Hamlet (Tchaikovsky)
Shakespeare's Hamlet was the inspiration for two works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: the overture-fantasia Hamlet, Op. 67, and incidental music for the play, Op. 67a.
Overture-Fantasia, Op. 67
Tchaikovsky wrote the Hamlet overture-fantasia, Op. 67, between June and 19 October 1888, overlapping the scoring of his Fifth Symphony.
The idea of a Hamlet overture had first occurred to Tchaikovsky in 1876, as outlined in his plans in a letter to his brother Modest. At that time, he conceived it in three parts:
- 1. Elsinore and Hamlet, up to the appearance of his father's ghost
- 2. Polonius (scherzando) and Ophelia (adagio), and
- 3. Hamlet after the appearance of the ghost. His death and Fortinbras.
However, by 1888 he had altered these notions. The actor
What makes "Hamlet" unique from other works of Tchaikovsky fantasy is the lack of a structural development. The standard form of this music has an exposition, a development, and concludes with a recapitulation. Tchaikovsky did not clearly emphasize a development section in "Hamlet."
The Hamlet overture-fantasia was dedicated to Edvard Grieg, whom Tchaikovsky had met in Leipzig in early 1888 on the same occasion that he met Johannes Brahms. He described Grieg as "an extraordinarily charming man".
The Symphony No. 5 was premiered on 17 November 1888, and the Hamlet overture-fantasia had its first performance a week later, on 24 November. Both performances were in Saint Petersburg, and Tchaikovsky conducted both of them. While Hamlet was not a great success, it still received a better initial reception than the symphony did, but it has subsequently assumed a lower profile in Tchaikovsky's works.
Excerpts from the score were used in the 2005 ballet
Incidental music, Op. 67a
For the overture, he used the earlier stand-alone Hamlet overture-fantasia Op. 67, but in a shortened form. In the 16 other numbers, as well as writing some new music, he also used material from the incidental music to The Snow Maiden, Op. 12 (1873), from the alla tedesca movement of the Third Symphony (1875), and from the Elegy for Ivan Samarin (1884). The writing was finished by 3 February. Tchaikovsky travelled from Moscow to attend the performance in Saint Petersburg. He enjoyed the performance for the acting, but he never thought much of the music he had produced, and refused permission for it to be used in a later production in Warsaw.
Sources
- Alexander Poznansky, Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man, pp. 485, 492, 494, 523, 525
- John Warrack, Tchaikovsky pp. 214, 217-218, 244.
- Groves’ Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed.