Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet

Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Fantasy Overture: Romeo and Juliet


In 1869, at the age of 28, Tchaikovsky had one symphony and one opera under his belt. As yet, however, he had not made much of an impact as a composer, and supported himself by teaching at the Moscow Conservatory and also writing music criticism. He had also become acquainted with Mikaily Balakirev, the leader of the “Mighty Handful” of five composers who were forging a distinctive Russian style of art music. Despite his innate suspicion of anyone with a Conservatoire training, Balakirev warmed to Tchaikovsky and his music. He was, however, not one to mince his words, and when Tchaikovsky’s tone poem Fatum [Fate] was performed to a lukewarm reception in St. Petersburg, Balakirev (to whom Tchaikovsky had dedicated the work) was not backwards in informing Tchaikovsky that “there wasn't much applause, probably because of the appalling cacophony at the end of the piece, which I don't like at all.” He went on to declare that the piece was sloppily written and formally inadequate, before signing off “M. Balakirev (who sincerely loves you).”


Tchaikovsky was immensely self-critical and took Balakirev’s comments very seriously indeed, eventually destroying the score. He set to work on a new project suggested by Balakirev: an overture based on Romeo and Juliet. Balakirev helpfully suggested his own King Lear overture as a template on which to base the new piece.


The piece was premiered in 1870, although the performance was overshadowed by the scandal surrounding its conductor Nikolai Rubinstein, who had recently lost a court case involving a female pupil. “After the concert we dined…No one said a single word to me about the overture the whole evening,” complained Tchaikovsky. He also had to contend with Balakirev’s fierce criticism of the music, although even he conceded the quality of the love theme: “I play it very often, and I want to kiss you for it,” he wrote. Tchaikovsky set about rewriting the overture to accommodate Balakirev’s judgements. Balakirev still had his quibbles about this second version, objecting in particular to what he considered a weak ending, but by 1872 when the revision was performed his influence on Tchaikovsky was waning. Nevertheless, in 1880 Tchaikovsky revised it once more, and this time gave it a conclusion of which even Balakirev could approve.