфония
Sketches (1873).
| Catalogue References | TH 210 ; ČW 467 |
|---|---|
| Date | June–July 1873 (unrealized) |
| Key | B♭ major |
| Autograph Location | Klin (Russia): Tchaikovsky House-Museum Archive (sketches only) |
| Notes | The first theme was later reworked for piano in the Capriccioso—No. 5 from the Six Pieces, Op. 19 |
History
In the summer of 1873 Tchaikovsky was preparing to write the fantasia The Tempest on a subject suggested by Vladimir Stasov. On the day that he purchased a new notebook, which was to be used as a diary, the composer made the note "1873, bought 11 July [O.S.] in Kiev. Yesterday en route from Borzhom to Kiev after a long break from music, an tune suddenly came into my head out of nowhere. From this embryo in B♭ major the idea instantly came to me for a whole symphony. I decided at once to set Stasov's The Tempest aside, and to spend the summer on the whole symphony, which shall eclipse everything I have done before. This is the embryo: " [1].
From:
Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), p. 256
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston
* * *
On 1/13 July 1873 the composer made another note for the "theme of the 1st Allegro. The Introduction is similar, but in 4/4", this time in E major [2].
There are no other references to this projected symphony, but a few months later Tchaikovsky used a variant of the B♭ major theme in the Capriccioso for piano—No. 5 from the Six Pieces (Op. 19).
From:
The Tchaikovsky Handbook, vol. 1 (2002), p. 399
Copyright © 2002 Alexander Poznansky and Brett Langston
Notes:
- Дневники П. И. Чайковского (1923), p. 3 [back]
- Дневники П. И. Чайковского (1923), p. 5 [back]