The Year 1812 op. 49

A Tchaikovsky Urtext is no longer a rarity in Breitkopfs orchestral catalogue. Polina Vajdman has edited a very popular repertoire work that the composer personally did not think very highly of. He even confessed to having written the work without the warmth of love.

Nevertheless, the piece is a masterful example of program music that seemingly casually interweaves two Russian folk songs, a liturgical melody of the Russian Orthodox Church and two national anthems, the Marseillaise and the Czars Hymn.

The work was written for the consecration of the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, which was erected in memory of the victory over Napoleon in 1812.

The first edition of the score, which was carefully corrected three times by Tchaikovsky, is the principal source for this Urtext edition. The wording of the title “The Year 1812” corresponds to the composers words, but was oddly never included in the first edition.