Though not a significant work in Tchaikovsky's catalogue, the Festival Coronation March adequately served its function as a celebratory piece to commemorate the coronation of Alexander III, who succeeded his brother as tsar in 1881 and reigned until his death in 1894.

The music, dominated by blaring brass, has an atmosphere of grand and joyous celebration. The scoring at times recalls that of the 1812 Overture, particularly in the swirling string figures. Tchaikovsky's detractors would undoubtedly deride the work's generic-sounding thematic material and garish orchestration. Yet, composers from Beethoven to Wagner and beyond were at times obligated to confect this kind of music, and as an example of its kind, the Festival Coronation March is effective and appealing. The notoriously self-critical composer apparently found something of worth in the material, since he later arranged the work for piano.

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