Examine individual changes

'{{Italic title}} [[File:Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.jpg|thumb|[[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]], circa 1875; portrait by Charles Reutlinger]] The '''''Capriccio Italien''''', [[Opus number|Op.]] 45, is a [[fantasy (music)|fantasy]] for [[orchestra]] composed between January and May 1880 by [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]. A typical performance of the piece lasts about 15 minutes. ==Background== The ''[[Capriccio (music)|Capriccio]]'' was inspired by a trip Tchaikovsky took to Rome with his brother [[Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Modest]] as respite from the composer's disastrous marriage with [[Antonina Miliukova]]. It was in Rome, however, that the observant Tchaikovsky called [[Raphael]] a "[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] of painting."<ref name=Huscher>{{cite web |last1=Huscher|first1=Phillip|url=http://cso.org/uploadedfiles/1_tickets_and_events/program_notes/programnotes_cso_morton_tchaikovsky.pdf|title=Music by Piotr Tchaikovsky|website=Chicago Symphony Orchestra|format=PDF |accessdate=11 January 2016}}</ref> While in Rome, he wrote to his friend [[Nadezhda von Meck]]: <blockquote>I have already completed the sketches for an Italian fantasia on folk tunes for which I believe a good fortune may be predicted. It will be effective, thanks to the delightful tunes which I have succeeded in assembling partly from anthologies, partly from my own ears in the streets.<ref name=Rabben>{{cite web |last1=Rabben|first1=Jon|url=http://ccsymphony.com/programnotes/120226programnotes.pdf |title=Program Notes – February 26, 2012 |website=Carson City Symphony|format=PDF |accessdate=11 January 2016}}</ref></blockquote> Conductor [[JoAnn Falletta]] says: <blockquote>We are hearing foreigners' views of Italy. . . . [however,] ''Capriccio Italien'' has great power, even though it's practically a pops piece, Tchaikovsky knows what the instruments can do in a virtuoso way. He brings them to their limit in the most thrilling fashion. He has a gift for mixing families of instruments just right – like cantabile strings along with mighty brass. I hear the ballet element in everything Tchaikovsky writes, in his sense of rhythm. You can practically dance to both these scores!<ref name=Shulman>{{cite web|last1=Shulman|first1=Laurie|url=http://www.virginiasymphony.org/file/Caprccio%20Pro%20Notes.pdf|title=Program Notes|website=Virginia Symphony|format=PDF|accessdate=11 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304124722/http://www.virginiasymphony.org/file/Caprccio%20Pro%20Notes.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote> The piece, initially called Italian Fantasia after [[Mikhail Glinka]]'s Spanish pieces,<ref name=Meltzer /> was originally dedicated to the virtuosic cellist [[Karl Davydov]] and premiered in [[Moscow]] on 18 December 1880, with [[Nikolai Rubinstein]] conducting the [[Russian Musical Society|Imperial Russian Musical Society]].{{sfn|Holoman|1992|p=601}} ==Structure== The ''Capriccio'' is scored for: 3 [[flute]]s (3rd doubling on [[piccolo]]), 2 [[oboe]]s, [[English horn]], 2 [[clarinet]]s in A, 2 [[bassoon]]s, 4 [[French horn|horns]] in F, 2 [[cornet]]s in A, 2 [[trumpet]]s in E, 3 [[trombone]]s (2 tenor, 1 bass), [[tuba]], 3 [[timpani]], [[Triangle (musical instrument)|triangle]], [[tambourine]], [[cymbal]]s, [[bass drum]], [[glockenspiel]], [[harp]] and [[String instruments|strings]]. After a brief bugle call, inspired by a bugle call Tchaikovsky heard daily in his rooms at the Hotel Constanzi, next door to the barracks of the [[Corazzieri|Royal Italian Cuirasseurs]],<ref name=Downes>{{cite web|last1=Downes|first1=Edward|title=1992 Jul 08, 09 / Festival / Masur|url=http://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/artifact/922663c2-e610-48e4-af68-77d54ec2c00a/fullview#page/2/mode/2up|website=Leon Levy Digital Archives|publisher=New York Philharmonic|accessdate=12 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304064139/http://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/artifact/922663c2-e610-48e4-af68-77d54ec2c00a/fullview#page/2/mode/2up|archive-date=4 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> a stoic, heroic, unsmiling melody is played by the strings. Eventually, this gives way to music sounding as if it could be played by an Italian street band, beginning in the winds and ending with the whole orchestra.<ref name=Schrott>{{cite web|last1=Schrott|first1=Allan|title=''Capriccio Italien'', for orchestra (or piano, 4 hands), Op. 45|url=http://www.allmusic.com/composition/capriccio-italien-for-orchestra-or-piano-4-hands-op-45-mc0002369293|website=AllMusic|accessdate=12 January 2016}}</ref> Next, a lively march ensues, followed by a lively [[tarantella]], a ''Cicuzza''.<ref name=Meltzer>{{cite web |last1=Meltzer|first1=Ken|url=https://www.atlantasymphony.org/~/media/Sites/ASO2011/ProgramResources/11-7-13PN.ashx|title=Concerts of Thursday, November 7, and Friday, November 8, 2013, at 8:00p, and Saturday, November 9, 2013, at 7:30p.|website=Atlanta Symphony |format=PDF |accessdate=11 January 2016}}</ref> The brothers were there during [[Carnival]], and, despite calling it "a folly," the composer was able to soak up Italian street music and folk songs which he then incorporated into his ''Capriccio''.<ref name="Classic FM">{{cite web|title=Tchaikovsky – ''Capriccio Italien''|url=http://www.classicfm.com/composers/tchaikovsky/music/capriccio-italien/|website=Classic FM|accessdate=12 January 2016}}</ref> This enables some "bright primary colors and uncomplicated tunefulness."<ref name=Mangum>{{cite web|last1=Mangum|first1=John|title=''Capriccio Italien''|url=http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/philpedia/music/capriccio-italien-peter-ilyich-tchaikovsky|website=Hollywood Bowl|publisher=LA Phil|accessdate=12 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126115155/https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/philpedia/music/capriccio-italien-peter-ilyich-tchaikovsky|archive-date=26 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==Sources== *[[David Brown (musicologist)|Brown, David]]. ''Tchaikovsky: The Years of Wandering, 1878–85''. London: Gollancz, 1986 *{{cite book|last=Holoman|first=D. Kern|authorlink=D. Kern Holoman|title=Evenings with the Orchestra: A Norton Companion for Concert Goers|location=New York|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|year=1992|ref=harv}} ==External links== *{{IMSLP|work=Italian Capriccio, Op.45 (Tchaikovsky, Pyotr)|cname=''Capriccio Italien''}} * [http://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/Italian_Capriccio ''Italian Capriccio''], Tchaikovsky Research *{{YouTube | id= Ce5qmAj9XX4 | title= ''Capriccio Italien''}}; [[Moscow City Symphony]] – Russian Philharmonic conducted by [[Michail Jurowski]] {{Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky}} {{Portal bar|Classical music}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Capriccio Italien}} [[Category:1880 compositions]] [[Category:Compositions by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]] [[Category:Compositions for symphony orchestra]] [[Category:Compositions in A major]] [[Category:Fantasias (music)|Tchaikovsky]] [[Category:Music with dedications]] [[Category:Compositions using folk songs]]'