Page 26 - Phil 25-26 opening night DIGITAL program book

Program Notes

to London and almost annual visits to Ukraine, Germany, and Italy)
and taught himself English so he could read David Copperfield. In 1866,
he was invited to become one of the first faculty members at the new
Moscow Conservatory and produced a series of incredible masterworks
(including more than a dozen concertos, concertante pieces, and
symphonies) while struggling against financial difficulties, self-doubt,
and depression (“Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the
lazy.”).

In 1870, Tchaikovsky’s sister Aleksandra married Lev Davidov and
moved to the family estate near Kamenka, Kyïv. Their home became a
sanctuary and source of inspiration for the composer. He incorporated
three songs he learned during this period into his second symphony:
“Down by Mother Volga / Вниз по матушке по Волге” begins the first
movement (later quoted in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture/
Светлый праздник). The folk song “Spin, My Spinner / Пряди, моя пряха”
forms the heart of the second movement, and “The Crane / Журавель”
develops into a series of flashy variations in the finale.
By 1876, some stability finally arrived in the form of a generous annual
stipend, more freedom to travel, and an intimate correspondence with
the widow of a railway tycoon. Upon her husband’s death, Baroness
Madame [Nadezhda] von Meck had become an important supporter of
the early Moscow Conservatory. She served as Tchaikovsky’s confidant
(through hundreds of letters), patron, and host; she even allowed
Tchaikovsky to compose at her summer estate while she toured Europe,
enabling him to extensively revise his second symphony during the
summers of 1879 and 1880).
This contrasted with the composer’s “real” life, an emotional roller
coaster involving an ill-conceived marriage to a former St. Petersburg
Conservatory student (Antonina Milyukova), suicide attempts, and
Mme. Von Meck’s eventual severing of all support (she ran out of money
in 1890). The last four years of Tchaikovsky’s life were both his most
turbulent and his most professionally successful. To read more about his
fascinating life and music, consult the recent biographies by Roland John
Wiley and Simon Morrison.

— Notes by Helios Hong & Laura Prichard

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