In 1893 Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky finished his last symphony.
Many have called it his best.
For me, I was entranced the first time I heard this, from the mournful and passionate first movement to the final fading of the last, it captured my thoughts and feelings and I felt taken away into Tchaikovsky's world of difficulties and beauties. Though I always liked classical music, I never ventured past what most know, Beethoven and Vivaldi, and those likes. Of course, Tchaikovsky is an extremely well known composer, and many are actually quite familiar with his works (such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker) and yet if many today heard his 6th they would not be able to pin it to him, if anyone. Why is that?
I think it is because it is a true classical piece, one where the composition must have the full attention of the listener. Casual listening does not bring appreciation for the complexities and the struggles and resolutions it brings. Tchaikovsky was a very troubled soul who endured many trials through out his life, and many times he said that if anyone wanted to get to know him and his life, they would be best off by listening to his 6th.
The first time the beautiful melodies touched me was in the small, humble home of a wonderful and aged member in Deming, New Mexico. It was here that I was first shown the intricacies and the depth of his work, and was in awe by the powerful timing he has perfected. I cannot pretend to know the jargon and the depth of his musical understanding, but I do know and understand the feelings that I get when I study his fantastic work.
In order to truly give this piece the justice it demands, a proper conductor and orchestra is needed. I have heard many different interpretations from many different conductors, and have constantly been disappointed with only two exceptions, both, naturally being Russian conductors, Evgeny Mravinsky and Valery Gergiev. The latter, Gergiev, is widely considered to be the spiritual successor to Tchaikovsky himself because his conducting style perfectly mimics Tchaikovsky's. Gergiev is also the student of Mravinsky, who comes from the direct line of pupils dating back to Tchaikovsky. Both of these conductors, conducting the Mravinsky (formerly known as the Leningrad) Symphony Orchestra, give the piece the beautiful and properly timed cadence that it deserves.
Tchaikovsky's life piece is divided into four movements, and all are stunning. The first, and the longest movement, starts with a slow rise of deep strings and enters into a more steady, nearly frantic pace. There is an urgency in the beginning, though it feels nearly underrated. What really gets to me, though, is the melodies that start right after that. It is a romantic, sweepingly dramatic string melody that soars across the score, painting the joy and love that we feel at wonderful times during our lives. Tchaikovsky was always wonderful with melodies, and many modern soundtracks, popular songs, and other music have taken inspiration from them. This, however, made compositions harder to progress, as the melodies where independent, which meant that besides repetition, there wasn't much that could be done with them. However, in this day and age of increasingly quicker satisfactions and repetitious music, this allows Tchaikovsky's work to be more easily listened to by younger audiences.
Words can only take one so far on describing the emotional journey that music creates for us, so pardon my inability to be able to recreate the experience for you, but also understand that this is much like trying to describe the new musical phenomenon known as Dub-step. It is pretty difficult, if not completely impossible, to be able to effectively conjure up the feelings that the penetrating synthesized bass seems to pound you into the earth, and such is the exact same with the delicate intricacies of an orchestrated romantic era composition.
Like all of my recent posts, this is an emphasis on his trials as well as victories. Tchaikovsky was able to take the bad, mix it with the good, and create one of the most beautiful musical experiences I have ever heard. We can take the bad in our life, and make it into something beautiful. Without pain, peace and joy don't have the same meaning that make them so special. We just need to make it so. Pain will never leave us in this mortal life, but we can turn it into something beautiful. Overcoming our trials is making something negative become positive.
The first time the beautiful melodies touched me was in the small, humble home of a wonderful and aged member in Deming, New Mexico. It was here that I was first shown the intricacies and the depth of his work, and was in awe by the powerful timing he has perfected. I cannot pretend to know the jargon and the depth of his musical understanding, but I do know and understand the feelings that I get when I study his fantastic work.
In order to truly give this piece the justice it demands, a proper conductor and orchestra is needed. I have heard many different interpretations from many different conductors, and have constantly been disappointed with only two exceptions, both, naturally being Russian conductors, Evgeny Mravinsky and Valery Gergiev. The latter, Gergiev, is widely considered to be the spiritual successor to Tchaikovsky himself because his conducting style perfectly mimics Tchaikovsky's. Gergiev is also the student of Mravinsky, who comes from the direct line of pupils dating back to Tchaikovsky. Both of these conductors, conducting the Mravinsky (formerly known as the Leningrad) Symphony Orchestra, give the piece the beautiful and properly timed cadence that it deserves.
Tchaikovsky's life piece is divided into four movements, and all are stunning. The first, and the longest movement, starts with a slow rise of deep strings and enters into a more steady, nearly frantic pace. There is an urgency in the beginning, though it feels nearly underrated. What really gets to me, though, is the melodies that start right after that. It is a romantic, sweepingly dramatic string melody that soars across the score, painting the joy and love that we feel at wonderful times during our lives. Tchaikovsky was always wonderful with melodies, and many modern soundtracks, popular songs, and other music have taken inspiration from them. This, however, made compositions harder to progress, as the melodies where independent, which meant that besides repetition, there wasn't much that could be done with them. However, in this day and age of increasingly quicker satisfactions and repetitious music, this allows Tchaikovsky's work to be more easily listened to by younger audiences.
Words can only take one so far on describing the emotional journey that music creates for us, so pardon my inability to be able to recreate the experience for you, but also understand that this is much like trying to describe the new musical phenomenon known as Dub-step. It is pretty difficult, if not completely impossible, to be able to effectively conjure up the feelings that the penetrating synthesized bass seems to pound you into the earth, and such is the exact same with the delicate intricacies of an orchestrated romantic era composition.
Like all of my recent posts, this is an emphasis on his trials as well as victories. Tchaikovsky was able to take the bad, mix it with the good, and create one of the most beautiful musical experiences I have ever heard. We can take the bad in our life, and make it into something beautiful. Without pain, peace and joy don't have the same meaning that make them so special. We just need to make it so. Pain will never leave us in this mortal life, but we can turn it into something beautiful. Overcoming our trials is making something negative become positive.
