Norfolk Symphony Orchestra

Tchaikovsky composed Romeo and Juliet in 1870 at the suggestion of his mentor Balakirev. The elder composer was very critical of Tchaikovsky’s earlier overture Fatum which had been dedicated to him, and he exhorted Tchaikovsky to write something on the theme of Romeo and Juliet. Tchaikovsky resisted but Balakirev persisted, even suggesting a thematic and tonal plan for the music, using his own overture King Lear as a model. This, of course, was good advice to Tchaikovsky, a composer who needed a tight framework within which to produce his best music. After an unsuccessful performance of the first version of Romeo and Juliet, the work was twice revised: finally in 1880, after the addition of the funeral music at the end, the work was given the title Overture Fantasia. The first performance of this version took place in Tbilisi in 1886, conducted by the composer Ippolitov-Ivanov. Tchaikovsky does not try to tell Shakespeare’s story event by event but instead focuses on a central conflict placed within the conventional framework of sonata form. This consists of a section of dramatically contrasted themes and keys, heightened conflict in a thematic development and a final resolution with a reprise of the themes in the home or compatible keys.

The overture begins with music clearly representing Friar Laurence, creating the impression that the story is told from his viewpoint. Although the scene is set in Verona, Tchaikovsky cannot help but infuse the music with an aroma of Russian orthodoxy. The scoring of the opening with second clarinet below first bassoon keeps the mood sombre, whilst reminding us of the organ. As the strings enter, the music is filled with a sense of foreboding. The sparse scoring of the music which follows, punctuated by harp phrases, creates the impression that we are being led through an empty ballroom inhabited by the ghosts of past events. A pizzicato passage perhaps suggests the dead characters coming to life. A single chord is then passed backwards and forwards from strings to wind, this giving way to the second section that illustrates a battle scene. The third theme which follows is the love theme, passionate, yearning and underpinned with anxiety, appearing in the unexpected key of D flat major. At first scored for viola and cor anglais, it represents Romeo. No development occurs at this time. A rising scale on the flute suggests Juliet rushing towards her lover. The theme is now heard in full with a caressing motive in the first horn before the fight music returns, building up more than before. The strings enter with a lush hovering idea and then a fuller version of the love theme begins, soon to be broken apart by the battle music, perhaps symbolising the doomed nature of Romeo and Juliet’s love in the context of their feuding families. At the climax of the battle, a cymbal crash signals the suicide of the lovers. This is followed by a passage of grief-stricken funeral music underpinned by a repeated triplet bass note reminding the listener of analogous passages in the composer’s Pathétique symphony and in the Elegy from his Serenade for Strings.