Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky (Arensky)
Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op. 35a, a piece for string orchestra by Anton Arensky, started out as the slow movement of his String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35, for the unusual scoring of violin, viola, and 2 cellos. It was written in 1894, the year after the death of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in a tribute to that composer.[1] It is based on the theme from the song "Legend", the fifth of Tchaikovsky's Sixteen Children's Songs, Op. 54.[2]
Tchaikovsky's song was originally set to a Russian translation by Aleksey Pleshcheyev of a poem in English called "Roses and Thorns" by the American poet Richard Henry Stoddard.[3][4]
At the first performance of the quartet, the slow movement was so well received that Arensky soon arranged it as a separate piece for string orchestra, Op. 35a, in which form it has remained among the most popular of all Arensky's works.[1][3]
Structure
[edit]After Tchaikovsky's theme is heard, the piece has seven Variations followed by a Coda, set out as follows (mostly in the key of E minor):[1]
- Theme, Moderato
- Variation I, Un poco più mosso -
- Variation II, Allegro non troppo - Starting with a sudden chord, the theme is heard in the lower strings.
- Variation III, Andantino tranquillo - Now in E major, the theme is taken up by the first violins.
- Variation IV, Vivace - This is a lively movement dominated by the offbeat pizzicato
- Variation V, Andante
- Variation VI, Allegro con spirito
- Variation VII, Andante con moto
- Coda: Moderato - This is a reprise of the theme, with harmonics in the first 2 measures.
