The Storm (Tchaikovsky)

The Storm, Op. posth. 76, is an overture (in the context of a symphonic poem) in E minor composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between June and August 1864. The work is inspired by the play The Storm by the Russian playwright Alexander Ostrovsky. That play was also the inspiration for Leoš Janáček's opera Káťa Kabanová.

History

The Storm was Tchaikovsky's first substantial work for orchestra, written when he was only 24. He was spending the summer at the family estate of Prince Aleksey Vasilievich Golitsyn at Trostinets, near Kharkov in the Ukraine, and he wrote the overture as a vacation exercise. He did not consider it worthy of publication, and it was never performed in his lifetime. This opinion may have been influenced by Anton Rubinstein, who disapproved of it, and by Herman Laroche, who said it represented "a museum of antimusical curiosities".^[1]

In the summer of 1865–66, Tchaikovsky reworked the opening of the piece as the Concert Overture in C minor. This was also not performed or published in Tchaikovsky's lifetime.

The Storm was first performed, posthumously, in Saint Petersburg, on March 7, 1896, conducted by Alexander Glazunov. It was published by Mitrofan Belyayev, as Op. 76.

The Concert Overture in C minor did not have its first performance until 1931, in Voronezh, under the baton of Konstantin Saradzhev.^[2]

The Storm has an average duration of 13 minutes. It is not related to Tchaikovsky's symphonic fantasia The Tempest, Op. 18, written in 1873.

Notes

External links

• The Storm, Op.76: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Tchaikovsky Research

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Operas	The Voyevoda Undina The Oprichnik Vakula the Smith Eugene Onegin The Maid of Orleans Mazepa (or Mazeppa) Cherevichki The Enchantress The Queen of Spades Iolanta
Ballets	Swan Lake The Sleeping Beauty The Nutcracker
Symphonies	No. 1 in G minor ("Winter Daydreams") No. 2 in C minor ("Little Russian") No. 3 in D major ("Polish") No. 4 in F minor Symphony in B minor ("Manfred") No. 5 in E minor No. 6 in B minor ("Pathétique") No. 7 in E♭ major (unfinished)
Concertante	Piano Concerto No. 1 in B♭ minor Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major Piano Concerto No. 3 in E♭ major Concert Fantasia Andante and Finale Sérénade mélancolique Valse-Scherzo Violin Concerto in D major Variations on a Rococo Theme Pezzo capriccioso Cello Concerto
Orchestral works	Romeo and Juliet The Tempest Hamlet Capriccio Italien Francesca da Rimini The Storm Fatum The Voyevoda 1812 Overture Marche Slave Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem Festival Coronation March Orchestral Suite No. 1 in D minor Orchestral Suite No. 2 in C major Orchestral Suite No. 3 in G major Orchestral Suite No. 4 in G major ("Mozartiana") Serenade for Strings
Vocal music	Liturgy of St John Chrysostom All-Night Vigil Moscow
Chamber music	Quartet Movement in B♭ major String Quartet No. 1 in D major String Quartet No. 2 in F major String Quartet No. 3 in E♭ minor Souvenir d'un lieu cher Piano Trio in A minor String Sextet in D minor (Souvenir de Florence)
Piano music	Scherzo à la russe Souvenir de Hapsal The Seasons (Les saisons) Piano Sonata No. 2 in C♯ minor Grand Piano Sonata in G major
Portrayals	Tchaikovsky (1969 film)
Related articles	Antonina Miliukova Belyayev circle Death International Tchaikovsky Competition Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky Musical style Nadezhda von Meck Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in popular media Symphonies by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Tchaikovsky State House-Museum The Five Vladimir Davydov
Book:Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky List of compositions by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Category:Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky