Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet, one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, has been adapted into works of music by many composers such as Berlioz, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky. All tell the same story using various musical themes to represent different aspects of the story. Tchaikovsky is one of the most popular composers from the romantic period. He was first given the idea to compose a work based off of Shakespeare's play by Mily Balakriev and the original version was finished in six weeks. The distinction between family conflicts and the passion between the two lovers results in two contrasting themes. In the story Romeo and Juliet, the two people fall in love, but come from families who hate each other. The two refuse to let this stop them from seeing each other. The music starts at a slow tempo with solemn chords, but then transforms into two different, contrasting themes. The theme that represents the conflict between the two families is represented by quick, forceful and irregular rhythms that is initiated by a single note. To me, this represents the meaningless hatred between countries or people with differences and how it can appear to be set off so quickly. There is no true reason why the two families hate each other besides history, and similar situations still exist today. The piece then goes to a love theme, which comprises of melodic tones. On a more positive side, it shows that people will stand up for what they believe or follow their passions despite the consequences. However, the piece then goes back to the first theme to display the conflict between the two families and ends with a dying heartbeat played by the timpani. It then concludes with four bars of abrupt chords symbolizing the tragedy of the lovers' deaths. To me, this shows that conflict between people often ends in tragedy even though it's not necessary.