20-21PB Tch&Barber SINGLEPGS - Flipbook - Page 14
PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY
(May 7, 1840-November 6, 1893)
Serenade for Strings
In the fall of 1880, Pyotr Tchaikovsky was
at work on two orchestral compositions.
One was his Serenade for Strings, the
other an occasional piece, an overture,
written for an exhibition celebrating
the 25th anniversary of the reign of
Tsar Alexander II. Tchaikovsky wrote his
patron Nadezhda von Meck:
TCHAIKOVSKY AND BARBER
The overture will be very loud and
noisy, but I wrote it without warmth or
love, so it will probably not have any
artistic merit.
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BY THE NUMBERS
Work Composed: 1880; dedicated
to Constantin Albrecht, a cellist
and inspector at the Moscow
Conservatory
World Premiere: October 30, 1881,
in St. Petersburg, with Eduard
Nápravník conducting a concert
of the Russian Musical Society;
the piece had already been
heard in a surprise performance
for Tchaikovsky at the Moscow
Conservatory on December
3, 1880, conducted by Nikolai
Rubinstein
The Serenade, by contract, I wrote
from an inner compulsion; it is deeply
felt and for that reason, I venture to York Symphony Orchestra
Premiere: January 14, 1943, Louis
think, is not without real merit.
Tchaikovsky, like many composers, wrote
one-off pieces for specific events such as
his Coronation March for Alexander III and
the choral Greeting to Anton Rubinstein
for the composer’s 50th Birthday. While
“loud” indeed, the 1812 Overture would
become one of Tchaikovsky’s most
celebrated and performed works.
Vyner conductor
Most Recent York Symphony
Orchestra Performance: October
18, 1971, as the score to a ballet
by George Balanchine, with the
National Ballet; likely Ottavio
DeRosa or James Pfohl conductor
Estimated Duration: ca. 28 minutes
Of the serenade, Michael Steinberg writes that though it is more restrained
than his overtures and symphonies, it is “nonetheless full of unmistakable
Tchaikovskian melancholy.” The forms of each movement look towards
the past including, a Baroque-style overture, graceful waltz, and elegy.
The finale is the most progressive beginning with music from the first
movement, followed by an Allegro that bursts forth with folk songs, which
become brilliantly intertwined with the Serenade’s opening theme.