Synopsis

It’s strange to read the doubts Tchaikovsky expressed in letters about many of his greatest musical works, which he first would dismiss as failures, only to change his mind completely a few weeks later. Take, for example, his ballet The Nutcracker, which had its premiere performance on this day in 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.

Tchaikovsky described working on the ballet as a “dread-inspiring, feverish nightmare, so abominable that I don't think I have the strength to put it into words.” At the time, Tchaikovsky was much more optimistic about an opera he was writing, Yolanta, only to abruptly changed his mind, writing “Now I think that the ballet is good and the opera nothing special.” This time, Tchaikovsky got it right — although initially the opera did prove more popular than the ballet.

Another — and deliberately nightmarish — Russian composition had its first performance on this same day 70 years later. This was the Symphony No. 13 by Dmitri Shostakovich, subtitled Babi Yar, based on poems of Yevgeny Yevtushenko. This choral symphony was first heard on today’s date in 1962 at the Moscow Conservatory, but was quickly banned by the Soviet authorities. Its title poem, Babi Yar, called attention to Soviet indifference to the Holocaust and persistent anti-Semitism in Soviet society. Yevtushenko later softened these lines so the symphony could be performed in the U.S.S.R.

Music Played in Today's Program

Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): The Nutcracker Ballet; Kirov Orchestra; Valery Gergiev, conductor; Philips 462 114

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Symphony No. 13 (Babi Yar); Nicola Ghiuselev, bass; Choral Arts Society of Washington; National Symphony; Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor; Erato 85529