Tchaikovsky
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TH 125

Souvenir de Hapsal

Воспоминание о Гапсале

Three pieces for piano solo, Op. 2 (1867).

1. Ruines d'un château
   Развалины замка (E minor)
2. Scherzo
   Скерцо (F major)
3. Chant sans paroles
   Песня без слов (F major)

• Composed June–July 1867. No. 2 is partly based on the incomplete Allegro in F minor (1863–64).
• Scored for Piano solo (2 hands).
• No. 2 was first performed in Moscow, 27 February/10 March 1868, by Nikolai Rubinstein.
• Dedicated to Vera Davydova.
• Averaged duration: 12m 35s (set).

History

This was Tchaikovsky's first cycle of piano pieces. They were written during work on the opera The Voevoda, in June and July 1867, while the composer was staying at Hapsal, together with Modest Tchaikovsky and Anatolii Tchaikovsky, and some members of the Davydov family. "Hapsal itself isn’t a bad place to stay", the composer wrote to Aleksandra Davydova at Kamenka. "It leaves me some memories, thanks to the presence of the Davydovs, but frankly at this moment I don’t feel at ease" [1].

The cycle of piano pieces, brought together under the title Souvenir de Hapsal, is dedicated to Vera Davydova. The second piece in the cycle—Scherzo—was a reworking by Tchaikovsky of the central section of his Allegro in F minor for piano, which had been composed during his studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.

The Scherzo was performed for the first time by Nikolai Rubinstein at a special symphony concert of the Russian Musical Society in Moscow, on 27 February/10 March 1868. It is not known when the remaining pieces were first performed.

In 1884, choosing pieces for Petr Jurgenson, who was undertaking to publish a selection of his works for piano, Tchaikovsky included the complete cycle in his list of pieces to be reprinted [2].

The cycle was published for the first time by Petr Jurgenson in 1868.

From: Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 390–392
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston

References:

1. Letter 101 to Aleksandra Davydova, 8/20 August 1867 [back]
2. See letters from Petr Jurgenson to Tchaikovsky, 17/29 April and 3/15 May 1884 — Klin House-Museum Archive. See also letter 2485 to Petr Jurgenson, 8/20 May 1884 [back]