The Deep Feelings The Sad Music

Tchaikovsky is one of the most famous composers of the nineteenth century.Music fans all over the world are fascinated by the sincere and touching melody, andthe unique melancholy features of his pieces of works. During his life, Tchaikovskycreated many prolonged pieces. Most of his piano pieces are in the form of programmusic, among which, the divertimento The Four Seasons is the mostthought-provoking one. This divertimento has become one of the most excellentsamples for piano learners, because of its delicate structure, abundant connotation,beautiful melody and melancholy characteristics. It vividly depicts the beautifullandscape and common people’s life in Russia; and it thoroughly illustrates thecomposer’s sentimental personality. Therefore, this divertimento is full of romanticand melancholy Russian style. Aiming at achieving a profound understanding of themelancholy features and performing this divertimento better, this thesis will doresearch on the melancholy elements of The Four Seasons. This thesis consists of fivechapters. The Introduction part mainly introduces the fame of Tchaikovsky’s piecesand the research value of The Four Seasons. The body part consists of three chapters.The first chapter will illustrate the aesthetic psychology and aesthetic value of“melancholy”, based on the aesthetic sense of “melancholy” and analyze themelancholy characteristics in the piece and find the reasons, based on the Russianculture, the melancholy elements in the Russian music, Tchaikovsky’s personalexperience and the influence of his living conditions. The second chapter will analyzethe twelve pieces of The Four Seasons from the perspective of structure, tonality,harmony, rhyme, and dynamics, in order to illustrate the melancholy elements in thisdivertimento. The third chapter will analyze the performing strategies of thisdivertimento from the perspective of sound effect, based on the author’s personalperforming experience. The conclusion part will further illustrate the melancholyelements in the divertimento, and summarize the sentimental characteristics ofTchaikovsky’s pieces, in order to lay the foundation for further research and teaching.