|
|
 |
    
THE INVISIBLE MUSE: TCHAIKOVSKY AND MRS. VON MECK
(continued)
The response of Tchaikovsky's friends and colleagues was, however, contradictory. Nikolay Rubinstein, for instance, liked the finale, while Sergey Taneyev wrote of it to the author with candid skepticism. It was not until its triumphal performance in St. Petersburg on November 25, 18781, under the direction of Eduard Napravnik, that the Fourth Symphony was recognized as a masterpiece.
Exceptional in its mature complexity, the Fourth Symphony testifies to Tchaikovsky's steady progress toward the peak of his powers. That very complexity, however, makes it difficult to tie the work too directly to the painful experiences Tchaikovsky had recently undergone. In its chief characteristics, the symphony had been conceived and developed before the matrimonial disaster, though it was orchestrated and modified in its aftermath. Still, Tchaikovsky clearly considered the work a seminal achievement, embodying his emotional and creative anguish of the previous autumn and winter.
Replying to Mrs. von Meck's letter on February 17, 1878, Tchaikovsky admitted: "I was severely depressed last winter, when this symphony was being written, and it serves as a faithful echo of what I was then experiencing. But it is precisely an 'echo.' How to translate it into clear and definite sequences of words? -- I cannot, I do not know." [Read an English translation of the letter in its entirety.]
In the same letter, he attempts nonetheless to formulate the symphony's program, postulating as its principal theme the implacability of fate -- "which impedes the impulse towards the happiness of reaching one's goal, which jealously ensures that prosperity and peace never be complete and cloudless, which hangs overhead like the sword of Damocles and steadily and continually poisons the soul. It is invincible, and you will never overpower it." Yet with respect to the fourth movement, he notes: "If you can't find reasons for joy within yourself, look at others. Go among the common people. See how they are able to make merry, to give themselves up entirely to joyous feelings. ... Joys there are, simple but powerful. Delight in the merriment of others. Life is still possible."
In this last sentence Tchaikovsky summarizes the psychological and creative lesson derived from this most difficult period of his life. The "best friend" responded most enthusiastically: "How delighted I was to read your description of 'our' symphony, my dear, priceless Pyotr Ilyich," she wrote on February 27. "How happy am I to have found in you the perfect corroboration of my ideal of a composer!" By taking his personal anguish, the pain and baseness of the world, and transforming it into something sublime, Tchaikovsky had indeed fulfilled the Romantic image of the artist she held so dear.
1 All dates in this essay are based on the Julian calendar, which remained in effect in Russia until 1918 and in the 19th century lagged 12 days behind the western Gregorian calendar.
Top banner photos: Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik; conductor Michael Tilson Thomas; composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. |
|
 |
 |
The San Francisco Symphony was established in 1911 and gave its first concert in December of that year. |
 |
 |
|
TCHAIKOVSKY NO. 4 IN PERFORMANCE marks the orchestra's second appearance on the series under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas. |
|
 |
|
The DVD, which contains both programs, is available at Shop Thirteen. |
|
 |
