Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet - Fantasy Overture

Informatie

Inspired by his friend, the composer Balakirev Tchaikovsky decided in 1869 to write an overture to Shakespeare's drama Romeo and Juliet. The work was completed the same year and received its premiére soon thereafter, on March 4th, 1870 in Moscow under the direction of Nikolay Rubinstein. Following the performance the composer worked over the piece again at Balakirev's instigation: he wrote a new introduction and altered the return and the end, too. The new version was first performed under the baton of Nápravnik in St Petersburg on February 5th, 1872. By that time it had become clear that the composition was closer to the genre of symphonic poem than to that of a theatrical prelude which is also indicated by the subtitle: 'fantasy overture'. In the 1880s Tchaikovsky carried out further changes in the score and thus the third version of Romeo and Juliet emerged that was first performed by Ippolitov-Ivanov as conductor in Tbilisi on April 19th, 1886. This version became the final one and at the same time one of Tchaikovsky's bestknown and most popular works all over the world. The present edition is based on this third version.