Tchaikovsky
www.tchaikovsky-research.net

TH 121

Theme with Variations

Тема с вариациями

A minor (1863/64).

• Composed in 1863 or 1864.
• Scored for Piano solo (2 hands).
• Average duration: 14m 30s.

History

The manuscript of this piece was discovered by Modest Tchaikovsky some fifteen years after the composer’s death. In a letter to Sergei Taneev of 5/18 November 1908, Modest Tchaikovsky wrote: "I have found [the manuscript] of some variations for pf., written by Petia in 1865–66. I am very, very pleased with it—perhaps because it brings back pleasant memories for me. Besides Anatolii and myself, no-one else has seen it yet, and I would like you to be the first" [1].

Evidently, at this time Modest Tchaikovsky began negotiations with the firm of P. I. Jurgenson to publish the Theme with Variations. Sergei Taneev was engaged put the work in order. In a letter of 2/15 January 1909, Boris Jurgenson informed Modest Tchaikovsky: '"He [Taneev] brought us the corrected and edited manuscript of the Theme with Variations. The only problem is that he was unable to sort out the last variation (at the end of the manuscript), numbered as "(var. 5"). He said that in view of this. he could either devise another version of the fifth variation, or transfer another variation to the end, since there are others with more character. Sergei Ivanovich thought that perhaps that the original manuscript might help to resolve this uncertainty. Where is it now?" [2].

In the edition published by Jurgenson, the latter variation became No. 9, but with a note in smaller type "(var. 5)" in square brackets. Jurgenson's edition gives the date of composition as 1863–1864. The likely explanation for the difference in dates given by the publisher and Modest Tchaikovsky's letters is that, evidently, at the time of publication the date of the composition had been more precisely determined from other, unknown, sources.

The theme and first variation were re-used in the Introduction to the first act of Aleksandr Ostrovskii's historical chronicle Dmitrii the Pretender and Vasilii Shuiskii.

The Variations were published by the firm of Jurgenson in 1909.

From: Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 386–387
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston

References:

1. Letter from Modest Tchaikovsky to Sergei Taneev, 5/18 November 1908 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
2. Letter from Boris Jurgenson to Modest Tchaikovsky, 2/15 January 1909. See also letters of 7/20 and 12/25 January 1909 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]