Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich

Tchaikovsky
By Emily Munns

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Born May 7, 1840
Died November 6, 1893
Composer during the Romantic
Era

Family and Childhood

Parents Ilya Tchaikovsky and
Alexandra Assier
Six siblings
Interest in music early in life
Attended boarding school
Mothers death

Early Adulthood
Made his first attempt at music
composition
Graduated school at 19
Took a job as a civil servant
Russian Music Society

Works
Studied under Anton Rubinstein
Moved to Moscow to teach
Wrote his first symphony and first
opera
Perfectionist
Composed over 150 pieces
Composed large variety

The Nutcracker Ballet

Overture
Dance of the Sugar
Plum Fairy
Waltz of the Flowers

Listening Guide

The Nutcracker Ballet: Overture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRXIDEpquCg
0:01 Strings play duple meter theme 1
0:08 Violins play quickly in background like bees buzzing
0:17 Flutes join in playing a quick conjunct tune
0:21 Clarinet takes over and repeats the same melody the flutes just finished
playing
0:25 Strings join in and take turns repeating descending scales while
crescendoing and building to forte
0:33 Drops to mezzo-piano with the flutes playing the original melody
0:42 Oboe enters holding a long note while strings play a repeating disjunct
measure
0:47 Violins begin playing 2 with flutes and other strings playing piano staccato
in the background

The Nutcracker Ballet: Overture continued

1:00 flutes join i and violins repeat theme 2 with the other strings continue
playing staccato in the back
1:11 Continue ascending theme while moving a step up the scale each time
1:16 Strings pick up playing allegro and crescendoing with the flutes playing
short notes in the background in an arch contour
1:25 Flutes play 3 short notes ascending and then hold one note longer and
then play one short note back down the scale and repeat this pattern 2 times
1:30 Strings and flutes play trill between 2 notes
1:41 Begins repeat theme 1 with violins and flutes, except this time there is a
variation with a triangle
1:56 Flutes join in playing a quick conjunct tune
2:03 Clarinet takes over and repeats the same melody the flutes just finished
playing
2:06 Strings join in and take turns with flutes repeating descending scales
while crescendoing and building to forte

The Nutcracker Ballet: Overture continued

2:16 Flutes and triangle repeat theme 1 again with strings playing piano behind
2:24 Flutes build playing ascending notes
2:26 Oboe holds long note and then goes down a step and holds that note
2:30 Strings repeat theme 2
2:43 Piccolo enters playing a much higher pitch
2:46 Continue ascending theme while moving a step up the scale each time
3:00 Strings pick up playing allegro and crescendoing with the flutes playing
short notes in the background in an arch contour
3:17 French horn plays repeating measures
3:19-3:30 Ends with a heavy accent from the triangle with the rest playing a
conjunct repetitive ending

The Nutcracker Ballet: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rapf3g_XvCc
0:01 Strings playing pizzicato in duple meter
0:11 Harpsichord enters playing theme 1 which is a conjunct melody in an arch
contour
0:17 Clarinet enters playing a descending scale
0:20 Harpsichord continue playing theme 1
0:27 Clarinet repeats same descending scale
0:29 Harpsichord repeats theme 1 again
0:35 Clarinet repeats the descending scale except this time in a higher pitch
0:38 Flutes hold long notes in the background while clarinet keeps playing
descending scales
0:44 Strings join in and the music crescendoes
0:50 Clarinet plays 2 notes and then repeats those 2 notes again while the
french horns are playing piano in the background
0:54 Harpsichord joins back in

The Nutcracker Ballet: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Cont.

0:59 repeat theme 1 except with a variation with clarinet and french horns with
strings playing in the background
1:01 strings join in with a heavy accent on the first beat and holding while the
Harpsichord plays the next 3 beats in the measure
1:03 strings repeat heavy accent on the first while the Harpsichord plays the
remaining 3 they crescendo and repeat the pattern while speeding up
1:10 Harpsichord continues playing and the others drop out quickly
1:18 Flutes play the same descending scale like the clarinet did before
1:20 Harpsichord repeats theme 1
1:26 clarinet repeats descending scale
1:28 Harpsichord repeats the original melody again
1:36 Clarinet repeats descending scale
1:45 Oboe plays a higher pitch
1:56 Full orchestra joins in with the Harpsichord play allegro and slowly build
2:21 Music just cuts off to silence

The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fM92VfMevU
0:08 Begins with a piano arch contour in triple time
0:22 Harp plays a solo for the next 30 seconds or so in an arch that
crescendos and the diminuendos with the arch and slows down to adagio
0:52 strings enter playing an allegro tune
0:56 French horns enter playing in an arch repeating it a second time with a
slightly different variation
1:02 Clarinets play an allegro phrase with a trill at the end
1:10 French horns enter again repeating theme 1
1:16 Clarinets repeat the same phrase they just played but speed up at the
end
1:20- 1:52 All strings enter playing theme 2 which is an ascending contour that
ends with a trill from clarinets and woodwinds

The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers Continued

1:57 French horns enter again repeating theme 1 with the flutes joining in at
the end playing very quickly up the scale and back
2:03 Clarinets play arch
2:12 French horns enter again repeating theme 1 with the flutes joining in at
the end playing very quickly up the scale and back
2:19 Clarinets repeat the arch but build and crescendo to forte while doing
trills
2:24- 2:54 Strings enter and clarinet drops off and they play repeat theme 2
with the clarinets and flutes trill at the end of each phrase
2:57 Flutes and oboe repeat ascending phrase with string playing allegro in
the background
3:13 same pattern continues except the triangle enters accenting every third
beat
3:26 Strings pick up with violins taking over playing a bridge, playing off beat
and in a minor mode

The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers Continued

3:58 Changes back to major and triangle enters again playing on every third
beat
4:11 Temp picks up and triangle plays on every other beat
4:13 Brass enters with the french horn being the most noticeable
4:19 Clarinet and strings return to the main waltz melody or theme 1 and
repeat the same pattern they played in the beginning
4:53 Full orchestra repeats theme 2
5:10 Trumpets play forte
5:13 Drops to mezzo-piano with strings and the triangle playing every third
beat again
5:27 Crescendos and full orchestra plays with trumpets carrying theme 1
again
6:01 Full orchestra plays a very disjunct ending jumping all over the scale
building and getting louder around almost as if the music is spinning
6:14 Slows down and accents each end note and then cuts off

Works Cited
Biography.com Editors. "Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Biography."
The Biography.com Website. A&E Networks Television. Web. 5
Nov. 2015.
Poznansky, Alexander. "Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Russian
Composer." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia
Britannica, 30 Apr. 2015. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.
"Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation.
Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
"Tchaikovsky Research." Tchaikovsky Research. Web. 8 Nov.
2015.