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Ballet Compositions of Tchaikovsky

Adrienne Chloe Haslam
April 1, 2012 Dance 461 Cathy Black

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Up until the late nineteenth century, ballet composers wrote their music as a supplement to the dance. The music compositions were mere accompaniment pieces, primarily written for easy dance interpretation. It was not until the collaboration of Marius Petipa and Pyotr Llich Tchaikovsky, musical composition of ballets became an emotional and dramatic accompaniment to the dance. As the arrangements of Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake unfolded, ballet music became more complex and symphonic. The director of the Imperial Theater Ivan Vsevolozhsky approached Tchaikovsky on May 25, 1888 about a ballet adaptation of Undine, a mythological story of a water nymph. Later it was decided to adapt Charles Perraults, la Belle au bois dormant, Sleeping Beauty. ("Repertory Index - New York City Ballet.") Tchaikovsky accepted the commission, despite the little success his early ballet compositions had found so far. He began his work gaining inspiration from the Brothers Grimm adaptation of the tale, Vsevolozhsky later added a few characters into the adaptation from Perraults original story such as the variations of Puss in Boots and Red Riding Hood. ("The Sleeping Beauty.") Petipa gave detailed notes of the score, minute-by-minute instruction of bar length, music and orchestral cue. (Kassing 145) This was explained in a letter written to a friend, N. Nikolayev in 1891, The procedure for creating ballet music is the following. A subject is selected. The libretto is then worked out by the Administration of the Theatre, according to their financial means. The choreographer then works out a detailed project of scenes and dances, and indicates as well, not only the exact rhythm and character of the music but

Haslam 3 even the number of bars. Only then can composer begin writing the music... (Ballet in the Letters of Tchaikovsky) Together, Tchaikovsky, Vsevolozhsky and Petipa began production in 1888. The ballet was completed May 1889, but orchestrations continued through the year and the ballet premiered in 1890 at the Maryinsky Theater. ("Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) Its first dress rehearsal took place in January before the Tsar and his court. Tchaikovsky recounted the day in his journal "Rehearsal of the ballet with the Tsar present." "Very nice!!!" "His majesty treated me very haughtily. God bless him." Although the majority of the court had initial disinterest the production for the public was met with good success. (Ballet in the Letters of Tchaikovsky) Tchaikovsky rated Sleeping Beauty as one of his best ballet compositions, a notion many critics agreed with him upon. "In precisely following Petipa's instructions... Tchaikovsky could forget his neurosis in projecting emotion into the physical movements of the human body. There has never been music that more intimately provokes, as it is provoked by, the dance."(Mellers) Tchaikovsky was invited to watch the dancers rehearse Swan Lake and penned the experience to his brother Modest Tchaikovsky. Yesterday, in the school's theatre studio, the first rehearsal of some pieces from the First Act of that ballet took place. You should have seen how amusing it was to watch the choreographer creating dances to the sound of solo violin and trying to look profound and inspired. Together with this, it was enviable to watch the female and male dancers, arraying smiles for a supposed public and enjoying their aptitude to dance and fly easily while performing, their sacred duty. With my music,

Haslam 4 everyone at the theatre was delighted. (Ballet in the Letters of Tchaikovsky) Tchaikovsky praised Sleeping Beauty, commenting along with choreography and orchestration, with elaborate scenery, and costume designs the production would be unprecedented in its magnificence. Regarded as his personal best work, Tchaikovsky recounted the poetic and perfect musical compositions, carrying him away. (Poznansky) Despite the instrumentation being more difficult and slow progression compared to his earlier work, Sleep Beauty has continued today as a world-renowned stage production, with many stagings true the Petipa-Tchaikovsky original. (The Sleeping Beauty) The Nutcracker, a two-act ballet did not hold immediate success during its premiere, assuming the unusual story was inconsistent with the popular times romantic ballets. But the public praised Tchaikovskys suites. Tchaikovskys Nutcracker score has become one of the most famous compositions in history. (Beddinghaus) Upon the initial invitation to write the score for the Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky was displeased with the subject theme of the ballet. (Beddinghaus) This was reflected in a letter written to Tchaikovsky from Ivan Vsevolozhsky who was the director of the Imperial Theater at the time, "I have experienced agonies of remorse for asking you to do this ballet. I know that it is unappealing to you. You are an exceptionally kind soul for not refusing me." (Poznansky) Not only displeased with the subject matter the ballet was based upon, Tchaikovsky also felt constrained working under the parameters Vsevolozhsky and Petipa gave him. He continued throughout the early development feeling reluctant working on the piece. Believing the ballet would not yield to a successful theatrical production, Tchaikovsky

Haslam 5 agreed to take on the ballet winter 1891. ("Prominent Russians: Marius Petipa.") The ballet was conceived from E.T.A. Hoffmans story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King written by Alexander Dumas, was adapted to fit into the two-act ballet. (Beddinghaus) During the process of adaptation, Petipa once again gave detailed instructions for the composition of each number, meticulously down to the number of bars and tempo. Petipa laid out the framework, in which each variation would take place in each act. (Kassing 145) Vsevolozhsky wrote to Tchaikovsky with notes of rearranging pieces into the first act, against the initial wishes of Petipa, but the selections were rearranged back into the second act to keep the story going. The musical compositions were quite advanced for its time. The music qualities derive from the Romantic Era and late Baroque styles of music. Tchaikovsky worked those styles into his melodies and musical passages. (Moscow Ballet) It is said that Tchaikovsky wagered with a friend who argued he could not compose a piece based on the eight-octave scale. Tchaikovsky asked him if it mattered whether the scale was played in descending or ascending order, to which his friend replied it mattered not. This resulted in the Adagio from the Grand Pas de Duex. (Langston) Tchaikovsky discovered a new instrument while working in Paris, the celesta, a melodic and sweet sounding instrument. He wanted to use it for the character of the sugar plum fairy to help characterize her sweet and melodic demeanor. The instrument not only appears in her dance, but other pieces throughout the second act, adding to light harmonious sounding themes in parallel with the Land of Sweets. The audience was

Haslam 6 enchanted with the new sound. (Langston) The Suite from the ballet The Nutcracker was the most popular segment of the ballet until its resurrection by Balanchine in the mid 1900s. The suite was first performed in 1892 at an assembly for the Musical Society, who received it with praise and admiration. (Langston) The suite performed is not to be confused with the whole ballet, but encompassing the Miniature Overture, March, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Trepak, Arabian, Chinese, Reed-Flute, Waltz of the Flowers. Tchaikovsky made a second suite, less well known, and less frequently played with music from Tableau Act 1, Adagio from the Grand Pas de Duex, Spanish Dance and Final Waltz. ("Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.") Choreography began with Petipa, but after falling ill he passed the job to his assistant Lev Ivanov. When the ballet was finalized and performed to the public in December 1892, Petipa refused to have his name associated with the work, feeling he had not sufficiently contributed to be recognized. Historians today credit both Ivanov and Petipa with the choreography. (Moscow Ballet) After several revisions through the decades, the ballet reclaimed itself in the spotlight in 1954 under the staging of George Balanchine, in New York City. The Nutcracker remains today as the most popular story ballet created. (Moscow Ballet) In early 1875 Vladimir Petrovich Begichev commissioned Tchaikovsky, to compose music for the Bolshoi Theater for a new ballet Swan Lake. Credited as Tchaikovskys first ballet, the progression and adaptations through two decades of work the final Petipa-Tchaikovsky product of Swan Lake did not premiere until 1895. (John) Julius Reisnger, a choreographer for the Bolshoi Ballet, developed the original

Haslam 7 choreography. Reisingers choreography had no sympathy for Tchaikovskys music. He did not give detailed notes for music structure as Petipa did in later ballets, and little is known if Reisnger and Tchaikovsky collaborated extensively together, as required to work on the score. (Langston) In April 1876, the orchestrations were completed and rehearsals began soon after. Reisnger felt some selections would not work with his choreography, and began setting numbers aside that he thought "unsuitable for ballet." Reisnger began choreographing dances to other composers' music, but Tchaikovsky protested, and his compositions were placed back into the ballet. (Langston) The press during the early premieres reacted negatively saying the production and choreography were appalling, calling Reisingers choreography uninspiring. Tchaikovskys music composition was lost in the debacle, and some critics reviewed the music as too complicated and symphonic for ballet. Modest Tchaikovsky, Pyotrs brothers, recounted the premiere, "The poverty of the production, meaning the dcor and costumes, the absence of outstanding performers, the Ballet masters weakness of imagination, and, finally, the orchestra...all of this together permitted (Tchaikovsky) with good reason to cast the blame for the failure on others." ("Royal Opera House - 'Swan Lake') Despite its little success the ballet continued to be performed in segments and pieces all over Europe. Marius Petipa was asked to re-choreograph the pas de duex by a ballerina named Anna Sobeshchanskaya, who disliked Reisnger choreography and the score. Petipa reworked the pas de duex and had Leon Minkus write up new orchestration. Word of the change spiked anger in Tchaikovsky, who wrote a new pas de duex for

Haslam 8 Sobeshchanskaya, based after Minkuss new composition for her. The adaptation was so close; Sobeshchanskaya did not have to rehearse with Tchaikovskys music until the performance. (Langston) The next premiere of Swan Lakes second-act took place 1893 at the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. The ballet was a product of the collaborative effort of Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov and Tchaikovsky. Although the three had talked about revision and a revival of the ballet, Tchaikovsky passed away November 6, 1893 before work could progress to a finished product. ("Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.") Petipa and Ivanovs revision work on the ballet brought it newfound success. In a commencement performance of the second act for the late Tchaikovsky, with choreography by the upcoming Lev Ivanov, was received with praise and enthusiasm. The response was so great Petipa and Ivanov revived the ballet in its four-act entirety. (Green) Petipa worked to revise the choreography of the first act and the later version premiering in 1895. Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov created a whole new production, with Petipa working as lead choreographer and Ivanov working the second and fourth act. The new choreography gave drama and action to the ballet, a new concept for the time. (Langston) With the permission and help of Modest Tchaikovsky, Petipa, and Riccardo Drigo conductor of the theaters orchestra, they worked to streamline the story, cutting and rearranging the score. ("Prominent Russians: Marius Petipa.") There are several differences between Tchaikovskys and Drigos score, many sections were shortened, and rearranged. Such as the deletion on the Andante Sostenuto in the first act and the Grand

Haslam 9 pas de Cygnes (Dances of the Swans) were put into a new order. The final and culminating premiere took place January 1895, and the public received it with positive reaction. (Pytor llyich Tchaikovsky) Swan Lake returned to Moscow in the Bolshoi Theater 1901, under the direction of Alexander Gorsky who stayed loyal to the choreography of Petipa and Ivanov. The PetipaIvanov version of Swan Lake stayed at the Maryinsky until 1933. Swan Lake remains as one of the last Petipa-Ivanov-Tchaikovsky ballets, though it was Tchaikovskys first ballet composition he never saw the final product. The ballet stands today as one of the greatest works of the late 19th century. ("Royal Opera House - 'Swan Lake) As Tchaikovsky was commissioned to create music for each ballet he connected himself emotionally to the music and sought to make ballet music more symphonic and melodious. This modern development of ballet music gave rise to make ballets more dramatic and emotional through the use of themes and complex music. Ballet took on much more action oriented and drama following the development of Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake.

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1.) "Ballet in the Letters of Tchaikovsky." Ballet In Russia. Vladimir Moiseyev, 5 May 1998. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.aha.ru/~vladmo/d_txt17.html>. 2.) Beddinghaus, Treva. "History of The Nutcracker Ballet." About: Dance. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://dance.about.com/od/famousballets/a/Nutcracker.htm>. 3.) Green, Aaron. "A Profile of Swan Lake." Classical Music. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/historyofballet/a/swanlakeproa.htm>. 4.) John, Warrack. "Loom - Tchaikovsky's Ballet." The Swan Lake. Trans. Olga Gerdt. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.salikon.dk/loom_tchaikovsky_swan_lake.html>.

Haslam 11 5.) Kassing, Gale. A History of Dance. 1. United States: 2007. 126-150. Print. 6.) Langston, Brett. "Tchaikovsky Research." Tchaikovsky Research. 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.tchaikovsky-research.org/en/index.html>. 7.) Poznansky, Alexander. Tchaikovsky Through Others Eyes. Bloomington Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1990. Print. 8.) "Prominent Russians: Marius Petipa." Marius Petipa Russiapedia Opera and Ballet Prominent Russians. TV-Novosti, 2005. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. "Swan Lake (suite)." <http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/ballet/marius-petipa/>. 9.) "Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Feb. 2012. Web. 01 Tchaikovsky. 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. Apr. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky>. <http://www.classiccat.net/tchaikovsky_pi/20a.info.php>. 10.) Moscow Ballet." History of Nutcracker. 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.nutcracker.com/about-mb/history-of-nutcracker>. 11.) "Repertory Index - New York City Ballet." Repertaory Index: The Sleeping Beauty. New York City Ballet, 1998. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.nycballet.com/company/rep.html?rep=168> 12.) "Royal Opera House - 'Swan Lake' : From Planning To Performance - The History of 'Swan Lake'" Royal Opera House. 2003. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. 13.) "The Sleeping Beauty." The Ballet Bag. 22 Oct. 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.theballetbag.com/2011/10/22/the-sleeping-beauty/>.

Haslam 12 14.) Wildrif Mellers, Man and His Music. Romanticism and the Twentieth Century. Volume 4. Barrie and Jenkins Publishing. 1969.