A few weeks ago, at the Murcia Auditorium, we listened to the first of Tchaikovsky’s six symphonies. The composition is not programmed with the same frequency as the last three of his symphonic corpus, but it does contain the intentions that the brilliant musician has developed throughout his career.
Tchaikovsky called this large orchestral project the term “Winter Dreams”. In 1866, the young and promising professor of the newly opened Moscow Conservatory began composing with nods to Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn, with beautiful melodies inspired by Russian folklore and the special orchestration typical of Tchaikovsky’s characteristic sound.
The composer knew what he was looking for from the start and the fierce criticism he received from his closest colleagues at the conservatory only served to correct some aspects of the work without changing its essence. So although the First Symphony premiered in Moscow on February 3, 1868, the version we hear today is the result of a series of changes made eight years later by the musician himself.
When the listener listens from his seat to the first bars of the first movement entitled «Dreams during a winter journey», he perceives all the beauty of the melody drawn by the bassoon and the flute. In a conversation we had with Olga Tinibaeva, violinist of the Murcia Symphony Orchestra, in Unexpected Music, she warned us about the importance of interpreting Russian melodies without crossing the line she has drawn. These are wide, like our landscapes or our lakes, Olga told us. In fact, the listener of the first part of “Sueños de Invierno” must feel how the orchestra takes them on a sleigh ride through these vast snowy landscapes thanks to the magic that emanates from each of the music stands.
Musically, this first movement is more like a symphonic poem than the traditional sonata structure we are used to hearing in a symphony. There follows a beautiful second movement Adagio cantabile ma non tanto that Tchaikovsky baptized as “Gloomy land, misty region” that we can consider as a monothematic fragment due to the presence of the nostalgic melody with Russian undertones that the oboe starts after an introduction of muted strings . . This adagio is a prelude to what will be Tchaikovsky’s music in the future and is considered one of the composer’s most inspired movements.
The First Symphony in G minor opus 13 by the Russian composer consists of two more movements. The Scherzo is a faster movement based on the First Piano Sonata from 1865 with a slow waltz in the middle. The symphony closes with a movement introduced by a fragment of the Russian song entitled “You will plant, young man”, followed by other faster themes in which the musician shows off his mastery of counterpoint and great endings.
In conclusion, the importance of «Winter Dreams» lies in the music, apart from the evocative titles, since it was Tchaikovsky’s calling card presenting himself as the symphonic composer who united the West with the East through the beautiful and elaborate melodies that best define the Russian soul.
Source: La Verdad
I am David Jackson, a highly experienced professional in the news industry. I have been working as an author at Today Times Live for over 10 years, and specialize in covering the entertainment section. My expertise lies in writing engaging stories that capture readers’ attention and deliver timely information about the latest developments.
