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Technical Notice
| Classical Composer: | Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Il'yich |
|---|---|
| Work: | Serenade in C Major, Op. 48 |
| Year Composed: | 1880 |
| Instrumentation: | 8.7.6.5.4 str. |
| Publishers: |
C.F. Peters Frankfurt Boosey & Hawkes The Edwin A. Fleisher Music Collection P. Jurgenson |
| Duration: | 00:30:00 |
| Period: | Romantic |
| Work Category: | Orchestral |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
The Serenade for Strings was written in the winter of 1880 to 1881 and dedicated to the cellist Konstantin Albrecht and general factotum of the Moscow Conservatory. The work started as either a symphony or a string quartet, before it took final shape as a suite for strings, the movements of which established a coherent relationship in key and suggested symphonic structure in their arrangement. It was first performed in Moscow in 1882 and won immediate approval from Jupiter, as the composer's former teacher, Anton Rubinstein, was known. It proved pleasing to critics and public in equal measure and has continued to occupy an important place in string orchestra repertoire.
The first movement, described as in the form of a sonatina, opens with a slower introduction, followed by a first subject in which the composer continues, by dividing the sections of the orchestra, to offer a rich texture, contrasted with the livelier second subject. In the second movement, Tchaikovsky reminds us of his particular gifts as a composer of ballet. The waltz melodies bring with them admirably calculated contrasts of key and movement in music that never ceases to be suavely lyrical. This is followed by an Elegie more patently Russian in inspiration, in which the composer's genius for melody is coupled with a remarkably deft handling of string texture and a subtle manipulation of what is fundamentally a simple scale. The Finale in its opening leads gently from the key and mood of the Elegie to a Russian melody, based on a descending scale, a provenance that is emphasized, finally illuminating the origin of the initial bars of the Serenade and the genesis of the whole work.
Writer: Keith Anderson
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