Upcoming Rehearsals for Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 2 & Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1

After a lovely Christmas and New Year break we are very excited to begin rehearsing these two wonderful pieces next week!

Tchaikovsky’s second symphony is his shortest, lasting only 35 minutes and is the re-write of his original version which he decided he wasn’t at all happy with. It was composed in 1872 and was a huge hit right from its first performance.  The work is also known as ‘The Little Russian’, which is a nickname given to it by a music critic of the time, and refers not to a person, but to the country of Ukraine. Part of what makes it so popular is Tchaikovsky’s use of authentic Ukrainian folk tunes for some of its themes. He purloined these tunes after hearing peasants sing them while he was on holiday at the family home in Kamenka.  In the 19^th century Ukraine was frequently referred to as ‘Little Russia’, which didn’t go down well with the Ukrainians, their relations with Russia being as much a source of friction then as they are today. . .

And here’s a bit of unrelated 19^th century celeb gossip – while composing his opera Eugene Onegin, student and fangirl Antonina Milioukov wrote to the composer and declared her undying love and passion for him. Although flattered, Tchaikovsky initially demurred, but a month later they were married – only to separate permanently 6 weeks after that. (Having dug a bit deeper into this story, there is much more to tell, but I’ll bring you that in a later post . . .) 

In 1882–83 Richard Strauss wrote his Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. It’s really popular and has become the most frequently performed horn concerto written in the 19th century. The concerto is one of the most demanding solo works for the horn, using the highest and lowest notes in the instrument’s register, often in quick succession.

Richards Dad, Franz, had been the principal hornist of the Munich Court Orchestra and was recognized as Germany’s leading virtuoso, so it was natural for his gifted composer son to spotlight the instrument. Franz Strauss was still an active performer when Richard composed this first concerto, and he actually wrote the piece intending for his father to star in the premiere. However, the music was almost unplayably difficult. Franz gave it his best shot and tried really hard to master the challenging manuscript but was really nervous about hitting the many high notes in public, so he ‘allowed the honour’ of the premiere to be passed on to another hornist. I can’t help thinking that it would have been a nice gesture if Strauss could have made it a bit easier for his father . . .

Interesting fact – Strauss also composed Also Sprach Zarathustra. Its sunrise theme became hugely popular after its use in the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.