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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

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character of the music but 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

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my music, 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 time’s romantic

ballets. But the public praised Tchaikovsky’s suites. Tchaikovsky’s 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

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working on the piece. Believing the ballet would not yield to a successful theatrical

production, Tchaikovsky agreed to take on the ballet winter 1891. ("Prominent Russians:

Marius Petipa.")

The ballet was conceived from E.T.A. Hoffman’s 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

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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

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 1900’s. 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”)

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In early 1875 Vladimir Petrovich Begichev commissioned Tchaikovsky, to

compose music for the Bolshoi Theater for a new ballet “Swan Lake”. Credited as

Tchaikovsky’s 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

choreography. Reisinger’s choreography had no sympathy for Tchaikovsky’s 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 Reisinger’s choreography uninspiring.

Tchaikovsky’s music composition was lost in the debacle, and some critics reviewed the

music as too complicated and symphonic for ballet. Modest Tchaikovsky, Pyotr’s

brothers, recounted the premiere, "The poverty of the production, meaning the décor and

costumes, the absence of outstanding performers, the Ballet master’s weakness of

imagination, and, finally, the orchestra...all of this together permitted (Tchaikovsky) with

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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 Sobeshchanskaya, based after Minkus’s new composition for her. The

adaptation was so close; Sobeshchanskaya did not have to rehearse with Tchaikovsky’s

music until the performance. (Langston)

The next premiere of Swan Lake’s 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 Ivanov’s 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

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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 theater’s orchestra, they worked to streamline the story, cutting and

rearranging the score. ("Prominent Russians: Marius Petipa.") There are several

differences between Tchaikovsky’s and Drigo’s score, many sections were shortened, and

rearranged. Such as the deletion on the Andante Sostenuto in the first act and the Grand

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

Petipa-Ivanov 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

Tchaikovsky’s 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

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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>.

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>.

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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/>.

14.) Wildrif Mellers, Man and His Music. Romanticism and the Twentieth Century.

Volume 4. Barrie and Jenkins Publishing. 1969.

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