Tchaikovsky Research : Eighteen Pieces, Op. 72 (TH 151)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 187
Date	April 1893
Key	F minor
Tempo/Section Listing	Allegro moderato e giocoso (F minor, 119 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	5 minutes
Dedication	Varvara Ivanovna Maslova (d.1905)
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 2. Berceuse (Колыбельная песня)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 188 (as "Cradle Song")
Date	April 1893
Key	A♭ major
Tempo/Section Listing	Andante mosso (A♭ major, 80 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	8 minutes
Dedication	Petr Moskalev
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 3. Tendres reproches (Нежные упреки)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 189 (as "Tender Reproaches")
Date	April 1893
Key	C♯ minor
Tempo/Section Listing	Allegro non tanto ed agitato (C♯ minor, 129 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	3 minutes
Dedication	Avgust Antonovich Gerke (1841–1902)
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 4. Danse caractéristique (Характеристический танец)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 190 (as "Character Dance")
Date	April 1893
Key	D major
Tempo/Section Listing	Allegro giusto (D major, 218 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	3 minutes
Dedication	Anatolii Ivanovich Galli (1845–1915)
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 5. Méditation (Размышление)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 191 (as "Meditation")
Date	April 1893
Key	D major
Tempo/Section Listing	Andante mosso (D major, 85 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	6 minutes
Dedication	Vasilii Il'ich Safonov (1852–1918)
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 6. Mazurque pour danser (Мазурка для танец)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 192 (as "Mazurka for Dancing")
Date	April 1893
Key	B♭ major
Tempo/Section Listing	Tempo di Mazurka (B♭ major, 192 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	3 minutes
Dedication	Luiza Osipovna Jurgenson
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 7. Polacca de concert (Концертный полонез)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 193 (as "Concert Polonaise")
Date	April 1893
Key	E♭ major
Tempo/Section Listing	Tempo di Polacca (E♭ major, 166 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	5 minutes
Dedication	Paul Pabst (1854–1897)
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 8. Dialogue (Диалог)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 194
Date	April 1893
Key	B major
Tempo/Section Listing	Allegro moderato (B major, 73 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	5 minutes
Dedication	Ekaterina Ivanovna Laroche
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 9. Un poco di Schumann (Немного Шумана)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 195 (as "A Bit of Schumann")
Date	April 1893
Key	D♭ major
Tempo/Section Listing	Moderato mosso (D♭ major, 95 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	4 minutes
Dedication	Anna Ivanovna Maslova
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 10. Scherzo-fantaisie (Скерцо-фантазия)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 196 (as "Scherzo-Fantasy")
Date	April 1893
Key	E♭ minor
Tempo/Section Listing	Vivace assai (E♭ minor, 313 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	6 minutes
Dedication	Aleksandr Il'ich Ziloti (1863–1945)
Notes	Based on the Scherzo from the abandoned Symphony in E♭ major (1892).
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 11. Valse-bluette (Вальс-безделушка)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 197 (as "Waltz-Bagatelle")
Date	April 1893
Key	E♭ major
Tempo/Section Listing	Tempo di Valse (E♭ major, 162 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	3 minutes
Dedication	Nadezhda Kondrat'eva
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 12. L'espiègle (Резвушка)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 198 (as "Prankish Girl")
Date	April 1893
Key	E major
Tempo/Section Listing	Allegro moderato (E major, 46 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	2 minutes
Dedication	Aleksandra Petrovna Svetlovskaia (1869–1946)
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 13. Echo rustique (Сельский отзвук)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 199 (as "Rustic Echo")
Date	April 1893
Key	E♭ major
Tempo/Section Listing	Allegro non troppo (E♭ major, 105 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	3 minutes
Dedication	Alina Ivanovna Briullova (1849–1932)
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 14. Chant élégiaque (Элегическая песня)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 200 (as "Elegiac Song")
Date	April 1893
Key	D♭ major
Tempo/Section Listing	Adagio (D♭ major, 93 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	9 minutes
Dedication	To the memory of Vladimir Sklifosovskii.
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 15. Un poco di Chopin (Немного Шопена)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 201 (as "A Bit of Chopin")
Date	April 1893
Key	C♯ minor
Tempo/Section Listing	Tempo di Mazurka (C♯ minor, 163 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	3 minutes
Dedication	Sergei Mikhailovich Remezov (1854–?)
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 16. Valse à cinq temps (Вальс в 5/8)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 202 (as "Quintuple Waltz")
Date	April 1893
Key	D minor
Tempo/Section Listing	Vivace (D major, 100 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	3 minutes
Dedication	Nikolai Konstantinovich Lents (1858–?)
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 17. Passé lontain (Далекое прошлое)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 203 (as "Distant Past")
Date	April 1893
Key	E♭ major
Tempo/Section Listing	Moderato assai quasi Andante (E♭ major, 78 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	7 minutes
Dedication	Nikolai Zverev.
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

No. 18. Scene dansante: Invitation au trépak (Приглашение к трепаку)

Catalogue References	TH 151 ; ČW 204 (as "Dance Scene (Invitation to Trepak)")
Date	April 1893
Key	C major
Tempo/Section Listing	Allegro non tanto (C major, 237 bars)
Instrumentation	Piano (solo)
Autograph Location	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 119)
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1893
Average Duration	4 minutes
Dedication	Vasilii L'vovich Sapel'nikov (1868–1941)
External Links	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score)

History

Returning to Klin on 3/15 February 1893 after a long period of absence, Tchaikovsky straight away set to work on composing his Symphony No. 6. At around this time he also assembled materials which were to form the basis for a series of piano pieces.

On 5/17 February the composer told Modest Tchaikovsky: "In the meantime, in order to earn some money, I will compose a few piano pieces and romances" [1]

Tchaikovsky only began to composing these pieces in April, after completing the sketches of his Symphony No. 6 and fulfilling a number of concert engagements, from which he returned on 5/17 April 1893.

It seems likely that early sketches for some of the piano pieces were made somewhat earlier. Inside the cover of one volume from the composer’s complete edition of Mozart scores (preserved in his own library at Klin), themes for ten of the Op. 72 set can be found [2]. It is impossible to ascertain exactly when these sketches were made, but since they are found with sketches for the Symphony in E♭ major, they most probably date from 1892.

On 5/17 April 1893, Tchaikovsky wrote to Il'ia Slatin from Klin: "I have been on holiday in Saint Petersburg with my family, which was very nice. I came back today and began collecting my thoughts to compose a whole series of miniature pieces" [3]. On 11/23 April in a letter to Vladimir Davydov he reported on his progress: "I’ve been performing my duties very punctiliously, and each day a musical offspring is born. However, these offspring are very much premature and insubstantial; I have no inclination whatsoever to work, and do so only for the money. I’m only trying to make sure that they won’t sound too awful" [4].

By 15/27 April, ten pieces had already been written. "In the 10 days since returning from Petersburg, I have decided, for the want of money, to write a few little piano pieces, and have conditioned myself to write at least one a day during this month", Tchaikovsky wrote to Il'ia Slatin on 15/27 April [5]. "I’m continuing to bake my musical pancakes", he wrote on the same day to Vladimir Davydov: "Today the tenth is being prepared. It's remarkable that the further I get, I find the work easier and more enjoyable. At the beginning it went slowly, and the first two or three were merely the result of an effort of will, but now I cannot stop my ideas, which appear to me one after anther, at all hours of the day" [6].

On 21 April/3 May, having written the eighteenth piece, Tchaikovsky completed the series, despite his initial intention of writing thirty: "It seems that I won’t be able to write 30 pieces", he told Modest Tchaikovsky on 22 April/4 May: "In 15 days I’ve written 18 of them, and today I’ve brought them to Moscow" [7]. The pieces were immediately given to Petr Jurgenson for publication.

In a letter to Aleksandr Ziloti of 3/15 May 1893, the composer recounted how he had originally intended that the eighteen pieces should be divided into three sets, one of which would have been dedicated to him [8]. But because Tchaikovsky had promised dedications to so many people. he dedicated only one piece – Scherzo-fantaisie (No. 10) – to Aleksandr Ziloti, but promised to dedicated to him a large-scale orchestral work. On the fair copy of the manuscript some of the pieces are dated, showing the day when they were completed. The first to be written was the Polacca de concert (No. 7) on 10/22 April; then Echo rustique (No. 13)—11/23 April; Scherzo-fantaisie (No. 10) and Valse-bluette (No. 11)—both 12/24 April; Dialogue (No. 8)—13/25 April; Invitation au trepak (No. 18)—16/28 April; Chant élégiaque (No. 14)—17/29 April; Passé lontain (No. 17)—20 April/2 May; Tendres reproches (No. 3)—21 April/3 May. The dates of completion for the other nine pieces were not given.

On the fair copy of the manuscript the name of the person to whom each piece is dedicated appears underneath the title: Impromptu (No. 1) is dedicated to Varvara. Maslova; Berceuse (No. 2) – to Petr Moskalev; Tendres reproches (No. 3) – to Avgust Gerke; Danse caractèristique (No. 4) – to Anatolii Galli; Méditation (No. 5) – to Vasilii Safonov; Mazurque pour danser (No. 6) – to Luiza Jurgenson; Polacca de concert (No. 7) – to Paul Pabst; Dialogue (No. 8) – to Ekaterina Laroche; Un poco di Schumann (No. 9) – to Anna Maslova; Scherzo-fantaisie (No. 10) – to Aleksandr Ziloti; Valse-bluette (No. 11) – to Nadezhda Kondrat'eva; L'espiègle (No. 12) – to Aleksandra Svetlovskaia; Echo rustique (No. 13) – to Alina Briullova; Chant élégiaque (No. 14) – to the memory of Vladimir Sklifosovskii; Un poco di Chopin (No. 15) – to Sergei Remezov; Valse à cinq temps (No. 16) – to Nikolai Lenz; Passé lontain (No. 17) – to Nikolai Zverev; Invitation au trepak (No. 18) – to Vasilii. Sapel’nikov.

Eighteen Pieces

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No. 1. Impromptu (Экспромт)