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Romanticism in Tchaikovsky’s MusicFantastic Themes ...................................................3
Romantic Plot.........................................................................................................................4
Nationalism ............................................................................................................................5
Romanticism in Tchaikovsky’s Music
Unrealistic plot
Nationalistic themes
Romanticism in Tchaikovsky’s Music
Tchaikovsky’s music was notable for its Russian folk themes, emotional expression, and
abstract, supernatural fantasy. These components create a compelling, romantic
atmosphere for his music. Tchaikovsky’s music displays this romanticism in its
emphasis on fantastic themes, emotion, and nationalism.
Fantastic themes
Fantastic themes are seen in Tchaikovsky’s musical interpretations of ballets and
orchestral works. This obscuring of dream and reality, only made stronger by
Tchaikovsky’s music, is a pattern in the ballet and in the rest of the composer’s music.
The Sleeping Beauty, a ballet that contains Tchaikovsky’s music, similarly reveals his
romantic, fantastic ideas, through its idealization of love and presentation of unlikely
situations. Furthermore, the classical music and persistent thematic melodies that are
present in Tchaikovsky’s music contribute further to the romantic qualities of the ballet.
The Swan Lake ballet also reveals romanticism through its emphasis on fantasy.
Romantic plot
Emotions are scattered commonly throughout his music and strongly suggest romantic
features in his pieces. The Swan Lake ballet also follows a romantic plot concerning
emotions. The suspenseful, dramatic themes of the ballet’s music, often exaggerated,
support the fact that Tchaikovsky was indeed greatly influenced by emotion. In another
case, such as the Symphony #5, Tchaikovsky directly expresses emotion through
mysterious themes, melodic phrases, and dramatic tension (“Tchaikovsky”). Carefully
composed, the symphony reveals horn solos, graceful melodies, and beautiful harmony
that emphasize emotion and reveal the composer’s characteristics of romanticism.
Nationalism
Lastly, Tchaikovsky continues to reveal his nationalistic sentiment through his focus on
Russian folk melodies and Russian victory in his music. This pattern in his music
indicates that he was truly a romantic composer.
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