Symphony Life (in Russian Симфо́ния «Жизнь») is an unfinished work by the Russian Romantic composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, on which he was presumably working in 1890 or 1891. In the Russian Thematic and Bibliographical Catalogue of the Works of P. I. Tchaikovsky, the sketches for it are included in ČW 443, and in the 2002 Bloomington & Indianapolis English-language thematic-systematic catalogue, it is included in TchH 238;Thomas Kohlhase. Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke P. I. Čajkovskijs. S. 24. Die Tschaikowsky-Gesellschaft. Дата обращения: 19 November 2022. Archive: 16 July 2020. in both catalogues, this is the Symphony in E-flat major. It is common to refer to this symphony as two sheets of textual inscriptions and associated sheet music sketches made by the composer. Art historians agree that they correspond with the time of the composition of Tchaikovsky's string sextet Souvenir de Florence.
In musicology, there are two different points of view regarding the dating. Some scholars have argued that the Symphony Life was conceived long before the unfinished Symphony in E-flat major (1892) and the famous Sixth Symphony (1893) and that its conception and surviving sketches date back to 1890. This view has been held by, among others, Dr. Julius Kremlin and Dr. Arnold Alshwang.
Another point of view, for example, was expressed in 1958 in the scientific publication The Musical Heritage of P. I. Tchaikovsky: From the History of His Works, and in 1970 it was substantiated by Vladimir Blok, a candidate of art history. According to this view, the text and musical sketches date back to 1891, and the Symphony Life is not a separate idea of Tchaikovsky, but the original title, program, and sketches for the Symphony in E-flat major, which was destroyed by the composer himself. Individual movements of the Symphony in E-flat major were at the same time incorporated into other works by the composer. The composer subsequently abandoned the title Life for this symphony in the course of working on it.
Another point of view, for example, was expressed in 1958 in the non-fiction publication The Musical Heritage of P. I. Tchaikovsky: From the History of His Works, and in 1970 it was substantiated by Vladimir Blok, a candidate of art history. According to this view, the text and musical sketches date back to 1891, and the Symphony Life is not a separate idea of Tchaikovsky, but the original title, program, and sketches for the Sixth Symphony, which was destroyed by the composer himself. Individual movements of the Symphony in E-flat major were at the same time incorporated into other works by the composer. The composer subsequently abandoned the title Life for this symphony in the course of working on it. The academic discussion was reflected in journalism and documentary films. The title of this symphony became the title of the exhibitions held at the Tchaikovsky State House-Museum in KlinThomas Kohlhase. Čajkovskijs unvollendete und verworfene Symphonie Es-Dur ohne op. (1892) TchH 1 (238) / ČS 443 und seine Umarbeitung ihrer Sätze I, II und IV zum 3. Konzert für Klavier und Orchester op. 75 (1893) TchH 1 (65) / ČS 57 sowie zum Andante und Finale für Klavier und Orchester op. post. 79 (1893) TchH 1 (241) / ČS 444 und ihres dritten Satzes zur Scherzo-Fantasie für Klavier op. 72, Nr. 10 (1893) TchH 1 (151) / ČS 196. Daten, Fakten, Quellen und Ausgaben zusammengestellt. S. 1—9. Die Tschaikowsky-Gesellschaft. 15 November 2022. Archive: 15 November 2022. in connection with the 175th and 180th anniversaries of the composer's birth.
The Symphony's intention in Tchaikovsky's sketches and researchers' attempts of their dating
Autographed sketches of the symphony
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's inscriptions on the back of the musical sketch for his sextet for strings Souvenir de Florence are usually associated with the idea of composing the Symphony Life. This sketch was not included in the published version of the sextet. The size of this sheet of music paper is 36 × 34 cm.
On a sheet of music paper, Tchaikovsky wrote the following text: “The following are the sketches for the symphony Life! The first part is all impulse, confidence, thirst for activity. Should be brief. (The finale: death – the result of destruction). (2nd part: love; 3rd: disappointment; 4th ends with faltering, also brief)”. On another separate sheet is a musical sketch of the First Movement of the Life Symphony in the key of E-flat major and in the time signature 3/4 or possibly 6/8. This sheet preserves notes concerning, according to Yuly Kremlev, a doctor of art history, part of the first movement of this symphony: “Life. I) Youth”. On the back were additional note sketches and the text: “II) Obstacles!”, “Nonsense!”, “Coda. Forward! Forward!”
By order of Tchaikovsky's younger brother, Modest, the chest containing the composer's manuscripts was transported from Klin to Moscow in 1905 and placed in the fireproof room of Pyotr Jurgenson's publishing house. After Modest Ilyich’s death in 1916, having left his elder brother's legacy to the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society, the chest was opened at the museum of the Moscow Conservatoire. The opening procedure was described in detail by musicologist and folklorist Julius Engel, who noted that there was no key to the chest’s lock, necessitating the services of a locksmith. Inside, the chest contained music manuscripts dating from Tchaikovsky’s conservatory years up to the last months of his life, as well as notebooks, sketches of librettos, letters, and some of Tchaikovsky's personal items. Among the contents, Engel mentioned previously unknown sketches of the Symphony Life.
Information about these recordings was published in 1950 in the first volume, Autographs to Musical Works: Notebooks and Diaries, of the Soviet edition Tchaikovsky's Autographs in the Archives of the Tchaikovsky State House-Museum in Klin: Handbook, in the section VIII. Sketches for Unrealised Projects. They were characterized as follows:Symphony Life (conceived 1890–1892). Sketches of themes (23 volumes),The compilers of the edition noted that the time signatures in some cases are conventional, as Tchaikovsky did not specify any "time signatures" himself, and the metrical structure left unspecified by the composer can be interpreted in various ways.11 in E-flat major and an outline of the program, on the reverse of the sheet with a sketch of the sextet theme Souvenir de Florence. The sheet is torn from a music notebook containing sketches for the ballet The Nutcracker and the opera Iolanta. Before the program sketch, the composer’s inscription reads: “The following are the sketches for the symphony Life!” Notes in pencil. Cipher A, a1, L No. 67, folder XXII.In that edition, a subsequently forgotten attempt was made to distinguish clearly between two types of preparatory recordings by the composer for future musical works: "sketch" and "draft". The former term implies "a more finished and complete fixing of the musical content", while the latter refers to a more "sketchy, working record". Also distinguished were "sketches of the rough draft manuscript", understood to be "actually a completely exhaustive fixing of the entire work". The compilers emphasized the great importance of the sketch stage in Tchaikovsky's work, claiming it was the composer’s favourite and most crucial stage in the process of creating a piece. They quoted a letter from Tchaikovsky himself to reveal its peculiarities: “I write my sketches on the first sheet of paper I can find, and sometimes even on a scrap of sheet music paper. I write in very abbreviated form; melody can never appear in my mind except together with harmony. In general, both these elements of music, together with rhythm, can never be separated from each other, for example, every melodic thought carries in itself the implied harmony, and is necessarily has a rhythmic division”.
Tchaikovsky made his musical notes in all circumstances and under all conditions, whenever ideas arose. Often, this took place on the road, during walks, and sketches were made on the first piece of paper he found — on desk pad, letters, and in notebooks. Usually, the musical notes were accompanied by textual remarks referring to the form of the musical work, the future harmonization of the recorded melody, and the forthcoming instrumentation.
The autographs of recordings relating to the Symphony Life are now part of the collection at the State Memorial Music Museum-Reserve of P. I. Tchaikovsky under marks A, A1, No. 67, folder XII.Thomas Kohlhase attributed the composer's work on the Life Symphony to A1, no. 45, folder XII – Symphony in E-flat Major, 1891-1892 (sketches presumably for it). 1. Sketch in E minor, 9 volumes in a notebook with sketches for The Nutcracker and Iolanta. Above the sketch is the date: "May 22 / 10, 91, In the Ocean". Below the sketch of the theme in F major. 8th volume. Sheet torn out. Recorded in pencil. Cipher A, a1, No. 45, folder XII". Three sheets from the collection contain sketches for the second act of the ballet The Nutcracker and for individual numbers of the opera Iolanta. Sheet 1 contains sketches of themes in E-flat minor (dated 10 May 1891, on the sea), F major, and A minor. Sheets 2 and 3 contain an outline “for sextet” (first page), and the following three pages contain sheet music in E-flat major for the Life Symphony with textual program additions. The transcription of Pyotr Ilyich’s sketches for the Symphony Life was published in The Musical Heritage of P. I. Tchaikovsky: From the History of His Works in 1958.
The Thematic and Bibliographical Catalogue of P. I. Tchaikovsky's Works, published in 2006 (information about the outline for the Life Symphony is provided only in English, unlike most other fragments, which include a Russian translation in the text of the index), offers some details about the composer's notes related to this symphony: "3 sheets numbered as follows: sheets I, II, pp. 1-2 (May 1891). In pencil ... pp. 1 (above the sketch): "22 May / 10, 91. In the ocean". L. I contains a sketch marked for sextet (3 folios numbered as follows: folios 1, II, pp. 1-2 [not used] [May 1891]. In pencil ... P. 1 (above the sketch): "May 22 / 10, 91. In the ocean"). F. I contains a sketch marked for the sextet". The Thematic and Bibliographical Catalogue of Tchaikovsky's Works includes the sketches for the Life Symphony in ČW 443, which corresponds to the Symphony in E-flat major, while the 2002 Bloomington & Indianapolis English-language thematic-systematic catalogue lists them in TchH 238, which also corresponds to the Symphony in E-flat major.
The sketches for the Life Symphony were published in Tchaikovsky's international New Complete Works, volume 39c, devoted to the Symphony Pathétique. It was published in 2003 in Russian (Moscow) and German (Mainz).
First attempt of sketches dating