CC Week 20, Cycle 3

Tchaikovsky Symphony No.4 4th movement

Focus on this song:
Tchaikovsky:  Symphony No. 6, 4th movement,


Best of the Russian Romantic Composers

Also a good listen:
Tchaikovsky:  Symphony No. 4
St.Petersburg Philharmonica Conductor Erol Erdinç





I found the following on www.squidoo.com, and linked Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.

Study the Master of Romantic Music -- Tchaikovsky

Remember the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies? Even if you think you don't, I'mpositive that you do! Listen to this midi file and you'll instantly recognize the tune. That famous piece was written by Tchaikovsky as part of The Nutcracker ballet.

Peter Tchaikovsky lived from 1840 - 1893 and is considered one of the great Romantic composers of Western music. He took passionate and fanciful tales such as Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty and set them to beautiful music that was usually performed in ballets. Because most children are familiar with the stories of Tchaikovsky's music, he is a great musician to begin your habit of composer study.

Studying Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky lived during the Romantic period of music. That's after the Baroque and Classical but before Modern music. Romantic music tends to be fanciful, imaginative, and passionate. Composers were beginning to gain fame and the paying audiences that went along with fame. With a broad market for their music, Romantic composers had the freedom to express themselves how they chose instead of catering to the desires of wealthy princes and kings. Up until this time, no one had created fantastical music about fairies and wicked witches! But Tchaikovsky did!

Some of his most famous pieces, and ones that you'll want to include in your study are:

• The Nutcracker Suite
• Swan Lake
• Romeo and Juliet
• The Sleeping Beauty
• the 1812 Overture
• Symphony #6 - the Pathetique
• the Piano Concerto in Bb.

You can find free midi files (listen online or download) at Classical Midi Connection. (I find the site a bit odd. Look for the part that says, "Right-click here and select "save as" to download file, or left-click to play it on your own default MIDI player." That's where you'll actually get to the midi file.)

Or there are a few MP3 files (better quality than midi files) at Encyclomedia. (Please be aware that this site may have some unseemly links on the right hand side.)Karadar Classical Music also has a few free music files. And the BBC offers some selections in both excerpt and full tracks.