Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture, arr. V. Mendelssohn

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s (1840-1893) life was filled turmoil. Some of it reaches all the way to his childhood, when he dreaded being separated from family as he attended private school. A major event occurred with his mother’s death, and it is from this time that his first serious compositional efforts date. Throughout his late teens and early twenties, he vacillated between intense attachments and feelings of complete isolation. He also wrestled with his clear homosexuality, going so far as to marry a doting admirer in 1877 partly to cover or even suppress his true feelings. The situation, as can be imagined, was a complete disaster, and both bride and groom were estranged within weeks, bordering on nervous collapse. Not surprisingly, Tchaikovsky self-identified with characters from certain dramatic story lines, such as Romeo and Juliet and Eugene Onegin, that mirrored his own tragic situation.

Some years earlier, in 1869, Mily Balakirev actually suggested the concept of a Romeo and Juliet Overture to Tchaikovsky. The work proceeded very quickly, with the premiere occurring in early 1870. It was shelved after receiving critical scorn. Tchaikovsky undertook substantial revisions, though the core of the overture’s two main themes remains from the original version. The first main theme presents jagged, punctuated thrusts of the warring families. It is followed by the signature love theme (second theme)—one of the composer’s most beloved lyric creations. At Balakirev’s urging, a new and powerful hymn-like introduction (suggesting Shakespeare’s Friar Laurence) was added, and the contrapuntal development of the main themes was further enhanced. Finally, after the failed marriage to Antonina Milyukhova, Tchaikovsky returned to the score one final time to add a coda in 1881. Tonight we are pleased to present the second U.S. performance of this work in an arrangement by our own Vladimir Mendelssohn.

(c) Jason Stell