# What is your favourite Tchaikovsky melody?



## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

I am only talking about Tchaikovsky's slow melodies here. My favourite would probably be symphony 6 movement 1 second theme, but there are so many other good ones.


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)




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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

This melody is the center of my musical universe.


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

Tough decision. However, I would say this melody: the one between 1:34 and 2:00. Absolutely exquisite, refined, elegant, sophisticated. This recording is the best of this great work IMO as played by the Borodin Quartet et al.


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

Tchaikovsky was in Top 3 a long time ago but I tapped into a some composers a little more idealistic, but still awesome. Maybe:

14:23


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

BenG said:


> I am only talking about Tchaikovsky's slow melodies here. My favourite would probably be symphony 6 movement 1 second theme, but there are so many other good ones.


This, and the second movement of his 1st string quartet.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Manfred Symphony mvtII - 2nd theme, really exquisite....I have Toscanini/NBC '53, just ravishingly beautiful, NBC strings are amazing...the phrasing is so supple, so lovely...I always repeat that section whenever I listen to it...


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Heck148 said:


> Manfred Symphony mvtII - 2nd theme, really exquisite....I have Toscanini/NBC '53, just ravishingly beautiful, NBC strings are amazing...the phrasing is so supple, so lovely...I always repeat that section whenever I listen to it...


Great minds think alike - that one's mine too. Such a simple, yet beguiling tune.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I was never the strongest math student, but one equation that I cherish is the following: Tchaikovsky = Melody.

As already stated, it's a tough decision to try and pin down a single favorite among Tchaikovsky's oeuvre of "slow melodies"; there are simply so many great ones. 

I would likely have to side with the fans of the great melodic lyric theme of the Sixth Symphony's first movement, a melody that expands upon the solo oboe's "teardrop" or Lacrimosa motif from the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth. Whereas Beethoven is capable of only that one tear, Tchaikovsky weeps his heart out, but oh so beautifully.

Still, I remain haunted by the second movement of the composer's Second Piano Concerto, a melody I've loved since the first time I heard it over 50 years ago. It tends to overwhelm me with my own teardrops. Alas ….


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## caracalla (Feb 19, 2020)

I'm with Fabulin on this one. Tchaikovsky is far from the centre of my own musical universe, but I have to admit that Swan Lake has what it takes. If it's a lollipop, that can't be helped.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

The third movement waltz from the 5th symphony because of the tune and the way the composer trades instruments.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

What about "Andante Cantabile"? Second movement of String Quartet no 1. Very sublime


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

> I am only talking about Tchaikovsky's slow melodies here. My favourite would probably be symphony 6 movement 1 second theme, but there are so many other good ones.


You give the answer already, but I agree with Judtih, wonderful piece .


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

2nd movement of the 5th symphony?


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## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

I love this little gem, too.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Biwa said:


> I love this little gem, too.


That's a really good one...great bassoon part, too.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

The melody from the second movement of Tchaikovsky's symphony No. 5 is one of the most beautiful I've ever heard.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Biwa said:


> I love this little gem, too.


Yes, it's a great tune, but Tchaikovsky did not write it. It's an actual folk tune from the middle east. Ippolitov-Ivanov used that tune in the Berceuse from his second suite of Caucasian Sketches "Iveria". But Tchaikovsky made it his own in a way that only his melodic genius could.


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

About 5-2 "Andante Cantabile," I would myself disagree from a level of admiration. The 5th is my favorite work of his, and 5-2 my favorite movement! But wouldn't say it's melodic excellence, it's just imo really beautiful slow counterpoint.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Judith said:


> What about "Andante Cantabile"? Second movement of String Quartet no 1. Very sublime


Agreed...Wonderful


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Ethereality said:


> About 5-2 "Andante Cantabile," I would myself disagree from a level of admiration. The 5th is my favorite work of his, and 5-2 my favorite movement! But wouldn't say it's melodic excellence, it's just imo really beautiful slow counterpoint.


Perhaps, but it's my opinion that the gorgeous melody (associated with the brilliant use of dynamics and orchestration to create climaxes) is also a key feature of this particular movement. Below an excerpt from the program notes of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra about Tchaikovsky's Fifth:

"Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony had been his answer to Beethoven's Fifth: it's a symphony of triumph over fate, and he explained its meaning in detailed correspondence with Mme von Meck. For his next symphony, Tchaikovsky again turned to the theme of fate, although this time he gave away little of the work's hidden meaning. As a motto theme, Tchaikovsky picked a phrase from Glinka's A Life for the Tsar which accompanies the words "turn not into sorrow." Before he began composing, he sketched a program for the work in his notebook, labeling the theme as "complete resignation before Fate," and describing the first movement as "doubts . . . reproaches against xxx." That xxx, like the cryptic Z that appears elsewhere in the same pages, refers, almost without doubt, to the homosexuality he dared not admit. (It remained a well-kept secret during his life. His friends didn't know what to make of the disastrous match that publicly passed for a marriage-lasting only weeks and driving the composer to attempt suicide-or of his one satisfying relationship with a woman, Nadezhda von Meck, whom he never met in fourteen years and couldn't bring himself to speak to the one time they accidentally passed on the street.)

(...)

The Andante presents one of Tchaikovsky's most beloved themes, a horn melody so poignant and seductive that it tempts many listeners to overlook the eloquent strands the clarinet and oboe weave around it. The opening bars of quiet sustained chords begin in B minor and then swing around to D major-that unexpected tonal territory from the first movement-before the hushed entry of the horn. The lyrical flow is halted by the motto theme, first announced by the full orchestra over a fierce timpani roll midway through, and once again just before the end..." - *Source here*.


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## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

mbhaub said:


> Yes, it's a great tune, but Tchaikovsky did not write it. It's an actual folk tune from the middle east. Ippolitov-Ivanov used that tune in the Berceuse from his second suite of Caucasian Sketches "Iveria". But Tchaikovsky made it his own in a way that only his melodic genius could.


It's wonderful how folk songs can be the source of so much music. I love pulling back the layers of art and culture. Ippoliltov-Ivanov's second suite is a lovely work, too. Thanks for sharing that!


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## erki (Feb 17, 2020)

Violin concerto Op.35 first part touches some strings in me


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

It has appeared to me that the Classical community distaste for Tchaikovsky doesn't stem as much from his straightforward simplicity or reliance on melody, but rather, his overall aesthetic, for instance melodrama as a replacement for development and other things; I'm leaving my own opinion out of it. I'm afraid it's an aesthetic case worse than Mozart or Haydn. I found this out by comparing a few different groups and their tastes.


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## level82rat (Jun 20, 2019)

Ethereality said:


> It has appeared to me that the Classical community distaste for Tchaikovsky stems less from his straightforward simplicity or reliance on melody, but rather, the aesthetic of many of his best works, such as an association of melodrama. I'm afraid it's an aesthetic case worse than Mozart or Haydn. I found this out by comparing a few different groups and their tastes.


Theres a distaste for Tchaikovsky in the classical community? And what does melodrama mean in the context of CM?


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

level82rat said:


> And what does melodrama mean in the context of CM?


I'm not sure, only that it's different from regular drama with similar melody/simplicity, ie. various Beethoven. Keep in mind, melodrama is just one vague example I noticed people talking about.



level82rat said:


> Theres a distaste for Tchaikovsky in the classical community?


The community, specifically music critics and sites like this rate him much lower than 3rd place. You don't recall him being rated as the 3rd greatest composer according to the largest online poll? It's easy to see that the public loves Tchaikovsky, but more avid listeners have a bit lesser opinion where he doesn't make the Top 10. This community belongs to the public and so some members favor Tchaikovsky, but we do not all represent the mainstream.


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

Disregard my first pick, 'Romeo and Juliet Love Theme."

I recently figured out who this beautiful melody was from that has been stuck in my head for quite a while. This is melodic excellence far beyond similar-sounding composers like Grieg or other folk melodies, and one of my Top 5 favorite melodies of all time:





_Dance of the Bridesmaids - Sleeping Beauty_


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## Mifek (Jul 28, 2018)

BenG said:


> I am only talking about Tchaikovsky's slow melodies here.


My personal Top Ten list:
1. Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture (Love theme)
2. The Nutcracker (Pas de deux)
3. Swan Lake (Scene)
4. Symphony No. 1 "Winter Dreams" (2nd movement theme)
5. Piano Trio in A minor Op. 50 (Pezzo elegiaco)
6. Violin concerto (Andante)
7. Piano concerto No. 1 (Andantino semplice)
8. String quartet No. 1 (Andante cantabile)
9. Symphony No. 3 (Andante elegiaco)
10. Symphony No. 6 (Adagio lamentoso)


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Allerius said:


> The melody from the second movement of Tchaikovsky's symphony No. 5 is one of the most beautiful I've ever heard.


Yep. Choosing a favorite Tchaikovsky melody is like choosing a favorite child. But if I had to, it would be thing one.

Unless you asked me again next week.


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