Reyngol'd Glier (1875-1956)

Russian (Soviet) Sailor's Dance

Although billed as a Russian concert, that appellation is not strictly accurate. Though all three composers, who together spanned 138 years, were Moscow-establishment musicians, only Tchaikovsky was ethnically Russian. Glier (or Glière as he is usually styled) was a Ukrainian, born in the capital, Kiev. He came to study at the Moscow Conservatoire in 1900 and later in life taught there as a professor of composition. He was named People's Artist in 1938 and for the next ten years was chairman of the composers union. His music was mainly conceived on the grand scale: opera, ballet and other big works. However, he did not leave a large body of work. Probably his most popular composition was the Red Flower (originally titled Red Poppy), whence this wonderfully exciting dance comes.

After a short introduction, a theme is stated ponderously in the bass instruments. Each succeeding variation (there are twelve in all) is typically slightly faster than its predecessor so that by the end the poor sailors must be dancing themselves to distraction!

Aram Khatchaturian (1903-1978)

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in D flat

There are several parallels between the careers of Khatchaturian and Glier: both were from outlying republics: Khatchaturian from the Caucasus, Georgia in fact, although his family was Armenian. Both went to Moscow as young men, though Khatchaturian was not a precocious talent - it was not until he was in his late teens that he developed any aptitude for music at all. He began the 'cello and ended up (at age 26) at the Conservatoire. He was also involved in the musical bureaucracy of the Party - he served under Glier until the directorate was attacked by Stalin in 1948. Whereas Glier was already 42 at the time of the revolution, Khatchaturian was only 14. Perhaps that was partly why he was never a rebellious composer. Indeed, he condemned musical experimentation, although you might not think that to listen to tonight's work. He was also made People's Artist - in 1954, not long before Stalin's death.

Much of his works were for the ballet or for films. Most people are probably familiar with the Sabre dance which comes from Gayane, and those of you watched The Onedin Line on TV many years ago, will be familiar with his other very popular work: Spartacus. The Piano Concerto, written in 1936, was his first big international success. An instantly likeable piece, it contains elements of Georgian and Armenian folk music, especially in the second movement. The first movement is based on two contrasting themes - one virile and rhythmical, the other whimsical and improvisatory, of a quasi-oriental nature. The slow middle movement is a set of variations on a theme he first heard in his native Tiflis. The nature of the variations is not so much melodic or harmonic but textural. Particularly delicious is the use of the flexotone, in imitation of an Armenian folk instrument, which is essentially a vibrating steel band whose pitch can be varied to make a legato melody quite unusual for the percussion section! The final exhilirating movement is like a race between the soloist and orchestra. It ends with a triumphant restatement, by all forces, of the first movement's main theme.

Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Symphony No. 4 in F minor

It is a sad but frequent truth that the greatest music tends to be written by composers who are at best social misfits and at worst have deeply troubled personalities. Perhaps it is simply that well-balanced, contented men with supportive families lack the drive and pure angst necessary to sit down and create music that can resonate in the nervous system of the listener. Yes, there are exceptions: J.S.Bach and Antonin Dvorak for example, but there are many more that exemplify the rule: Beethoven and Mahler, to name just two. In any case, Tchaikovsky was such a man and without doubt, he left some of the greatest and enduringly popular music in the repertoire.

Tchaikovsky was born in 1840, not in some fashionable city, but in a small town just west of the Ural Mountains where his father was a mining engineer. The family had no history of musicianship. The young Pyotr was a sensitive child, very dependent on his mother and was heartbroken when separated from her during his father's second stint in the Urals. When he was twelve, the family settled in St. Petersburg for good but his life was shattered two years later when his mother died of cholera.

At about this time, he was enrolled at a law-oriented school and he graduated in 1859, and embarked on the expected legal career. But he was never content and, after four years, joined the St. Petersburg Conservatory full-time.

Much has been made of his homosexuality as the cause of his lifelong anguish but it's hard for us to understand the full effect this had on him, given our 1990's perspective. But for Tchaikovsky, it not only meant that he lived in constant fear of exposure, but his life was desperately lonely. The one woman who could perhaps have given him peace of mind and a comfortable life, Nadezhda von Meck, he kept at a distance, fearing that she would discontinue her friendship and patronage if she found out his true personality. Instead, he contracted a disastrous marriage which drove him to the brink of suicide. Von Meck stood by him, however, until her own circumstances precipitated a complete break. They both died a few years later, in 1893. In the thirteen years of their relationship, they exchanged over 1100 letters, but never properly met face-to-face.

During this time, however, Tchaikovsky's musical star was certainly in the ascendant. He had started out rather late and there was some early criticism that his music was too "western", but at a crucial moment, in 1868, he found favor with "The Five" (Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov), his contemporaries but by then more established. From there, he never looked back. He wrote for just about every type musical ensemble. His concertos, symphonies and overtures are exceedingly well-loved, but perhaps his contribution to ballet is the one which had the greatest positive effect on the genre. Only in opera is his reputation not what he truly deserves - his greatest opera Eugene Onegin is a masterpiece by any standard yet, perhaps because it is in Russian, it is not one of the "biggies".

Always eager for an excuse to travel, despite inevitable bouts of homesickness, he accepted an invitation to travel to New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia in 1891.

The fourth symphony and Eugene Onegin were written during one of his most significant periods - during which he first corresponded with Von Meck and also began and ended his marriage. It may be just coincidence but Antonina first wrote to Tchaikovsky - exactly as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin had done. But unlike the aloof Onegin (maybe because of him), Tchaikovsky succumbed to her entreaties.

Although not really a programmatic work, the composer did outline his feelings: the opening motif represents "Fate" and is the basis of the whole work. The first movement is a struggle to escape from depression and hopelessness into a dream world. In this, there are some similarities with Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique. The orchestration is masterful and the many different themes make this movement something that the listener can really get his teeth into. The total contrast of the Andantino is marvellous - in this we are invited to rest and look around. It begins with a beautiful, lyrical melody played by the oboe and ends with a reprise, this time on the oboe's big brother, the bassoon.

The scherzo opens with one of the best-loved pizzicato passages - notice how the players put their bows down altogether. This evocation of peasants carousing is followed by a street song played by the woodwinds. This in turn is followed by a military band, played by brass and piccolo. In the final movement, "irrepressible Fate" puts in an appearance, only to be repressed. The symphony ends, somewhat surprisingly, rejoicing in life.