Ignacio 1

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s role in Russian music has been debated ever since, and

Tchaikovsky has a special way of conveying his Russian qualities, but his pieces are often

interpreted by two sides, with one side believes he is a nationalist (counting him with the Mighty

Handful), while the other thinks of him as a composer leaning towards Western music.

Barbour, Jessica. “The 1812 Overture: An Attempted Narration,” OUP Blog (blog), Oxford
University Press, August 20, 2013, https://blog.oup.com/2013/08/1812-overture-
tchaikovsky-romantic-music/

Jessica Barbour’s blog entry for the Oxford University Press expresses the idea that Pyotr Ilyich

Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture is a form of program music, filled with symbolism that strengthens

the idea of Tchaikovsky’s national pride. According to the author, he incorporated numerous

instruments such as bells and even cannons. These were done to represent the French Army that

initially invaded Russia but retreated later and the victorious Russians at the end of the piece by

incorporating the Russian national anthem swelling over the French La Marsellaise. This states

the success and might of the Russian nation.

Borths, Josh. “Tchaikovsky and Russian Opera,” Arizona Opera, December 15, 2014,
https://www.azopera.org/blog/tchaikovsky-and-russian-opera

The blog entry written by Josh Borths states that Tchaikovsky is one of the conservatory-trained

“non-nationalist” composers, giving more importance towards elegance in their music, rather

than focusing on traditional Russian elements of music. The entry also mentions Tchaikovsky’s

opera called Eugene Onegin, which is different from the usual trend of the Russian operas at the

time, as it is not focused on being a Russian opera (according to Glinka’s standards), even

though it was written by a Russian author, Alexander Pushkin, set in music by a Russian

composer.
Brown, David. “Balakirev, Tchaikovsky and Nationalism,” Music & Letters, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Jul.,
1961), pp. 227-241. http://www.jstor.org/stable/731879

David Brown’s article talks about Tchaikovsky and another Russian composer, Mily Balakirev.

This article shows that although Tchaikovsky has western influences, he is a nationalist,

incorporating Russian folksongs in his compositions and arranging them for publication. It is

known that Balakirev and Tchaikovsky worked on Romeo and Juliet, although both have

different opinions about the structure of music; the article mentioned the contrast between

Tchaikovsky and Balakirev, the former being exposed to western music ideas and the latter being

an advocate of retaining traditional Russian music.

Garden, Edward. Tchaikovsky (The Master Musician Series). London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1973

Edward Garden’s book Tchaikovsky provides an insight on Tchaikovsky’s life and works. The

author mentioned that Tchaikovsky’s early music is full of folk elements native to Russia. For

his later pieces, he was criticized by his critics for his pieces lacked the Russian quality and was

lambasted again for the absence of the national elements found in Russian music. But the author

also noted that Stravinsky, another known composer, remarked that Tchaikovsky’s work is

striking, and praised him for the duality of Russian and western identities in his pieces.

“Music-and-Art-45.” “The Mighty Handful and Tchaikovsky: Forming a Russian Musical

Identity Through Compromise,” Owlcation (blog), November 06, 2016,
https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Mighty-Handful-Forming-a-Russian-Musical-
Identity#

A writer under the pseudonym Music-and-Art-45 wrote about the impact of the Mighty Five

(referred to as the Mighty Handful in this article) and Tchaikovsky towards the formation of the
 Ignacio 3

Russian musical identity. The article delves into a subtopic about the rivalries between the newly

established conservatories and the nationalists, the former focusing on trying to be at par with

Western Europe, while the latter tried to retain traditional aspects. Tchaikovsky is presented in

this article as someone who was open to both sides, putting national elements and western

techniques together.

Ritzarev, Marina. Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique and Russian Culture. Surrey, UK: Ashgate
Publishing Ltd., 2014.

Marina Ritzarev’s book showed Tchaikovsky in his twilight years. During this period in

Tchaikovsky’s life, he was writing his final completed piece, the Symphony no. 6 or the

Pathétique. His Russian identity is found in this piece, as allusions to the Orthodox Requiem

could be heard in the first movement. It is also good to note that Orthodoxy played a huge role in

cultural matters in Russia (although Tchaikovsky is not religious).

Sabaneev, Leonid and Pring, S.W. “Tchaikovsky” The Musical Times, Vol. 70, No. 1031 (Jan. 1,
1929), pp. 20-23, http://www.jstor.org/stable/917537

The authors of the above-mentioned article, Leonid Sabaneev and S.W. Pring, talked about Pyotr

Ilyich Tchaikovsky as someone who is a genius in his craft, and it shows in his work, evoking

uniqueness and simplicity. Unfortunately, his Russian nationalism was unnoticed by western

Europe, who viewed Russian music only interesting because it was “barbaric.” Tchaikovsky,

according to the article, presents Russia’s music in a way that it evokes lament and anguish,

which are parts of the Russian psychology. And, even though he is at par with leading Western

European composers, Tchaikovsky’s musical sense is Russian, but made with the standards of

the West.
Taruskin, Richard, “Non-Nationalists and other Nationalists,” 19th-Century Music, Vol. 35, No.
2 (Fall 2011), pp. 132-143 http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/ncm.2011.35.2.132

The author of this journal entry, Richard Taruskin, mentions nationalist and non-nationalist

composers in Europe, one of them is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and his agenda with the Russian

music scene. It was written in the journal entry that Tchaikovsky could be pardoned for moving

away from the Russian cultural norm with the assurance that he is still recognizing his Russian

roots or heritage; although others are alarmed that he does not fully represent Russia as his music

does not carry the Russian character.

Taylor, Joshua J., "Musically Russian: Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century" (2016). The
Research and Scholarship Symposium. 4. http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/
research_scholarship_symposium/2016/podium_presentations/4

The paper of Joshua J. Taylor presents Tchaikovsky as a pacifier between the nationalist and the

internationalist aspects of the music scene in Russia during his lifetime. Although Tchaikovsky

thought that Russian music should be cultivated with musical excellence, instead of just

expressing the nature of a nation. The above-mentioned article also mentioned that with

Balakirev’s influence, Tchaikovsky was able to expand his style. In the end, Tchaikovsky

incorporated Russian culture alongside western techniques in his pieces.

Wiley, Roland John. Tchaikovsky. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Roland John Wiley’s book provides information about Tchaikovsky’s life, but most especially,

his music and how it was received by his fellowmen (specifically the Mighty Handful). The book

talks about the connections and meaning behind Tchaikovsky’s pieces, and it explores the idea of
 Ignacio 5

him being an innovator (or the contrary) for the Russian music scene using his very own craft:

his music. The author also provides an insight on how Tchaikovsky’s nationalism (or the lack

thereof) and success are still being questioned by some people, most especially by scholars.
 Bibliography

Barbour, Jessica. “The 1812 Overture: An Attempted Narration,” OUP Blog (blog), Oxford
University Press, August 20, 2013, https://blog.oup.com/2013/08/1812-overture-
tchaikovsky-romantic-music/

Borths, Josh. “Tchaikovsky and Russian Opera,” Arizona Opera, December 15, 2014,
https://www.azopera.org/blog/tchaikovsky-and-russian-opera

Brown, David. “Balakirev, Tchaikovsky and Nationalism,” Music & Letters, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Jul.,
1961), pp. 227-241. http://www.jstor.org/stable/731879

Garden, Edward. Tchaikovsky (The Master Musician Series). London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1973

“Music-and-Art-45.” “The Mighty Handful and Tchaikovsky: Forming a Russian Musical

Identity Through Compromise,” Owlcation (blog), November 06, 2016,
https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Mighty-Handful-Forming-a-Russian-Musical-
Identity#

Ritzarev, Marina. Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique and Russian Culture. Surrey, UK: Ashgate
Publishing Ltd., 2014.

Sabaneev, Leonid and Pring, S.W. “Tchaikovsky” The Musical Times, Vol. 70, No. 1031 (Jan. 1,
1929), pp. 20-23, http://www.jstor.org/stable/917537

Taruskin, Richard, “Non-Nationalists and other Nationalists,” 19th-Century Music, Vol. 35, No.
2 (Fall 2011), pp. 132-143 http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/ncm.2011.35.2.132

Taylor, Joshua J., "Musically Russian: Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century" (2016). The
Research and Scholarship Symposium. 4. http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/
research_scholarship_symposium/2016/podium_presentations/4

Wiley, Roland John. Tchaikovsky. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.