Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Overture

Peter Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture is a symphonic poem that accurately follows one of Shakespeare's most well-known plays. The piece was written in six weeks and premiered in 1870. It contains three themes and generally follows a traditional sonata-allegro form. The first theme is church-like with its homophonic nature and represents Friar Lawrence in the play. The second theme, Theme A, is very rhythmic with a melody that at times is dissonant to its harmony and represents the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. The third theme, Theme B, is the lyrical love theme representing the Romeo and Juliet. Like in a traditional sonata-allegro form, all the themes are developed and recapitulated. Juxtaposition and the orchestration help build tension making the Themes A and B more climactic. Tchaikovsky juxtaposes different choirs in the orchestra by using imitation and an echo effect. Also, he uses different orchestrations of the main themes to add to the climax of the piece when the themes are recapitulated. Imitation is used to build up to the first occurrence of Theme A. The imitative nature of the material before Theme A contrasts the homophonic nature of Theme A. Unlike the build ups to the other occurrences of Theme A, no motivic material from Theme A is used imitatively. In measures 78-85, the woodwinds echo the strings. The cellos play the melody well in the treble clef. This, coupled with the tremolo in the timpani, creates a lot of tension with the cellos in this register. The woodwinds repeat this same harmony except in a higher register. Their response releases tension from the strings since they are playing in a more comfortable register than the cellos were. In measures 90-96, The woodwinds play a four quarter note motive in octaves that is imitated by the horns and violas, although horns are much more dominant. This leads to a cadence that does not resolve all the tension of the previous passages. In measures