The Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, for cello and orchestra was the closest Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ever came to writing a full concerto for cello and orchestra. The style was inspired by Mozart, Tchaikovsky's role model, and makes it clear that Tchaikovsky admired the Classical style very much. However, the Thema is not Rococo in origin, but actually an original theme in the Rococo style.
Tchaikovsky wrote this piece for and with the help of Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, a German cellist and fellow-professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Fitzenhagen gave the premiere in Moscow on November 30, 1877, with Nikolai Rubinstein conducting. This was perhaps the only hearing of the Variations as Tchaikovsky wrote the piece until 1941, when it was played in Moscow without Fitzenhagen's by-then-standard emendations.
The piece is composed of a theme and seven variations (eight in Tchaikovsky's original version), making up roughly 20 minutes of music. The variations are played without pause, except between the last slow movement and the finale; even these are not set off by the thick double bar which traditionally indicates separate movements, but only by a fermata over the final rest. The difficulty of the piece lies in this seemingly innocent set-up of the eight differing sections, without the usual longer orchestral interludes for the soloist to catch his or her breath.
1.Moderato assai quasi Andante - Thema: Moderato semplice The orchestra comes in with a somewhat brief (though it looks long on paper) introduction, and the solo cello states the simple, elegant theme. The theme is repeated a total of six times, then the cello plays a brief conjunctive passage, the same exact notes of which are used to link Vars. I and II. The same conjunction is played an octave lower to link Vars. II and III.
2.Var. I: Tempo della Thema The first variation is in triplets, through the midst of which the orchestra restates the theme. The sound is very lively and graceful.
3.Var. II: Tempo della Thema The second variation features a section of conversation between the orchestra and soloist, in which the theme is nearly doubled in speed.
4.Var. III: Andante sostenuto In the third variation the theme has changed key to C major and is played at a more contemplative speed.
5.Var. IV: Andante grazioso The fourth variation is back in A major and is a livelier version of the theme.
6.Var. V: Allegro moderato The fifth variation carries over trills from the end of the fourth variation, and after a grand "fall" by the solo cello onto a low E, the orchestra takes over gallantly. A cadenza follows, ending back in the trills from the beginning, and once again the melody is taken over by the full orchestra, at which point a second, much longer and more difficult cadenza follows. The second cadenza, which is brazen and filled with chords, steadfastly refuses to resolve its minor key.
7.Var. VI: Andante The sixth variation is a melancholy restatement of the theme in D minor, which carries over from the cadenza.
8.Var. VII e Coda: Allegro vivo After a brief pause, the soloist launches into the most difficult variation, an Allegro vivo which rarely relents its constant 32nd notes. The orchestra, too, has a difficult time keeping up with the blazing speed of the finale, the solo flute being one example.
The piece was written between December 1876 and March 1877, immediately following his tone poem Francesca da Rimini, and compared to the vehemence and intensity of Francesca, the Variations show an elegant detachment that was new to his music. While the theme upon which the composition is based is Tchaikovsky's own, the graceful contours and well-mannered cadence that make up the first half of this theme show clearly from which period Tchaikovsky had taken his model.
Tchaikovsky had rarely been attracted to the variation form. The convenience of this form became apparent with what he now set out to accomplish. With a traditional concerto format, structural complexities and dramatic issues that would have clashed with the 18th-century detachment and finesse could not have been avoided. A neat and easier solution was, in each variation, to retain the melodic outlines and harmonic support outlined in his initial theme.
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/hk5studio/archive/2009/6/3
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/hk5studio/archive/2010/6/3
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/hk5studio/archive/2011/6/3
http://i.yimg.jp/images/auct/blogparts/Category300250White.swf?s=2&cl=4&cid=2084041489&lf=1&di=0&od=1&ti=HK8SOUNDS%2FCC&pt=1&dotyid=aucy%2Fp%2FDR53R3HaV9rsak.SeSlRxw--&sid=2219441&pid=878398084
Tchaikovsky wrote this piece for and with the help of Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, a German cellist and fellow-professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Fitzenhagen gave the premiere in Moscow on November 30, 1877, with Nikolai Rubinstein conducting. This was perhaps the only hearing of the Variations as Tchaikovsky wrote the piece until 1941, when it was played in Moscow without Fitzenhagen's by-then-standard emendations.
The piece is composed of a theme and seven variations (eight in Tchaikovsky's original version), making up roughly 20 minutes of music. The variations are played without pause, except between the last slow movement and the finale; even these are not set off by the thick double bar which traditionally indicates separate movements, but only by a fermata over the final rest. The difficulty of the piece lies in this seemingly innocent set-up of the eight differing sections, without the usual longer orchestral interludes for the soloist to catch his or her breath.
1.Moderato assai quasi Andante - Thema: Moderato semplice The orchestra comes in with a somewhat brief (though it looks long on paper) introduction, and the solo cello states the simple, elegant theme. The theme is repeated a total of six times, then the cello plays a brief conjunctive passage, the same exact notes of which are used to link Vars. I and II. The same conjunction is played an octave lower to link Vars. II and III.
2.Var. I: Tempo della Thema The first variation is in triplets, through the midst of which the orchestra restates the theme. The sound is very lively and graceful.
3.Var. II: Tempo della Thema The second variation features a section of conversation between the orchestra and soloist, in which the theme is nearly doubled in speed.
4.Var. III: Andante sostenuto In the third variation the theme has changed key to C major and is played at a more contemplative speed.
5.Var. IV: Andante grazioso The fourth variation is back in A major and is a livelier version of the theme.
6.Var. V: Allegro moderato The fifth variation carries over trills from the end of the fourth variation, and after a grand "fall" by the solo cello onto a low E, the orchestra takes over gallantly. A cadenza follows, ending back in the trills from the beginning, and once again the melody is taken over by the full orchestra, at which point a second, much longer and more difficult cadenza follows. The second cadenza, which is brazen and filled with chords, steadfastly refuses to resolve its minor key.
7.Var. VI: Andante The sixth variation is a melancholy restatement of the theme in D minor, which carries over from the cadenza.
8.Var. VII e Coda: Allegro vivo After a brief pause, the soloist launches into the most difficult variation, an Allegro vivo which rarely relents its constant 32nd notes. The orchestra, too, has a difficult time keeping up with the blazing speed of the finale, the solo flute being one example.
The piece was written between December 1876 and March 1877, immediately following his tone poem Francesca da Rimini, and compared to the vehemence and intensity of Francesca, the Variations show an elegant detachment that was new to his music. While the theme upon which the composition is based is Tchaikovsky's own, the graceful contours and well-mannered cadence that make up the first half of this theme show clearly from which period Tchaikovsky had taken his model.
Tchaikovsky had rarely been attracted to the variation form. The convenience of this form became apparent with what he now set out to accomplish. With a traditional concerto format, structural complexities and dramatic issues that would have clashed with the 18th-century detachment and finesse could not have been avoided. A neat and easier solution was, in each variation, to retain the melodic outlines and harmonic support outlined in his initial theme.
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/hk5studio/archive/2009/6/3
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/hk5studio/archive/2010/6/3
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/hk5studio/archive/2011/6/3
http://i.yimg.jp/images/auct/blogparts/Category300250White.swf?s=2&cl=4&cid=2084041489&lf=1&di=0&od=1&ti=HK8SOUNDS%2FCC&pt=1&dotyid=aucy%2Fp%2FDR53R3HaV9rsak.SeSlRxw--&sid=2219441&pid=878398084