Chapter 59

Music and Ballet in 19th-Century

Russia: Mussorgsky and

Tchaikovsky

Russian Music in the mid-19th Century

• Russian musical culture until mid-19th century was dominated by foreigners.

• Native-born Russians begin to assert their genius and originality for music in the latter part of the century.

• In the capital of St. Petersburg a group of composers known as the kuchka (handful) or “The Five,” was led by Mily Balakirev.

• This group favored a nationalistic approach in their works often achieved by:– quoting Slavic folk songs in their compositions– freedom from traditional European styles.

The kuchka/“The Five”

1. Mily Balakirev (1837-1910)2. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)3. César Cui (1835-1918)

4. Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)

5. Modest Mussorsky (1839-1881)

• All were musical amateurs lacking any formal musical training (which Balakirev thought unnecessary).

• Their background made them all the more open to experimenting musically in order to create new musical resources.

• All wanted a distinctive Russian profile in their music.

The Life of Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881)

• 1839 - born in Karevo south of St. Petersburg (near present day Estonia)

• 1852 - enters military school in St. Petersburg, no formal musical training

• 1857 - lessons from Mily Balakirev

• 1869 - completes first version of opera Boris Godunov

• 1874 - Boris staged at the Mariinsky Theater in a revised version

• 1881 - dies in St. Petersburg

Principal Compositions by Modest Mussorgsky

• Operas: including– Boris Godunov– The Marriage– Khovanshchina (incomplete)

• Orchestra: include Night on Bald Mountain

• Piano: works include the suite Pictures at an Exhibition

• Songs: include the cycles – The Nursery– Sunless– Songs and Dances of Death

Modest Mussorgsky, “Within Four Walls” from Sunless, 1874

Through-composed form

Life of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

• 1840 - born in a town in the Ural Mountains in central Russia; grows up in St. Petersburg

• 1865 - graduates from Conservatory in St. Petersburg

• 1866 - appointed to faculty at the Conservatory in Moscow

• 1870s - travels in Europe and lives in various Russian cities

• 1885 - settles in Moscow

• 1892 - completes Symphony No. 6 and The Nutcracker

• 1893 - dies in St. Petersburg from cholera

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Characteristics of Tchaikovsky’s Music

• Tchaikovsky was sympathetic to the efforts of the nationalistic kuchka group, though was more strongly connected to developments in the European music of his day.

• Was the first major 19-century composer to write important works for ballet.

• His music is:- memorably tuneful- repetitive- skilled in orchestration- avoids the harmonic experiments of many

of his contemporaries (more traditionalist in this

area)

Principal Compositions by Tchaikovsky

• Orchestra: symphonies (6), tone poems, suites; concertos (2 piano and 1 violin)

• Operas:– Eugene Onegin– Queen of Spades

• Ballets:– Sleeping Beauty– Swan Lake– The Nutcracker

• Chamber music: string quartets (3), sextet (Souvenir de Florence)

• Songs: about 100 including folk song arrangements

• Chorus: cantatas, church music

• Piano: character pieces

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, 1892, Act 1, scene 8 (At

the Christmas Tree)

Rounded Binary form