Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem

During his time at the Moscow Conservatoire around September 1866, the school's principal, Nikolay Rubinstein commissioned Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to compose a Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem to be played for the visit of the Tsarevich (heir to the throne) to Moscow, accompanied by his new Danish bride, Princess Dagmar of Denmark. The Tsarevich would eventually be crowned Tsar Alexander III of Russia and remain a devoted follower of Tchaikovsky's music, awarding the composer both the Order of St. Vladimir (Fourth Class) in 1884 and a state pension in 1885.

Tchaikovsky often set about functional commissions with a strong air of professionalism, knowing that the piece may only even be played once, and this work was no exception. Indeed, Tchaikovsky himself wrote at the end of his life that this piece was 'very effective... and far better as music than 1812'.

Tchaikovsky thought that it would be a good idea to incorporate the Russian national anthem's melody into the work as well, by way of symbolising the union of two realms, but this innocent venture ultimately led to the piece's downfall and to the cancellation of the official performance.

A piece of surviving journalism states, 'Our talented young composer for some reason took it into his head to set forth our Russian national anthem in the minor key, which completely transforms the character of this well-known melody.'

However, Tchaikovsky received a gift of gold cuff links from the Tsarevich as an expression of royal gratitude for his efforts anyway.

## See also

[edit]

Kong Christian stod ved højen mast \- The Danish royal anthem Tchaikovsky based his work on.

## References

[edit]

Cited from David Brown's "Tchaikovsky: The Man and His Music"

## External links

[edit]

* Tchaikovsky Research

* v
* t
* e

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

* List of compositions
* Musical style
* Symphonies
* The Five
* Belyayev circle
* Death

Operas|

* The Voyevoda
* Undina
* The Oprichnik
* Vakula the Smith
* Eugene Onegin
* The Maid of Orleans
* Mazepa (or Mazeppa)
* Cherevichki
* The Enchantress
* The Queen of Spades
* Iolanta

Ballets|

* Swan Lake
* The Sleeping Beauty
* The Nutcracker

Symphonies|

* No. 1 in G minor (Winter Daydreams)
* No. 2 in C minor (Little Russian)
* No. 3 in D major (Polish)
* No. 4 in F minor
* Symphony in B minor (Manfred)
* No. 5 in E minor
* No. 6 in B minor (Pathétique)
* Symphony in E♭ major (unfinished)

Concertante|

* Piano Concerto No. 1 in B♭ minor
* Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major
* Piano Concerto No. 3 in E♭ major
* Concert Fantasia
* Andante and Finale
* Sérénade mélancolique
* Valse-Scherzo
* Violin Concerto in D major
* Variations on a Rococo Theme
* Pezzo capriccioso
* Cello Concerto

Orchestral works|

* Romeo and Juliet
* The Tempest
* Hamlet
* Capriccio Italien
* Francesca da Rimini
* The Storm
* Fatum
* The Voyevoda
* 1812 Overture
* Marche slave
* Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem
* Festival Coronation March
* Orchestral Suite No. 1 in D minor
* Orchestral Suite No. 2 in C major
* Orchestral Suite No. 3 in G major
* Orchestral Suite No. 4 in G major (Mozartiana)
* Serenade for Strings

Vocal music|

* Liturgy of St John Chrysostom
* All-Night Vigil
* Moscow
* Six Romances (Op. 38)

Chamber music|

* Quartet Movement in B♭ major
* String Quartet No. 1 in D major
* String Quartet No. 2 in F major
* String Quartet No. 3 in E♭ minor
* Souvenir d'un lieu cher
* Piano Trio in A minor
* String Sextet in D minor (Souvenir de Florence)

Piano music|

* Scherzo à la russe
* Souvenir de Hapsal
* The Seasons
* Grand Piano Sonata in G major
* Piano Sonata No. 2 in C♯ minor

Portrayals|

* Tchaikovsky (1970 film)
* The Music Lovers (1971 film)

People|

* Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (brother)
* Vladimir Davydov (nephew)
* Antonina Miliukova (wife)
* Nadezhda von Meck (patron)

Related|

* In popular media
* Attempted suicide theory
* Tchaikovsky State House-Museum
* Tchaikovsky Museum (Votkinsk)
* Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory
* Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra
* Chaikovskij (crater)
* International Tchaikovsky Competition
* International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians
* Life

* Category
* Audio

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template