Tchaikovsky

In 1879 a large pro-slavic sentiment had built up in Russia after Turkish troops attacked and killed many innocent people in Serbia. A Red Cross benefit concert was arranged to help Russians who had volunteered to help in the resulting Serbo/Turkish war alongside their fellow Slavs. PT agreed to compose a piece for this. In it he referenced Serbian and Russian folk songs and anthems. It starts with a slow mournful marching rhythm which suggests a funeral procession which later becomes a war march as Russian and Serbian troops march to eke revenge. It is unclear how much of this was just hack work for PT, how strongly he felt about the issue and how much he relied on emotions from his personal life. He would only say that he felt the performance at the concert to be a great success.

Such nationalistic and vengeful concerns aside this is a great ten minute piece of work. In terms of orchestral music this would, at the time, have been pop music. In overall classical music terms it is heavy metal. It sits naturally alongside the 1812 Overture (which is even heavier since it contains cannon blasts). Much has been said (and not said) about the man and his work. Tchaikovsky afficionados tend to see these two pieces as too overt and vulgar. I find them exciting and I'm not prepared to be sniffy about the bombast, bluster and bravado. If PT was playing to the crowd then so what, it works. Here is an out of copyright version, for those interested.