Overture Magazine - 2014-2015 September-October 2014 | Page 32

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30 O v ertur e |

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{ program notes
Concerto after Tchaikovsky played it
through for him. Saying that the work
was vulgar and unplayable, Rubinstein,
in Tchaikovsky’s words, claimed “only
two or three pages were worth preserving — the rest must be thrown out or
completely rewritten.” Tchaikovsky
defiantly opposed this verdict and published the Concerto without changes.
But he clearly felt a need to prove
himself to Rubinstein: to show him in
subsequent works that he was a master
of all the technical composing skills.
And, in the opinion of Tchaikovsky
scholar David Brown, that compulsion
led to a long, over-constructed development section in the Third Symphony’s
opening movement and a pretentious
fugue in its finale.
First Movement: Although this
Symphony is in the key of D Major, it
opens in D minor with a rather solemn
slow introduction, marked “in the
tempo of a funeral march.” Grounded
by low strings continually tolling a low
A, this dark music, emphasizing deep
string sonorities, horns and woodwinds, is, nevertheless, lightened by
Tchaikovsky’s subtle use of pizzicato
in the strings. The tempo gradually
accelerates and anticipation relentlessly builds until the main Allegro
brillante tempo is reached and the full
orchestra proclaims a very grand, very
Slavic principal theme in D Major.
This theme, with lighter developmental
music in between, is presented twice
before the solo oboe sings the minormode second theme: a tender, bittersweet
melody that is pure Tchaikovsky and
urged on by a dashing accompaniment. Tchaikovsky the great melodist,
however, is not finished yet, and after
a sparkling orchestral buildup, he
uncorks yet a third theme: a romping,
infectious Russian dance wrapped in
swirling scales.
The hyperactive development section
quickly takes over, with the composer
working over components of his
principal theme a little too diligently
and academically. The recapitulation
of the grand Slavic melody leads to a
heavier treatment of the three themes

and a bombastic conclusion in which
Tchaikovsky overplays his hand.
However, the composer recovers
his form with the enchanting secondmovement dance “Alla tedesca” (“in
German style”). In B-flat Major, this
is an especially subtle version of his
celebrated balletic waltzes, with a lovely,
rhythmically flexible melody played by
flutes and clarinets over a delicate
pizzicato string accompaniment.
In D minor, the Andante elegiaco third
movement is the Symphony’s emotional
heart. Its opening has the atmosphere
of an enchanted nocturnal garden: two
flutes sing haunting birdsong over other
woodwinds and hushed plucked strings.
Solo bassoon and solo horn contribute a
delicately winding idea. After this scenesetting music, the violins and flutes sing
the ravishing, romantic main theme,
which spins out beautifully for many
minutes —Tchaikovsky the inspired
melodist in top form.
Nearly equally inspired is the fourthmovement Scherzo in B minor: an
impish, prismatically colored whirlwind
for the orchestra, with scales shooting
from instrument to instrument like little
bursts of fireworks while the horns carry
slower melodies suggesting supernatural
plots afoot.
Unfortunately, the finale — the
Symphony got its nickname from its
“tempo di Polacca” marking — is by far
the weakest movement. The proud Slavic
dance theme returning over and over in
this rondo form has its merits. But Tchaikovsky develops it later into a rather
tedious fugue, and the Symphony’s final
moments are an over-the-top miscalculation. However, its wonderfully
conceived middle movements — worthy
of the composer’s great next work, Swan
Lake — make the Third Symphony a
piece no confirmed Tchaikovsky lover
should miss.
Instrumentation: Two flutes, picccolo, two
oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns,
two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani
and strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright ©2014