Tchaikovsky's Ballets

Abstract

Because of Tchaikovsky's influence, people listen to a ballet score just as they would listen to a symphony. It is doubtful that anyone would want to do the same with the ballet music by Minkus or even Adam. Today, Tchaikovsky's ballet music is found everywhere: in countless CD collections, as soundtracks to Disney movies, constantly played on classical radio stations, used by ice skaters at the Olympics, and even heard in television commercials. The music is so powerful, inventive, and exciting that people want to listen to it over and over again. What makes Tchaikovsky's music so superb is not its fundamental musical structure, but rather its richness in melodic variety. Within each ballet there are so many different contrasting themes and melodic lines where each surpasses the next. With these melodies, he is adept at manipulating our emotions and expectations. In addition, what makes a Tchaikovsky ballet so historically important is that it differs from its predecessors in its phenomenal degree of musical complexity. Tchaikovsky's talents are unparalleled and his art unequaled. He was the unrivaled ballet composer of the nineteenth century. [From concluding section]