Tchaikovsky's Complete Songs - Hardcover

Richard D. Sylvester

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0253340411 ISBN 13: 9780253340412

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 2002

Synopsis

Besides his symphonies and concertos, operas and ballets, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote 103 ""romances, "" or songs, which are among his most popular works in Russia. The lyrics to these songs, by poets famous and obscure, have never been studied. Richard D. Sylvester collects here for the first time all 103 song texts, reproducing them in Russian, with transliterations and translations. The texts are illuminated by commentaries on the songs' historical context and performance histories, an extensive discography of singers and recordings, and a 73-minute CD presenting 22 songs performed by noted artists. For vocalists and music students, for the general audience interested in art songs and recordings of great singers, as well as for Tchaikovsky specialists and students of Russian language and literature, this book offers a unique window into Russian musical culture.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Sylvester is Professor Emeritus of Russian at Colgate University. He taught Russian language and literature at Colgate for twenty years and made frequent trips to Russia with students as director of the Colgate Moscow Study Group. He is currently editing the complete song texts of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

From Library Journal

Of Tchaikovsky's entire musical output, his collection of 103 romances (songs based on poems) is perhaps the least familiar to Western audiences. With this volume, Sylvester (Russian, emeritus, Colgate Univ.) performs a great service not only for singers interested in delving into this rich repertory but also for lovers of Russian poetry. The songs are discussed in chronological order, beginning with "My Genius, My Angel, My Friend," composed in 1857, when Tchaikovsky was 17, and culminating in the "Six Romances of 1893," the year of his death. The texts are presented in three ways: Cyrillic, a transliteration, and an exact (nonsingable) English translation. For each song or group of songs, Sylvester presents informative commentary. The sources are meticulously scrutinized, and a detailed history of Tchaikovsky's relationship, if any, with the poets (e.g., Pushkin, Ivan Surikov, Apollon Maikov) is provided. There is no analysis or even much discussion of the music itself, though the author makes clear his hopes that the present volume will pave the way for such a study. An accompanying audio CD, not heard by the reviewer, contains performances of 22 songs. Recommended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate collections. Larry Lipkis, Moravian Coll., Bethlehem, PA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0253340411
• ISBN 13: 9780253340412
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: Russian
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368