Dominique Pagani cites Tchaikovsky among the Russians who belong to Europe1, and he takes up the argument again in the context of the war, mentioning the censorship imposed on Russian authors2. He listens closely to the andantino of the Piano Concerto No. 1: a paradisiacal happiness, without ambivalence or any deathly side, with the freshness of early childhood and strings like a choir of angels3. He notes that connoisseurs despise Tchaikovsky for his sentimentality, his concessions to the West or his libidinal charge, and argues that what he is reproached for is precisely what is admirable in him4. He sums it up this way: loved by the layman, despised by the half-connoisseur, adored by the great connoisseur5. He also notes that Tchaikovsky does not shrink from bad taste, but that his successes are extraordinary. Through The Nutcracker, he sees in him a genius for music that speaks to childhood6. Finally, he cites the pizzicato scherzo of the Symphony No. 4 to explain what a scherzo is, and the 1812 Overture as a "music of history" in the picturesque sense.
Summary produced automatically from 22 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.
Who is this?
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( chy-KOF-skee; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire, including the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, the Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, the opera Eugene Onegin, and the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. […]
0:00Piano Concerto No. 1Announces the listening of the central movement of this three-movement concerto.
9:49The NutcrackerA musician who does not shy away from bad taste, but whose achievements are unheard-of; popular, he has the genius for music that appeals to childhood.
11:35Loved by the layman, despised by the half-connoisseur, adored by the great connoisseur.
13:28Piano Concerto No. 1The central slow movement of the concerto is offered for listening as an awakening after a happy sleep.
4:43Piano Concerto No. 1The andantino expresses a paradisiacal happiness, without ambivalence or a deathly side, with nothing transgressive but that has not aged a day.
9:19Despised by connoisseurs for its sentimentality and its concessions to the West; what is held against it is precisely what makes it admirable.
21:10Piano Concerto No. 1Replaying of the andantino to illustrate the word happiness: the freshness of early ages, strings like a choir of angels.
2:44Symphony No. 4The scherzo of one of his symphonies, entirely in pizzicato, helps one understand what a scherzo is; a dexterity runs through the whole orchestra.
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Series · 15 Jun 2022TCHAIKOVSKY - FROM THE STEPPES TO THE MIDWEST • Pagani Parle Musique
