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- Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyitch
Duration: 25 minutes
Description: MOZARTIANA, Op. 61, is the fourth orchestral suite by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky’s (1840-1893), written in 1887 to celebrate Mozart on the 100th anniversary of Mozart’s opera DON GIOVANNI, which Tchaikovsky regarded as divine. In four movements, Tchaikovsky intended MOZARTIANA to recreate “the past in a contemporary world” by orchestrating three lesser-known Mozart piano works (and a fourth by Franz Liszt, based on a Mozart work). The final movement remains the most popular from the suite. While Tchaikovsky himself did not number it as the fourth orchestral suite, preferring the title MOZARTIANA, it is frequently today referred to also as ORCHESTRAL SUITE No. 4. It premiered on November 11, 1887, in Moscow by the Russian Musical Society, the composer conducting. Movements: I. Gigue. (G Major. After Mozart’s LITTLE GIGUE for piano, K. 574); II. Menuet. (D Major. After Mozart’s MINUET for piano, K. 355); III. Preghiera. (B-flat Major. After Franz Liszt’s 1862 piano transcription of Mozart’s AVE VERUM CORPUS, K. 618); IV. Thème et variations. (G Major. After Mozart’s PIANO VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY GLUCK, K. 455). Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.2.0.0; Timp.Perc(1-2): Hp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Violin in set. The solo violin only plays in Variations VIII and IX of the final movement.