The Voyevoda (symphonic ballad)

The Voyevoda, Op. 78, is a "symphonic ballad" for orchestra, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1891. It is based on Alexander Pushkin's translation of Adam Mickiewicz's poem of that name.

Twenty-three years earlier, in 1868, Tchaikovsky had written an opera "The Voyevoda", based on a play by Alexandr Ostrovsky. The two works have the same title but have nothing else in common.

Tchaikovsky started work on the symphonic ballad in September 1890, but did not finish it until close to the premiere over a year later. He was then actively engaged in finishing his last opera "Iolanta". The premiere of the ballad, which he conducted, took place on 18 November 1891, in Moscow. He was very dissatisfied with the work; even before the first performance he had decided it was mediocre at best and threatened to destroy the score. After the performance he declared "Such rubbish should never have been written". He carried out his threat the day after the first performance. However, the orchestral parts were retrieved by Alexander Siloti and the score was later reconstructed.

Later, Tchaikovsky wrote to his publisher Jurgenson, "I do not regret "The Voyevoda" - it's got what it deserved. I am not in the least sorry, for I am profoundly convinced that this work would compromise me ... If something of this sort happens again, I shall tear it to shreds, or else completely give up composing. Not for anything in the world do I want to go on dirtying paper like Anton Grigorievich [Rubinstein] when everything has long since packed up".

The work is notable as Tchaikovsky's first use of the celesta. He is most famous for using this instrument in the ballet "The Nutcracker" (particularly, but not exclusively, in "The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy"), which was written after the ballad. However, Ernest Chausson had used the celesta in a symphonic work in 1888.

Notable recordings

* Antal Dorati conducting National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D. C.
* Yuri Krasnapolsky conducting New Philharmonia Orchestra

References

* Alexander Poznansky, "Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man", p. 542
* John Warrack, "Tchaikovsky", pp. 252-253