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TH 123

Piano Sonata

Фортепианая соната

C-sharp minor, Op. 80 (1865).

  1. Allegro con fuoco (C-sharp minor)
  2. Andante (A major)
  3. Scherzo. Allegro vivo (C-sharp minor)
  4. Allegro vivo (C-sharp minor)
  • Composed in 1865.
  • Scored for Piano solo (2 hands).
  • Average duration: 25m.

History

Composed during Tchaikovsky's final year as a student at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Not published during Tchaikovsky's lifetime, and preserved after the composer’s death by Modest Tchaikovsky.

In 1900, Modest Tchaikovsky and Aleksandr Ziloti entered into a protracted correspondence regarding this Sonata [1]. Ziloti played the Sonata from the manuscript in two of his concerts - in Odessa on 29 September, and Moscow on 14 October 1900. However, Aleksandr Ziloti omitted the second and last movements. At this time the Sonata was being prepared for publication, under the editorship of Sergei Taneev. Zilotii objected to the publication of the sonata in full, and insisted that it should be cut: "I shall be writing to Sergei Ivanovich to tell him that I strongly object to the Andante and last movement being printed. I am sending notes about this to both you and Sergei Ivanovich. Today I am writing to Jurgenson" [2].

In this same letter he described his proposed changes, and a few days later wrote: "After my letter of three days ago you asked me to provide details of, shall we call it, my ‘meddling’, and so I hastened to set down my notes. You lost them, and asked Taneev to send me this copy, which I must ask to be returned as soon as possible [3]. If you should both decide to publish the whole sonata, then I consider these changes to be my property, and I ask you not use them. Along with your complete edition, I will publish the two movements I edited myself" [4].

The Sonata was published under the editorship of Sergei Taneev, who made corrections and supplied some bars in the Andante, about which he wrote in his diary for 21 May 1900: "Called in at Klin with Vladimir L'vovich and Modest Il'ich. Reviewed Petr Il'ich's conservatory sonata (a copy) and made some corrections... I took the sonata with me, in order to rewrite the final bars in the Andante" [5].

The third movement of the Sonata - Scherzo - was used by Tchaikovsky for the Scherzo of his First Symphony, the year after composing the Sonata.

The Sonata was published by Petr Jurgenson in 1900.

From: Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 387-388
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston

Notes:
  1. See letters from Aleksandr Ziloti to Modest Tchaikovsky of 12/25 April, 6/19 May, 17/30 May, 26 June/9 July, 28 June/11 July, 9/22 August, 27 August/9 September, 23 September/6 October 1900 - Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
  2. Letter from Aleksandr Ziloti to Modest Tchaikovsky, 28 June/11 July 1900 - Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
  3. Aleksandr Ziloti required the manuscript in order to prepare for the concert on 29 September [back]
  4. Letter of 28 June/11 July 1900 - Klin House-Museum Archive. Ziloti’s two-movement version was published by Jurgenson in 1901 as "Allegro et scherzo d’une sonate inachevée, composée en 1865... Rédigés par A. Siloti." [back]
  5. Sergei Taneev’s diary entry for 21 May/3 June 1900 - Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
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