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The Voyevoda Analysis

Decent Essays

What piece would you describe to be Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece? First off, his first musical masterpiece is Romeo and Juliet. Luckily enough, the text in chapter six flourishes with substantial information about the overture and its structure. After finishing Undine, Tchaikovsky wanted to do another orchestral piece, and after having a walk with one of his friends, he decided to do a fantasy overture of Romeo and Juliet. Tchaikovsky structured this piece using sonata form. This is unusual, since the text says, “It may seem odd that a composer, when turning a stage play into a musical organism, should cast in in a form where musical events are unlikely to have any parallel to the plot of the play.” (page 51) The piece follows the emotions and the outcomes of the play so precisely that it is inseparable to Romeo and Juliet to this day. Many parts of the piece can be heard to this day as a general theme of love. That is how masterfully crafted Romeo and Juliet is. This combination of unusuality and creative and memorable melodies makes his fantasy overture of Romeo and Juliet his masterpiece. How would you improve the creation and composition of The Voyevoda? After listening to the intro of The Voyevoda, I can see why Tchaikovsky despised this work so much he, “...destroyed the score forever. It would only be reconstructed after his death.” The first Act is very awkward, redundant, and bland. The strings buzzing like bees and like lawn mowers back and forth in between a

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