Composer Of The Week

This week Donald Macleod reflects on five aspects of Tchaikovsky. The rich vein of fairy tale and fantasy, his love of literature and his long-standing love-affair with Italy. Also, the composer’s relationship with the man he called ‘Modya’, his beloved younger brother, Modest. In 19th-century Russia, music was a key strand in national identity. Tchaikovsky’s ancestral Russian roots were a matter of great pride to him, but just how Russian a composer was he?Music featured: The Nutcracker, Op 71 (Act 1 Scene 2, March of the Toy Soldiers) The Snow Maiden, Op 12 (No 2, Dance and Chorus of the Birds) Swan Lake, Op 20 (Act 2 No 13e, Danse des cygnes: Pas d'action (Odette et le prince)) The Slippers (Act 1 scene 2, extract – Oksana’s aria) The Sleeping Beauty, Op 66 (Act 1 No 5 (‘The Palace Garden’), No 6 (‘Valse’)) The Nutcracker, Op 71 (Act 2 No 12, Divertissement) 12 Romances, Op 60 (No 5, ‘Simple Words’) Manfred Symphony, Op 58 (2nd mvt, Vivace con spirito) Eugene Onegin, Op 24 (Act 1 scene 2) Hamlet, overture