I. Pezzo in forma di sonatina. Andante non troppo—Allegro moderato (C major)

II. Valse. Moderato. Tempo di Valse (G major)

III. Elegia. Larghetto elegiaco (D major)

IV. Finale (Tema russo). Andante—Allegro con spirito (C major)

Instrumentation:

• violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses
• In the score Tchaikovsky noted: “The larger number of players in the string orchestra, the more this shall be in accordance with the author’s wishes”.

The name means nothing to me; so when I started to listen I was shocked to find out that I the theme is one of the most famous ones ever written, and I’ve heard it countless times. I recognize most of it on first hearing here. It does not seem typical of Tchaikovsky either, though I certainly like the music. I’m in the process of completing links to all his famous orchestral music, a project I started a couple months ago.