Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia, on May 7, 1840, and died in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 6, 1893. The first performance of the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy took place at a concert of the Russian Musical Society in Moscow, Russia, on March 16, 1870, Nikolay Rubinstein conducting. 

The Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, harp, and strings. Approximate performance time is nineteen minutes.

Composer Mily Balakirev was the founder of a group of Russian nationalist composers known as “The Five” or “Mighty Handful” (the other members were Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov). In the fall of 1869, Balakirev suggested to Tchaikovsky that he should attempt an orchestral depiction of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Tchaikovsky’s early attempts at Romeo were fruitless, and he confided to Balakirev:

"I didn’t want to write to you until I had sketched at least something of the overture. But just imagine, I’m completely played out, and not one even mildly tolerable musical idea comes into my head. I’m beginning to fear that my muse has flown off to some distant place (perhaps she’s visiting [Tchaikovsky’s teacher Nikolay] Zaremba), and perhaps I’ll have to wait for her to return."

Those who are familiar with Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet might well assume that when the long-awaited muse finally returned to Tchaikovsky, the music flowed in a continuous and inevitable fount of inspiration. In truth, the work is testament to a diligent (and brilliant) craftsman who scrutinized his own works with a relentless objectivity and perfectionism. Tchaikovsky revised his Romeo and Juliet numerous times. It is the final, 1880 version that has become a favorite of concert audiences.

Romeo and Juliet opens with an extended slow-tempo introduction (Andante non tanto quasi Moderato) featuring a theme depicting the kindly Friar Laurence. Violent music, representing the warring Montagues and Capulets, launches the principal fast-tempo section (Allegro giusto). Muted violas and the English horn introduce Romeo and Juliet’s immortal “love theme,” paired with an undulating motif in the muted violins. The development and recapitulation of the themes resolve to the brooding final section, capped by fortissimo concluding bars.