Tchaikovsky
www.tchaikovsky-research.net
Three Pieces
Три пьесы
For piano solo, Op. 9 (1870).
No. 1. Rêverie (Греэы)
| Catalogue References | TH 131 ; ČW 107 |
|---|---|
| Date | October 1870 |
| Key | D major |
| Tempo/Section Listing | Andante capriccioso (D minor, 168 bars) |
| Instrumentation | Piano (solo) |
| First Performance | Moscow, 16/28 March 1871, by Nikolai Rubinstein |
| Autograph Location |
Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 109) |
| First Publication | Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1871 |
| Average Duration | 7 minutes |
| Dedication | Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Muromtseva (d. 1909) |
| External Links | Internet Music Score Library
Project
 (downloadable score) |
No. 2. Polka de salon (Салонная полька).
| Catalogue References | TH 131 ; ČW 108 |
|---|---|
| Date | October 1870 |
| Key | B♭ major |
| Tempo/Section Listing | Andante moderato (B♭ major, 128 bars) |
| Instrumentation | Piano (solo) |
| Autograph Location | Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 109) |
| First Publication | Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1871 |
| Average Duration | 3 minutes |
| Dedication | Aleksandra Iur'evna Zograf (1850–1919) |
| External Links | Internet Music Score Library
Project
(downloadable score) |
No. 3. Mazurka de salon (Салонная мазурка)
| Catalogue References | TH 131 ; ČW 109 |
|---|---|
| Date | October 1870 |
| Key | D minor |
| Tempo/Section Listing | Tempo giusto (D minor, 219 bars) |
| Instrumentation | Piano (solo) |
| First Performance | Moscow, 16/28 March 1871, by Nikolai Rubinstein |
| Autograph Location | Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 109) |
| First Publication | Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1871 |
| Average Duration | 4 minutes |
| Dedication | Aleksandr Diubiuk (1812–1898) |
| Note | Based on the Mazurka for the play Dmitrii the Pretender and Vasilii Shuiskii (1867) |
| External Links | Internet Music Score Library
Project
(downloadable score) |
History
Evidently composed in October 1870 in Moscow. In a letter to Ivan Klimenko of 26 October/7 November 1870, Tchaikovsky reported: "I’ve written three new pieces" [1]. For the third piece—Mazurka de Salon—Tchaikovsky arranged music he had written for Aleksandr Ostrovskii's dramatic chronicle Dmitrii the Pretender and Vasilii Shuiskii.
The first piece—Rêverie— is dedicated to the pianist Nadezhda Muromtseva; the second—Polka de salon—to the pianist Aleksandra Zograf; the third—Mazurka de salon—to the pianist and composer Aleksandr Diubiuk.
Rêverie and Polka de salon were played for the first time by Nikolai Rubinstein on 16/28 March 1871 at a concert of Tchaikovsky's works in the Little Hall of the Nobles' Society in Moscow.
Published by Petr Jurgenson in March 1871.
From: Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958),
p. 397
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston
Notes:
- Letter 213 to Ivan Klimenko, 26 October/7 November 1870 [back]